Morries - Margaret River

Really good food here. Have had breakfast a few times and an afternoon/evening tapas type meal. i think the owner here also owns the Gnarabup cafe...also good food. Morries is up the top of the main street in Margaret River on the right hand side.

Well I think we've been had. After reading glowing reviews and wowed by an interesting menu I figured better check it out. Nope not impressed. Burnt pork belly, a all day brekky burger Macca's would have served and fries brought from Coles. Specials which aren't available anymore and a waitress who couldn't tell the difference between crumbed and pan fried. Walk right past down the road to Swings and Roundabouts for a real meal. Should be renamed Sorries.

Booked for early dinner, so the restaurant was not crowded. Great décor, excellent staff and a varied but expensive menu. This is not a steak and chips option, but more a tapas style menu. My Aunt ordered the scallops and the pate and loved both dishes. I ordered the sardines, but found they had been over brined and could only taste the salt. Big bowl of hot chips was my savour for this meal. Margaret River is obviously an upmarket, trendy area, and this restaurant fills those needs.

Pretty overpriced for the serving size. We ordered pork belly (side dish), barramundi fish (main course) and creme brulee (dessert) for sharing between two girls. The pork belly dish was popular and strongly recommended - and this dish was deserving of all the attention as it was unique and really good! Definitely unexpected melt-in-mouth experience and a must-try! The fish dish and the dessert however, were disappointing. The barramundi did not feel fresh (smell-wise) and I am not sure if the general clumpy texture was due to it being under-cooked or it being not fresh. It didn't help that the entire restaurant was barely lit in the evening (our table was only lit with a candle) so I couldn't really ascertain what we were eating. The dessert was just sad - it came with two components - the hot tart and cold creme brulee (pudding-ish texture). However, the tart/crumble was supposed to be hot and it turned out lightly warm, and the pudding (creme brulee) was not cold. We were really not sure what the dish was going for, and the combination did not taste very good either. Verdict: Must-try pork belly; other than that, maybe not.

The food and drink were average fare for trendy restaurant in a major city. They serve tapas style food, but charge full meal prices. The cocktails are inventive (beet juice and Guinness, anyone?), but again, over-priced. It was quite crowded when we arrived on a Friday evening; the tables are jammed together, making it quite loud. It's the see-and-be-seen place of Margaret River. We hurried through our meal to leave for somewhere more relaxed. Overall, not our style.