It was beautiful Autumn day and a month since the fires which devastated the Yarra Valley, the air was clear and what better place to get a great view of the Yarra Valley than Mt Rael.

Winding up their long driveway to the carpark you realise how high you are above the surrounding area. The entrance to Mt Rael is anything but spectacular, but once inside the restaurant is pure class with magnificent views.

As it was a beautiful day we sat outside on the balcony, the area seats about 30 with the inside area seating around 100. Once on the balcony there was great views across Healesville, The tourist railway and across to the Black Spur.

Our waitress Annie brought over the menu and wine list. The wine list was quite good with a choice of around 20 whites, 20 reds, Sparkling and dessert wines along with a choice of fortifieds. The wine prices ranged from $38 to $135 per bottle.

We decided on a bottle of the Warramate 2007 Reisling at $42.  We were really impressed that the wine was served at exactly the correct temperature. Most places serving extremely cold wine in Ice buckets.

Looking through the menu we discovered there was a choice of 5 entrees, 5 mains and 5 desserts. It was a hard choice to choose but finally Pete decided on the Wild Mushrooms with shallot man thyme tart. Steve had the Duck and Chicken Terrine with Rhubarb and Orange Chutney. Both entrees went well with the wine. The Entree's were all priced around $16.

For mains Pete had the Polenta Crumbed Pork Medallions with Sweet Corn fritter and Apple Salad and some Dijon Mustard. Steve had the Pan fried local Trout. We also ordered a side salad of seasonal Autumn Vegetables, which included Nashi, Walnut, Iceberg Lettuce with a blue cheese dressing.

The meals were excellent and well presented. With the meals we had a glass each of the Trentham Estate 2005 Shiraz, this went well with the Pork but was overpowering with the Trout.

To follow it up we completed the meal with a cheese platter, the platters are available with your choice of 3 variety of cheeses, we selected the blue cheese and crackers.

Mt Rael was a great choice for the day and is certainly recommended by us. This would be a great place for a Lunch in the Yarra Valley.