The New Three Blue Ducks Restaurant Is Just Weeks Away – Here’s What To Expect

Once upon a time, or 15 years ago, Three Blue Ducks was the name of a little Macpherson Street cafe owned and run by a group of mates. Now it’s the banner for a group of farm-to-plate restaurants along Australia’s east coast. And the latest, in the Southern Highlands, is more than halfway here.

The team already has a few months under its belt: The Bakery and The Farmhouse have been serving slow-fermented sourdough, daily baked pastries, local produce, sandwiches and cafe plates since April. The final piece is The Restaurant – and bookings are open now.

When Broadsheet speaks to chef and co-founder Darren Robertson, he’s just spent a few days on the property, doing final tastings of the menu with exec chef Troy Crisante and just-announced head chef Rhys Connell (ex-Sepia, Society, Cutler & Co). “It’s shaping up into something I’m very happy with,” Robertson says. “It’s nice spending time down there, everyone’s sort of peering through the window, there’s a legitimate excitement in the area, which is so good.”

The dining room is housed in a heritage 1823 farmhouse, which was the village of Burradoo’s first building. “It is unbelievable, the space is absolutely gorgeous,” says Robertson. “All of the original structure, the roof, a lot of the pillars, the fireplace remains.” A big communal table greets you as you walk in, with a big open kitchen and small bar area.

The dining room celebrates the produce from its own grounds via two set menus: the shorter five-course Field Menu and the seven-course Harvest Menu. They’ll each start with a broth and a few snacks, before mains and dessert. All of it is led by farmers Nick Tallas, who looks after the livestock, and Lindsey Rogers, who oversees the veggies.

On the opening menu, lamb from the farm is served with sheep’s yoghurt and leaves from the garden beds just outside the dining room, and there’s a salad of puntarella, red-spot prawns and chilli. The delightful “cover-crop” salad – with sprouted pulses and buttered turnips – translates the working farm to the plate. “You use cover crops to enrich the soil before planting your vegetables or harvesting your proteins. It’s so delicate, and it’s so delicious. Like, lick-the-bowl-clean. When you get these little wins and things just click, it’s like, ‘Oh, that’s brilliant’.”

The current season is producing fennel, beetroots, cucumbers, baby radishes, rocket, cranberry hibiscus, carrots, cabbages, turnips and kohlrabi. Joining the lamb are cattle and chickens. Everything else is sourced from the Highlands – for example Misty Valley mushrooms, Robertson potatoes and Moonacres rhubarb.

“There’s certainly a lot to play with,” says Robertson. “Everything coming out of the ground is beautiful. It feels very wintry. We want it to grow into the space. It’s not going to be rigid. Some things might only be available for perhaps a couple of days – and that’s the sort of beauty of the restaurant itself, sharing things that have been picked a couple of hours ago.”

Regional dining south of Sydney is having a good year. Shortly after The Restaurant at Three Blue Ducks Burradoo opens, Icebergs alum Alex Prichard will open Sara in nearby Berry.

“It’s nice when you get out closer to the source, where the stuff is grown,” says Robertson. “It’s really exciting.”

The Restaurant at Three Blue Ducks Burradoo opens at Burradoo Park Farm, 6 Railway Road, Burradoo, on Thursday June 18. 

@threeblueducks