May 11, 2025
We booked in a bunch of events at the Melbourne Writers Festival and found ourselves with a four-hour break on Sunday afternoon. That's long enough to go home for a bit, but instead we elected to splash out on a fancy lunch. Farmer's Daughters, which I didn't know much about, had availability on their (covered) rooftop for the late timeslot we were after. We were probably the only table there not celebrating Mothers' Day.
The Farmer's Daughters menu is focused on fresh produce from Gippsland. Dietary features aren't marked on the menu, but we trusted there'd be some great vegetables and that the staff would know what's what. Happily, they also offer a few mocktails ($12 each) and an in-menu option that the bartender can whip you up something customised if they're not what you're after. The Phillip Island Mule, with native lemongrass, suited me straight up.
Bread excepted, we sampled everything vegetarian across the entrees and mains. Zucchini pieces were grilled, sauced with romesco, piled with shiso, topped with a ball of creamy burrata and liberally sprinkled with dukkah ($25). In a similar pattern, roasted beetroot was teamed with green leaves, topped with feta and seasoned with hazelnuts and pepperberry ($24).
Neat little potato rösti squares ($10 each) were piped with cheese mousse, topped with a fresh fig flourish and a sprig of French sorrel. I wasn't sure about fig and potato together, but the cream cheese was the natural bridge between the two.
The roast potato and leek pie ($35) was tremendously burnished and flaky, topped with confit red onion and surrounded by a rich brown butter sauce. It was a bit late in the season for tomatoes, so the salad of heirloom tomatoes, strawberry, mozzarella and basil ($21) worked slightly better in theory than in practice.
Dessert was study in classics done well. Cheesecake ($20) was sweet, tangy, nutty and creamy in perfect proportions, with a little berry compote on the side. The 75% Cuvée chocolate tart ($21) was smooth, firm and bittersweet, accompanied by a delectable salted hazelnut praline sauce and spoonful of crème diplomate. We carefully halved both desserts as fairly as we could.
The service at Farmer's Daughters was bright and professional and we enjoyed our meal very much. The vegetarian options leaned heavily on Gippsland's great dairy products, so it's hard to predict how well they'd cater to vegans. We're glad we had this unusual excuse to splurge on a meal there, and I'd do it again if the same rare circumstances recurred.
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You can also read a positive review from Sweet & Sour Fork.
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Farmer's Daughters
95 Exhibition St, Melbourne CBD
9116 8682
Accessibility: There's a lift to the rooftop. It's densely packed with regular height tables, backed chairs and some padded benches. We ordered and paid at our table. There's a handful of individual cubicles on the same level, some gendered and some unisex ambulant.
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