Down Under Diary - Page 12a

The daily diary of a wandering restaurateur Down Under
November 4 - Belgrave, Victoria

First we have the Ranges Café in Olina, Victoria. The menu and look are very trendy and we were pleased with the quality and presentation of the meal. On the right is Miss Marple's Tea Room, named after the main character in the Agatha Christie mysteries. At a time when most of the restaurants in the area were empty, Miss Marple's was packed! Two busses are just out of the photo to the left and our hosts here tell us people drive up from Melbourne and spend the night with their sole interest being to go to Miss Marple's. They are not offering anything particularly unusual, but they have positioned themselves as different from their competition. "I go there because . . ."

Ranges Cafe, Olinda, Victoria Miss Marple's, Sassafras, Victoria

Here are two other local establishments. When I saw the sign, I couldn't help but wonder if "The Drunken Duck" was a poor name for a family restaurant. (I guess it depends on what your family is like . . .!) We had dinner at Shenanigans in Olinda with Bridie and Marg Hesterman. The dinner was acceptable and our little waitress was pleasant enough but did not have a clue about anything on the menu! I was reminded again how much of a disservice we do to our guests (and our profitability) when we put untrained servers on the floor.

Drunken Duck, Shebrook, Victoria Shennanigans, Olinda, Victoria

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