For five weekends this winter, the verandah at Willespie will be a very different place.
Chef Melissa Palinkas - one of Western Australia's most respected cooks, recently of Young George in East Fremantle is taking up a weekend residency at the cellar door. Two lunches. Two formats. Both shaped by what's good that week, both cooked over fire, both built around the same idea: that food, wine and good company belong together at one table.
But they're not the same lunch. Here's how they differ, so you can pick your weekend.
SATURDAY SERIES: THE LONG TABLE By Melissa Palinkas
The format: One long table wraps the verandah. Four courses. You sit where there's space - next to whoever's there.
The feeling: Special occasion. Slow. Generous. The kind of lunch that earns its own afternoon. Some guests will arrive as strangers and leave as something closer to friends. That's not a marketing line; it's just what happens when you put fifty people at one table for four hours.
The menu: Four courses, written the week of, drawn from what Western Australia's paddocks, farmers' markets and coastline are offering right then and cooked over the purpose-built asado and above-ground grill, in full view of the table. The menu shifts every Saturday, and you'll get yours the week before lunch, not on a card on the day.
The wine: Willespie's. A wine pairing is available - four glasses from our Wilyabrup Reserve range, paired course by course. Add it at checkout when you book your seat.
Before lunch: Your seat at the long table comes with a complimentary tasting of our current releases at the cellar door. Arrive a little early, take it slow.
The details:
- Saturdays, 1:00 pm. 30 May – 5 July 2026.
- $120 per person. Wine pairing +$60 per person.
- Limited seats. Bookings essential.
Book your seat at the long table.
SUNDAY SERIES: BRAIZEN by Melissa Palinkas
The format: A different hero dish each week, cooked over the purpose-built asado and above-ground grill, in full view of the table. You build the rest of your lunch yourself; a few things to start, things to share, something to finish - added when you book.
The feeling: No fuss. No four-course pacing. Just good food, cooked with conviction over fire, served the way Sunday should be: unhurried, generous, and without apology. Pull up a chair, pour a glass of Willespie, and settle in.
The menu: One hero dish, weekly, shaped by what the asado is calling for and what's at its peak. Released the week before. Around it, you choose: starters and snacks (priced per person), share plates and desserts. Order a few, mix it up, let the table take care of the rest.
The wine: By the glass or the bottle. No pairing, no fuss - pour what fits the day.
The details:
- Sundays, from 12:00 pm. Two-hour seatings. 31 May – 6 July 2026.
- From $45 per person.
- Bookings essential. Some seats kept for walk-ins.
Pull up a chair on Sunday
SO WHICH ONE'S FOR YOU?
Come on Saturday if you want the full long-lunch experience, you're celebrating something (or just feel like it), you don't mind sitting next to someone you've never met, and you've got the afternoon to give it.
Come on Sunday if you're already in Margaret River, you want a great meal without locking in a four-course commitment, you want to choose what's on your table, or you just want to see what fire-cooked food looks like in full view with a glass of Willespie in hand.
Come both days if that sounds like exactly the right kind of weekend.
A FEW WORDS ON MELISSA
For over a decade, Melissa Palinkas and partner Susan Whelan built Young George into one of the city's most celebrated neighbourhood restaurants - known for an inventive, sustainable approach to cooking, house-made charcuterie, and a zero-waste ethos that became a model for the industry.
Following the closure of Young George earlier this year, the Willespie residency is a new creative chapter for Melissa: cooking at its most essential, driven by fire and place.
In her words:
"Willespie is an unsung gem. I'm very excited to be cooking on the estate in our purpose-built pit oven and wood grill. Every week I'll be sourcing only the best produce from the region and surrounding WA, as well as foraging on the estate to see what bush foods we can use in our menu. This is such an exciting project - I can't wait."