La Campagna Winery and Olive Grove

La Campagna is at 176 Rogers Road, Cape Schanck, Mornington Peninsula, 3939.
Ph: 5988 5350.
Up a long and winding dirt road, far from the madding crowds of Portsea and Sorrento, you'll find this little gem tucked away. The owner Ted Ori has been cooking with wood-fired ovens since he was a child, and is a master of this artisanal sic form of cooking. The restaurant is open 10-5 weekends, but Ted doesn't serve anything but cake and coffee much before 12ish. He does, however, sell his crusty, chewy hand made loaves of bread.
The L'Osteria is located underneath the family residence, which is a little disconcerting, but the views over Port Phillip and Westernport make up for the odd sensation of walking into someone's garage.

Rustic charm but this wasn't it either!

The restaurant is small, only 25 or so seats, and the grey clinker brick walls add to the "eating in the garage" feeling. Some attempt has been made to cover the walls with pictures of food, and Italian scenes, but you've followed a hand-painted sign up a dirt road.
You shouldn't be expecting The Grand Dining Room ambiance after all!!

We chose the tasting platter, which came with a selection of his own black and green olives, some house olive oil, foccacia for dipping, some mini wood-fired oven pizza topped with passata, artichoke heats and mozarella. These were so-so, but that's subjective, as I personally like my pizza bases thin and crisp. There was just a little too much sog in them for me.The absolute highlight of the platter (if not the whole meal) was the bruschetta alla funghi. It was simply, heavenly.

Mushrooms, sauteed in butter, with a hint of dill, sage, Italian parsley, black pepper, drizzled with chilli-infused olive oil. What lifted this dish to the sublime was Ted's bread, which he had drizzled with olive oil and returned back to the wood oven to crisp up before serving. We paired this with a glass of their 2005 Vino Bianco (semillion/ vermentino blend),We then shared a roast lamb stuffed with fetta and spinach.

The lamb was fall-off-the-bone tender, rich and juicy... but at the end of the day, it was no more than a really nice roast lamb. Served with oven-roasted vegies and paired with a glass of their 2004 Tuscan red (sangiovese/merlot/trebiano blend)We finished with a slice of flourless almond Tuscan Lemon Cake, which was good, but not much was going to WOW us after those mushrooms.
Presentation was so-so, duchess-style potatoes, green beans, but again I mention... you've driven up a dirt road, past a hand-painted sign to eat Tuscan food, cooked in a wood oven. If you're looking for El Buli, this aint it.. but it never professes to be. The staff know their stuff. They were all very in-the-know about the wine list and were well acquainted with all the dishes on the menu. (and accommodating of any changes that patrons were asking for) All in all, one tasting platter, one main, one dessert, four glasses of wine, a loaf of bread to go and a punnet of olives came to $89. It's peasant, it's rustic. The olive oil is sublime, the smell as you drive up the pathway is enticing. The bruschetta is AMAZING.The bread is SENSATIONAL. Wine is available by the glass, the staff are helpful.The menu is limited (3 entrees, 3 mains, 3 desserts) but changes weekly, I was told. Vegetarian options were available.
Contributed by A Goddess in the Kitchen