Don’t be fooled by the humble setting, Cocotte Dining, helmed by Japanese-born chef Shunichi Tanabe, offers a kind of relaxed fine dining experience. Start your culinary journey with some sashimi of fresh fish, pickle ginger and wasabi or slow-cooked Kurobuta pork cheeks, green pawpaw salad sprinkled with yuzu ginger chilli dressing from the izakaya (Japanese-style tapas) menu that drifts from east to west before tucking into the main affair. If pan-roasted fish takes your fancy, you’re in luck because Cocotte serves up perfectly prepared fish perched atop saffron smoky dashi risotto, sauteed greens and yuzu and Riesling emulsion. For more carnivorous cravings, there’s the roasted lamb-rack served with baby vegetables, roasted potato, fresh herbs and preserved lemon sauce with Yuan miso jus but it’s the oxtail and beef cheek that has been braised for five hours in red wine, sake and miso, that has become an unexpected house-favourite. The restaurant’s signature dishes, served in traditional cocottes, exude the rustic charm of a French countryside kitchen. Under the cast iron lids simmer delectable, slow-cooked recipes seething with rich, bold flavours and European and Asian accents. Wash it down with a crisp Orion premium draft from Okinawa, a refreshing Kaniku Ocean Pilsner from Chiba or sip on some sake.

Chef Shunichi Tanabe earned his culinary stripes as a chef in Japan for ten years before relocating to Australia and working at renowned seafood restaurant Fins at Salt Village and Arakawa Japanese Restaurant at Royal Pines Report before venturing out on his own in 2011.

Cocotte seamlessly blends Shunichi’s passion for the coastal lifestyle, seasonal produce and a delightful fusion of cooking influences including French and Japanese. Its menu is an inspired culinary journey with an emphasis on freshness of ingredients, hearty simplicity and purity of flavour. See our Stumble Guide for opening times.