IT’S no surprise that Pialligo Estate Farmhouse is getting rave reviews all round and picked up the “Best Restaurant” gong at the July 2015 AHA ACT Hospitality Awards.
Wendy Johnson.
It features a fabulous, rustic-style fitout by internationally recognised architectural firm Grounds Kent, complete with recycled timber, natural stones, high ceilings, multiple fireplaces and wrought-iron chandeliers.
It operates an olive grove, market gardens, a vineyard and the famous Pialligo Estate Smokehouse, which has won close to 60 national food awards since 2013, including for best artisan bacon and smoked salmon. The beautiful landscaping is by acclaimed designer Paul Bangay (more than 12,000 plants on site).
Is there anything else to say? Yes, there is.
The Pialligo Estate Farmhouse has a passionate, experienced culinary team that worships food and wine and a serving team that worships a premium dining experience.
The restaurant is headed by chef de cuisine Brendan Walsh, who has worked at Michelin-starred restaurants overseas and in Melbourne, and sous chef Brian Logan, who honed his experience at Tetsuya’s in Sydney. Culinary director Jan Gundlach is on deck.
The Farmhouse Restaurant has a menu and wine list to die for and one that changes daily depending on what is hand-picked from the market garden, fruit orchard and olive grove, and sourced seasonally through reputable Australian producers.
Paddock-to-plate is not just a phrase here, as it is in many dining establishments. It’s the lifeblood of the operation.
The Tumut rainbow trout, with cucumber, heirloom cauliflower, kohlrabi, brown butter and natural roe, couldn’t be faulted. Nor could the cipollini onions, chorizo, nashi pear, elk mustard and Mooloolaba bug tails. And that was just for starters.
We were a group of five and all agreed the experience was exceptional on all fronts. That includes the mains, which featured Arcadia Farm saltbush-fed lamb, which melted in the mouth and was served with an intriguing black truffle broth. The full-blood Wagyu from David Blackmore was up there with the best Australia offers, marrying well with parsnips, new-season rainbow chard and smoked eel.
Do order the side dishes which, on our visit, included new-crop Kipfler potatoes with smoked miso butter, the best cabbage and celeriac coleslaw I’ve ever had and decadent brussels sprouts with spiced pork fat.
The wine list celebrates regional and other top picks. The desserts were a perfect ending.
Remember, the Farmhouse is only eight minutes from the city and a stone’s throw to the airport. More casual dining, in open but climate-controlled pavilions, is scheduled to open in a couple of months.
Two courses is $65; three $80 and the six-course chef’s tasting menu $110.
18 Kallaroo Road, Pialligo, 6247 6060. Fully licensed. Book to avoid disappointment.
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