Getting to Megalong Restaurant in the Blue Mountains takes determination. The narrow, winding road from Blackheath is full of hairpin turns and blind corners. But when you finally arrive at enchanting farm Lot 101, with its gently rolling hills and bucolic scenes of sheep at pasture, all surrounded by rough-hewn sandstone cliffs and gumtrees, you know it was worth the journey.

But this experience is not just about the scenery. The new restaurant, led by executive chef Colin Barker (ex-The Boathouse on Blackwattle Bay) approaches the concept of farm-to-table with admirable dedication.

“We want to make the idea of dining at the farm a genuine experience, not just that we’ve got a little kitchen garden out the back where we can snip some herbs,” co-owner James Schultz tells Broadsheet. “We genuinely source everything on your plate from this property.”

The diminutive double-baked Andean sunrise potatoes; delicate pencil leeks; sweet, roasted chantenay carrots; nasturtium flowers and pickled buds that punctuate dry-aged beef; and the saltbush that seasons the hens’ eggs are all grown and raised a handful of metres from the exquisite dining room.

There’s a few exceptions to the grown-here rule, but only while the farm gets its production completely up and running. “Our orchard is still immature, so some stone fruits come from our neighbours in the valley who have historic orchards,” says Schultz. “We have honey here, but we also use our neighbours’; and while we make some olive oil, we supplement it because our grove is still young.”

With winter coming, the gardens are growing hardy greens, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, parsnips and turnips. Some herbs have gone to seed, ready to be gathered for growing next season’s crops.

It’s not a surprise that proximity and the way the food is raised makes a difference to flavour. To illustrate this point, the amuse-bouche is a bowl of sliced vegetables served on a bed of ice. The fennel is more convincingly fennel than any grocery variety, crisp with liquorice notes that linger. The radish is equally flavourful. It’s clear that the food most of us eat is just a shadow of what it could be.

The wine list is organic and biodynamic and features a few bottles brought over from The Boathouse cellars, including a 2007 Chateau La Tour Blanche that pairs beautifully with a fine spelt crepe filled with Logan Brae apples grown at the top of the valley. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails are made using produce sourced from the area.

The team spent the pandemic years regenerating the farm and building Megalong Restaurant. “It was a beautiful location, but very run down. There was no infrastructure that worked, the land had been overstocked and overgrazed. Everything we do now is informed by management within the landscape, wildlife-friendly, regenerative agriculture. Everything is organic and we don’t use artificial pest control,” Schultz says.

“We want to find things that grow well in this environment without negatively impacting it. We spent the last three years bringing it back to life and now it’s like a different world.”

Megalong Restaurant

3/7 Peach Tree Road, Megalong Valley

(02) 4787 3999

Hours:
Thu & Fri 6pm–late
Sat midday–late
Sun midday–5pm

megalongrestaurant.com.au
@megalong_lot101