Under the bling of Doot Doot Doot’s dramatic 10,000-light installation, Saturday lunch is in full swing as Melbourne takes a mini break.

Like Jackalope, the Mornington Peninsula boutique hotel it calls home, this flagship restaurant is more styled than a Kardashian at the Met Ball, but don’t be put off. Guy Stanaway’s monthly changing five-course menu (with snacks) is elegant yet supremely approachable.

Not every dish lands, but when they do, it’s bang-the-table good. Like the prawns, memorably smoky and charry-fleshed from the grill, paired with a silken pumpkin cream and offset by tangy pops of finger lime. And the fillet of Murray cod given excellent texture from a polenta crust, all the better for being crowned with saltbush crisps.

If dessert is the white chocolate cube, its innards a swirl of berries, cream and coconut yoghurt, you’ll go home happy.

Staff are plentiful, as are the wines with a 1200-bottle cellar, but happily make the estate’s Willow Creek drops your default.

Enjoy them too at Rare Hare, the property’s more casual on-site eatery with the bonus of vine views.

Must eat dish: Prawn, finger lime, pumpkin cream