Restaurant review — Lou’s Place by Callum Hann and Themis Chryssidis at Rowland Flat in the Barossa Valley
MasterChef’s Callum Hann has teamed with a family-run winery to create a restaurant that is full of character, writes Simon Wilkinson.
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On a drive through the heart of the Barossa Valley, just before you hit Jacob’s Creek, the home of Lou Miranda Estate is impossible to miss.
While the region’s other cellar doors are mostly understated heritage projects or sleek contemporary builds, here, right by the roadside, is a bluestone tower attached to a sprawling, flat-roofed construction that is somewhere between Tuscan villa and Mexican hacienda.
The property speaks of a man who takes pride in his heritage and has plenty of self-belief. A man with big dreams and a boundless appetite for life.
And a man, I’ve just discovered after dining at the restaurant recently opened in the estate, with a boundless appetite at the table. While Lou has left running the family company in the hands of his three daughters, his name and spirit live on in this new venture from MasterChef favourite Callum Hann and his business partner Themis Chryssidis.
These two young entrepreneurs aren’t afraid of dreaming big themselves. The pair were busy planning for Eleven restaurant and bar, under construction in the city, when the opportunity to open Lou’s Place came from left field, appealing particularly to Callum, who grew up in the Barossa.
They have taken over a lofty, open space that continues the distinctive personality of the exterior. A mosaic dog guards the front door. The spectacular curved bar is made from imported granite. Towering, arched windows look out to the garden.
The building isn’t that old but has a sense of history thanks to the timber boards and beams sourced from the demolition of a railway station and market.
While the Italian heritage of the Miranda clan is an obvious starting point for Lou’s Place, Callum packs ideas from across the Mediterranean into his menu, particularly the healthy, veg-and-grain-packed Middle Eastern cooking of Ottolenghi and co.
Creamy purees and crunchy nut-and-seed sprinkles abound. One can almost imagine Matt or Gary at Callum’s shoulder, whispering “Texture, texture, texture.”
The dining structure is clever, providing some financial certainty to management while keeping maximum flexibility. Three levels are available, running from a “Feed Me Quick” antipasto and pasta at $35 a head to the “Feed Me Like Lou” option that is a herculean undertaking. It starts with an antipasto spread of focaccia, warm olives, sliced charcuterie, lightly pickled vegetables and a thick, salty, house-made ricotta dressed with lemon zest, fresh oregano and olive oil.
Other than the Ortiz anchovies on toast, choices for the next, entree-sized course are all vegetarian. Baby beets come with roasted hazelnuts, hummus and potent black garlic. A double act of Jerusalem artichoke (the squidgy roasted flesh along with shards of crisped skin), shaved fennel pickle and herbs romp on a bed of baba ghanoush. Next up, from the trio of pasta options, are ricotta-stuffed envelopes of agnolotti, tossed in an anchovy butter with capers and walnuts, a combination that somehow falls short on the seasoning.
The prospect of two main-sized plates at this stage is daunting enough, before we see the two sides (roasted carrots with feta, chargrilled greens) that are part of the package and could easily stand alone. Note to Callum (and Lou): this is ludicrously generous.
Still, we’re not about to leave behind any of the fillets of tommy ruff that, when sparkling fresh like this, is a rival to any other fish. The thing with good tommies is that they taste, well, like something that comes from the sea rather than an aquatic version of chicken. Alongside a white bean puree, a coarse salsa verde and mixed lentil “tabouli”, they are truly spectacular.
The same goes for a boneless piece of lamb neck that makes the slow-roasted shoulders that are so popular elsewhere look like they have the texture of Cliff Young’s sandshoes. Cooked for 18 hours, to the point where every fibre and sinew has gone to jelly, the neck is paired with mint labne and a mix of freekeh and finely shredded cavolo nero.
The lighter-sounding of the two desserts is a riff on strawberries and cream, with the fruit represented as marinated slices, a sorbet and a sheet of pink chocolate.
To be honest, we’ve already left half the carrots, the greens and part of the mains, so the sweet stuff doesn’t stand a chance. But please don’t tell Lou.
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