SA Weekend restaurant review — El Estanco at Greenock in the Barossa Valley

The stunning restoration of an old property in Greenock brings a splash of South American flair to the Barossa, writes Simon Wilkinson.

Lunch dishes at El Estanco, Barossa Valley. Picture: Meaghan Coles

The Barossa Valley, like many of its regional counterparts, is having a moment. Making hay while the sun shines, you could say, if that’s not too flippant a way to reference the COVID-inspired rush of people travelling regularly and more widely within the state’s borders.

This has coincided happily with a time of great energy and fresh ideas in the Valley. The old buildings and traditions are still respected and reinforced but a new generation of Barossans are putting them to uses their predecessors would never have dreamt of.

Take a place like El Estanco where a ramshackle cottage, general store and outbuildings in the main street of Greenock has been transformed into the home of a restaurant, bar and providore with a splash of Latin American flair.

For owners Abby Osborne and Julian Velasquez, it is a huge leap of faith. They started the business on the other side of the road, in far humbler surrounds, all the while keeping their eye on the bigger, dilapidated property. When it finally became available, they moved quickly, doing much of the work themselves. The final result is stunning in both quality and scale.

Octopus, grilled corn and green mango salad at El Estanco, Barossa Valley. Picture Meaghan Coles

The main dining space, including bar and display of house-baked breads and pastries, opens out to lawns and a paved courtyard where twin wood ovens are fired up for pizzas on Friday nights. A path leads past a stand of 100-year-old cactuses to the back of the plot where a purpose-built function space can hold larger crowds.

The main wing also accommodates coffee roaster Charlie Black and an expansive stainless-steel kitchen including two adjustable wood-fuelled grills.

Their smoke and char are pillars of the cooking at El Estanco. So are the signature ingredients (corn, pork, chillies et cetera) and flavours of Colombia, where Velasquez was raised, though this welcome point of difference has been softened over time.

The wood grill at El Estanco, Barossa Valley. Picture: Meaghan Coles

Not that there is anything wrong with dishes like eggplant, grilled until its flesh has turned to pulp, topped with hummus and an intense salsa of tomato and achiote, all brilliant to gloop on to slices of toasted sourdough. On the side, a big smear of mashed avocado, enlivened with a healthy squeeze of citrus, makes another good dip.

Pudgy croquettes of potato and the soft, paprika-rich Spanish sausage “sobrasada” are stacked on a puddle of roast capsicum aioli. Shredded manchego scattered over the top takes this right into the winding alleyways of Barcelona.

Chunky segments of octopus tentacles have been marinated and grilled but don’t have the perky, springy, sweet freshness that can make these suckers so good to eat. They are accompanied by a golden trio of charred corn on the cob, shredded green mango and a feisty mayo spiked with aji amarillo chilli.

Eggplant, avocado, humus at El Estanco, Barossa Valley. Pictures Meaghan Coles

The best seafood is to be found in the “Cazuela de Mariscos”, a combination of prawns, mussels, pipis and pieces of mackerel, all simmered in a creamy, saffron-scented broth. The cooking time of each element is bang on and the rarely-seen mackerel shines.

A grilled piece of porterhouse, crisscrossed with random char marks, comes with grilled cos lettuce, blistered cherry tomatoes, anchovy butter and green peppercorns from the family farm, a combination that seems more Parisian bistro than the other end of the world.

Smoked beetroot and goat’s curd is familiar, crowd-friendly ground but the addition of pine nuts, sultanas, charred beet leaves and almond-based soup/sauce ajo blanco takes it in a more exciting direction.

Cazuela de Mariscos, a Colombian seafood stew, at El Estanco, Barossa Valley. Picture: Meaghan Coles.

Desserts are displayed in a cabinet on the bar and range from indulgent eclairs and brownies to cakes and fruit tarts, all made in-house by Cheryse Zagler, who also produces terrific sourdough loaves.

Persian love cake is based on a yoghurt mixture that creates a dense wedge, fragrant with cardamom and studded with pistachios and almonds that are also scattered over the top. An apple galette has multiple layers of finely sliced fruit laid in an excellent puffed pastry shell, while a burnt butter and maple pecan tart looks the goods for next time.

El Estanco is also open daily for breakfast with choices such as “picada”, a rib-filling plate of chorizo, beef ribs, fried egg and the corn cakes known as arepa. Colombian through-and-through, it’s the kind of uncompromising cooking that will take this regional eatery to another level again.