Argyle Inn at Taralga listed as one of NSW’s top eateries
A restaurant not even two years old, situated in a backblocks pub tucked away in a small country town hardly anyone’s ever heard of has been listed as one of the top eateries in NSW. Warren Brown knows the place well.
Sydney Taste
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A restaurant not even two years old, situated in a backblocks pub tucked away in a small country town hardly anyone’s ever heard of has been listed as one of the top eateries in NSW.
Three years ago renowned Sydney chef, farmer and providore Hugh Wennerbom and investment banker and local cattleman Keith Kerridge took the plunge to rescue and revitalise the ailing Argyle Inn, a once-grand 1870s hotel.
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It was a “courageous” move — in the Yes Minister sense — with Mr Kerridge funding the operation and Mr Wennerbom bringing his remarkable experience and culinary panache to create a knockout rural dining experience.
I knew the old Argyle well. Before its spectacular rejuvenation it was a dark, dank, country pub harbouring two poker machines and usually fewer patrons. To bring new life to the old building would require breathtaking imagination and financial input.
After undergoing a 15-month refit The Argyle has now become one of the destination eateries in the state, listed in Delicious magazine’s top 100.
Word has got out and securing a table on a Saturday night is likely to see you on a waiting list. The pub’s accommodation is booked out for the rest of 2019.
“It’s only successful because of the food,” Mr Kerridge explains.
He and his wife, former Channel 7 CEO Maureen Plavsic, travelled throughout the UK on a kind of study-tour/pub crawl, taking on-board what made rural dining experiences in Britain successful, such as the country hotels owned by world-renowned chef Heston Blumenthal.
Mr Wennerbom and Mr Kerridge have created their version of refined dining country-style, using local produce wherever possible.
“The duck dish we have is particularly popular” Mr Wennerbom says. “It’s a smoked breast, confit leg in chickpea flour … it takes a week to prepare.”
But The Argyle is more than simply fine dining — the whole building is a maze of surprises filled with whimsical, quirky personal touches — Hugh’s dad’s glass geology specimen cabinet, colonial Australian art from Keith’s collection, and a wine bar based around a well discovered during renovations.