Fortnums, Sassafras by Bureaucrat

Up until about a year or two ago, I used to love going to Mt Dandenong to grab a pie from Pie in the Sky.  If we were hungry, we'd eat the pie in the restaurant; if I wasn't hungry just yet, I'd buy two pies (that's two pies per person... I'm not sharing!) and keep it in the car as we wandered around the village; and if I was really not hungry, I'd buy a few frozen pies to take home.  Sadly, in the last few times that I've been there the quality has been going downhill. It's a shame since those pies used to be really, really good.

So in search of a new place for eats, we figured we'd give Fortnums a try.  It's one of them twee restaurants that caters for the tourist crowd, the daytrippers and those getting married.  Bang on midday we turned up and was surprised to see the place fairly full - they were all senior citizens, big groups and small groups.

The place is decorated in a rather dated late-1990s vision of a mountainside reception hall should look like - the now faded pastel green walls, with white trims, lattices...it kinda feels like a time warp... it's just missing some pink carnations and lots of baby's breath. The staff are super friendly and attentive but are very understaffed and rushed off their feet.


Placing our order and waiting for the food to arrive did take quite a bit of time, but we were luckily not in a rush.  The Lawyer's fisherman's basket was a big plate of golden crunchiness.  While everything was from frozen ingredients, it was nicely fried - light batter, golden colour and piping hot.


I had one of the specials, which were corn pancakes with smoked salmon.  Nice fluffy pancakes and a reasonable amount of smoked salmon.  It came with a simple fresh salad. Simple and tasty.


I also got a pot of tea.

Verdict: we liked it.

Overall
The food tastes nice but a touch on the expensive side for the what it is.  I don't know if we just happened to be there on a day when they were short-staffed.  I'd go back again but I'd make sure that we had time to linger for a long lunch.  Also, while you're there, check out the massive (and I mean, MASSIVE... they look like white prehistoric creatures) cockatoos that reside in the garden....SQUAWK!