SARDINE dining

An understated menu that over delivers and delights. The perfect amount of attention from friendly and professional staff, an impressive wine and drinks menu, great views. The food is amazing, take a step away from your food comfort zone and explore the delights the menu has to offer.

Came here for my birthday dinner with husband, after being recommended to us by other friends. We enjoyed every mouthful and appreciated the friendly attentive service. A great restaurant with peaceful water views. A rare find. Thank you.

From my very first interaction with the staff right through till the end of our meal I couldn't be happier with how we were treated at this absolutely incredible restaurant.
Although they no longer do the degustation menu, speaking with Rhiana and her arranging it with the chef we were indulged with 15 of the most thoughtful and carefully curated dishes and wines to match all paired with local and seasonal produce.
We can't wait to return to try more of the different dishes from the menu, such as the lobster salad and octopus or the steak. Definitely a place to take someone special for a date night to impress. The only photo I forgot to take was of the raspberry sorbet and is delicious and definite must try, was soooo refreshing.
Big shout out to all the staff both front of house and Chefs for making it such a wonderful experience, even the small details like the music made for a night we'll be talking about for years to come.

I have been twice now, consistency is important and thats exactly what we got both times. I have my favourite dish and if that goes i dont know what I would get. So in love with the flavours of the Kingfish crudo so good, zucchini flowers, sharing is hard when one was reasonably bigger, had to share with my sister gave her the bigger one, so I got the end of the deal there. But still an extra added to my favs list. The carrots and asparagus were a nice side dish. every dish presented beautifully. The reason I gave 4 stars for food was I found the desert a little less satisfying than expected,the lettuce was grainy like it had dirt and not washed spoilt the wonderful experience. After such a delightful meal I was expecting the desert to give me the wow factor to complete it. But definitely did not give me the wow, unfortunately it was all in a glass, not appealing and hard to share, also flavours were not there. Maybe for my tastebuds I chose the wrong dessert. The coffee was so perfect. Still Highly recommended the experience

This is such a nice restaurant in Paynesville (Gippsland) , we did a detour just to have lunch and it didn’t disappoint. The service is off the charts and the food is amazing. They had Christmas 2 or 3 course options when we visited but I understand it’s seasonal.

Love the food, ambience and amazing customer service. Came across this restaurant while visiting Raymond Island.Chef had especially catered vegetarian dishes for us and we loved it. Every dish that was served was flavourful. Customer service was top notch. Beautiful dining experience.Highly recommended.

Dinner was absolutely amazing! Every dish was cooked to perfection and so flavourful. Service was excellent and the vibe was calm and chill. We definitely enjoyed our time here and will come back!

Checkout @poisonthesurgeon on instagram for our other food adventures!

Food is yummy. We tried Zucchini flower, duckfish tartare, school prawns and kingfish crudo. All of them were delicious.
Also their cocktails were good.

Although we were lucky to get a table for a walk in, but would recommend to book a table before going there. The service provided by waitstaff were excellent.

Would recommend this place for seafood.

You can't fault nothing here, amazing food forget the city true dining experience here in the country. Food and Drinks are fantastic. Service unbelievable. Had a cheeky afternoon wine and some oysters was the third time here and gets better each time.

A first class dining experience. One of the best I’ve had. Great knowledgeable staff to start. Then creative food with great and well chosen combinations of flavours. I was told people make a special trip just for this restaurant and now I knotty. I’ll be back

I haven’t make any review for a long time. But SARDINE Dining make me have to make this comment. I am not a professional gourmet, but the fine cuisine in this restaurant, I have not enough vocabulary to make the complement. Every dish have been prepared with thorough design and deep cooking experience. They are not heavy flavoured but every dish has their very good sense of hierarchy on taste.

Also same importantly, you can feel the service from all the staff here with full care and true heartwarming attitude.

It is not really expensive place if you consider they won one hat and really good fine dining restaurant.

My husband and I were blown away by the cuisine and overall experience of dining at Sardine. We thoroughly enjoyed dining on the deck listening to the native Rosella before they settled for the evening. What is so special about this place is the unique menu for each night. No two are ever the same! We highly recommend the degustation as this gives you the opportunity to enjoy the culinary expertise of Chef Mark Briggs.

Well worth the trip to Gippsland, any foodie must put this restaurant on their bucket list.

Brilliant restaurant showcasing local food, particularly seafood. The flavours of each dish were just so good, made with quality ingredients and nicely balanced. The ambience was great and staff service was impeccable. Glad we tried this gem, highly recommend, bookings are essential.

A gourmet highlight tucked away in Paynesville. Small stylish dining room and a covered terrace.
Great service and lovely ambiance.
The whitebait & school prawns were sensational, as were the octopus and the courgette flowers.
The snapper with clams, shiitake & bone broth was absolutely superb- delicate and beautifully balance of flavours.
And the berry cheesecake was incredible- perfect finish to a wonderful dinner.

Great service.
Good atmosphere.
Delicious food.
Highlights were:
Duckfish tartare- crispy, flavourful and fresh.
Sourdough bread- crispy on the outside soft and fluffy on the inside (so good we asked for more serves. Only the first serve is complimentary, but still worth paying for.)
Pistachio parfait - salted caramel sweet which goes well with the parfait which wasn't too sweet and the honeycomb gave it the extra crunch for texture. My personal favourite.
Sardines - combination of flavours works so well, a must order.
Fillet of hapuka - fresh fish with a nice delicate sauce.

The dinner experience was excellent. We arrived just before 9pm from a long drive from Melbourne. The tables were generously set apart with an open outdoor sitting area as well as inside and overall a very nicely set up restaurant. All the dishes were beautiful. The king prawns, zucchini flower, school of prawn & whitebait, mackeral & porterhouse steak were spot on. All served hot from the kitchen and beautifully presented. The only let down was the octopus dish. A little bit over cooked, soft with texture and taste being average. The staff were attentive and friendly. It was very reasonably priced for such a quality dinner and experience. We will definitely come back evrytime we are in the region. Well done to Sardine team.

Excellent restaurant
This little gem was brilliant in all respects.
Attentive staff, helpful with my partner's eating preferences, helpful,
Food was beautifully presented, very tasty, interesting range of foods, good wine list with plenty of by the glass wines

The owners deserve full marks on their wonderful dining place

Such a beautiful place. We stumbled upon it, staying overnight in the area on our way to Pambula from Melbourne. We planned to have a drink and maybe a nibble, but ended up making our way through a big part of the menu. The food was really exceptional, especially the anchovies and the sardines. We celebrated our son's 20 birthday the evening before in a Melbourne restaurant also with a star, and we thought this place was clearly better. We were so thrilled to have such a beautiful meal and wines to start our holiday.

What an amazing experience. Staff were perfectly attentive, food was well spaced and beautifully presented. Freshness, quality, matching of flavours and the pure talent of the chefs and assistants was impeccable. The total experience was divine. Make a booking and enjoy.

It’s a wonderful and special experience. Superb food, wine and service. The cost is very reasonable for the quality. We loved the space, we thoroughly enjoyed the food and wine, and were delighted with the service. We would happily return any time.