An iconic hills hotel is reborn
THE new design of the Uraidla Hotel celebrates the heritage of this market gardening town.
VISITORS to the reborn Uraidla Hotel might find they get a sore neck looking up at the mix of light fittings that are part of the pub’s quirky country charm.
Table lamps with shades looking like pleated skirts are attached to a table and suspended upside-down from the ceiling.
Globes hang from an old windmill that proprietor Julie Petersourced from a station in the Far North.
Elsewhere, the ceiling has gone completely, creating a void so sitting rooms on the first floor have a view of the bar below.
“We wanted it to be a cosy, homely, welcoming traditional Aussie pub that’s a little bit quirky,” Julie says of the historic hotel that she and husband Edbought after it had been closed for four years.
The layout now includes the original front bar, a second, more elegant den with pressed metal ceiling and leadlight, and a dining space for 60 people.
The new design celebrates the heritage of this market gardening town – a link that will be even stronger when a second stage, including a glass conservatory looking over vegetable patches and beyond, is completed next year.
ChefAnna Kittel, who has switched from the kitchen at the nearby Crafers Hotel, also owned by the Peters, has put together a menu with a “main crop” including rabbit, pancetta and ale pie, Greenslades chicken curry and roasted butternut with chard and ancient grains.
Daily specials on a blackboard will feature whatever is freshest and best.
Julie says most produce will be sourced from growers and artisans in the surrounding Hills region, while the wine list features labels from nearby Basket Range.
1198 Greenhill Rd, Uraidla, 8390 0500, uraidlahotel.com.au