First Look: Berkelo Pivots From Bakery to Kitchen With Its Suburban Dream of a Restaurant

Berkelo founder Tom Eadie might have been putting all his energy into perfecting sourdough over the past few years, but his love of the pans didn’t leave him. That love fuelled Berkelo Kitchen, a dining room in Terrey Hills, the Northern Beaches locality neighbouring Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park.

“I needed to scratch the chef itch and share my passion with people,” Eadie tells Broadsheet. “So we decided to add a restaurant to the mix.” Before founding Berkelo – which has bakeries in Brookvale, Manly and Mosman – he was the exec chef at Boathouse Group.

Eadie found just the right spot near the corner of McCarrs Creek and Mona Vale Roads in Terrey Hills: an old weatherboard cottage on two acres sporting gardens planted with natives, herb beds and veggie plots. “It was a service station, then a general store, then a cafe, then a restaurant,” he says. “It’s lived a few lives.”

In addition to the dining room, a shipping container next to the cottage sends out Berkelo’s fantastic baked goods and coffee.

Since arriving to the property, the team’s planted saltbush, native oregano and basil, which make their way to the sourdough pizza menu. Among the rounds is one boasting garden greens layered with slivers of zucchini and mozzarella; a potato number jazzed up with caramelised onions, fine slices of guanciale and scamorza; and a fiery option with house-made passata, pepperoni and chilli honey.

“We also have 50 heads of silverbeet and some citrus going,” says Eadie. “[The garden will] be abundant by spring and summer – with plenty of stuff for the restaurant.”

Whatever isn’t grown on site is sourced from nearby suppliers whenever possible. Hand-made rotolo comes filled with “pumpkin from an Italian farmer who’s been in Terrey Hills for ‘a hundred years’”. It’s then lathered in browned butter. Locally grown cara cara oranges are blended into an emulsion of olive oil and confit garlic, which is topped with layers of snapper, pops of finger lime and chilli for a sunny starter.

There’s also a local showing on the beer list. “We have three beers from Brookvale, including Buckettys and Freshie Brewing, which are neighbours of our bakery there,” says Eadie. The wine menu leans into natural methods, while the non-alc offering includes kombucha brewed on-site and sodas made with house-made syrups.

Dessert is all about hearty classics – whether it’s an apple crumble with spiced ice-cream, or lemon curd with house-made vanilla gelato.

Sit outside in the garden or inside the cottage, either way you’ll be fireside: there’s a garden firepit along with a hearth inside. “We’ve kept it simple and homely. There’s craft paper on the tables, old bentwoods kicking around, a nice bar with beautiful wines on display and a couple of native floral arrangements. It’s probably elevated in comparison with your kitchen at home, but it’s not pretentious.”

Berkelo Kitchen
205 Mona Vale Road, Terrey Hills

Hours:
Wed & Thu 5pm–late
Fri & Sat 11.30am–late
Sun 11.30am–4pm

berkelo.com.au/pages/kitchen
@ berkelo.kitchen