Top NSW Destination Diner Zin Food & Wine House Calls Final Service

Twelve years is undoubtedly a good innings for an owner-operator hospitality business. The job is highly physical, and the demands extend into every facet of life. And it’s for that reason that rather than sadness, news of a closure can sometimes be a warm celebration of everything that was achieved. That’s the energy that’s shining through today, as the Zin Food & Wine team calls its final service.

In 2014, in a corrugated iron farmhouse-like space neighbouring Mudgee’s Lowe Family Vineyard, chef Kim Currie opened the restaurant as The Zin House with her husband David Lowe. “Zin has achieved everything we set out to do and more,” Currie shared in a statement. “Highlighting our region, sharing our love of uncomplicated food and wine of outstanding quality, and creating a space for people to connect. From day one our ethos has been to cook simply with what we grow. I wrote on the office wall in large letters, ‘generosity, authenticity, quality’, and these three words always guided how we ran the restaurant.”

In a dining room hedged by fruit trees, Currie’s five-course set-menu – powered by her kitchen-garden – brought the people in. And then, late last year, the couple pivoted the concept to Zin Food & Wine House, with breezier, share-style dining. The celebration of and reliance on the garden outside continued, the slow-dining style remained, and Currie continued to follow the mantra on her wall.

“For most of my career I have fed multitudes of people in the intense environment of professional hospitality,” said Currie. “I’ve gradually started longing to simply cook for the joy of it, without the rigour, structure, demand, and complexity of the hospitality industry, and without my own expectations of excellence.”

The final service at Zin Food & Wine House is in late December, so there is still plenty of time to dine at the celebrated NSW restaurant. At just under four hours’ drive from Sydney, and with plenty of exceptional wineries nearby, it’s an ideal weekender. But, if you can’t make it before then, have confidence in the continuation of the Lowe cellar door and nearby Althea by Zin, Currie’s bakery in town.

“This decision to close the doors on this chapter is a hard one, but ultimately feels right,” said Currie. “As parents, grandparents, and business owners, we are at a stage where we want to reprioritise our time … I can’t wait for the exciting possibilities that come with this new chapter: cooking creatively when inspiration arises, new projects in the kitchen, writing stories and coming up with new recipes to share.”

Zin Food & Wine House’s final service will be Monday December 21, 2026.

@thezinhouse