Templar Lodge

Chef Emma Handley has transformed a gloriously creaky old Masonic lodge just outside Mount Beauty into the north east’s newest dining hotspot, cooking food she loves to eat.

Braised beef cheek.

181 Kiewa Valley Hwy, Tawonga

[phone]

templarlodge.com.au

There’s salumi with pickled veg and haloumi with edamame and masterstock pork with marbled tea egg. You might find green-tea noodles with shiitake mushrooms and a hefty ribeye with salsa verde or a Mexi-spiced chicken with black beans.

Chef Emma Handley (Villa Gusto; Astra, Falls Creek) has transformed a gloriously creaky old Masonic lodge just outside Mount Beauty into the north east’s newest dining hotspot, cooking food she loves to eat.

While the peripatetic menu’s inspiration racks up the frequent flyers, the food miles in its execution are considerably less, with the best of the High Country on show on the plate.

You might find a bright braise of button and field mushrooms served with soupy pearl couscous, the inspired addition of orange lifting the lot.

The best of the High Country is on show on the plate.

Or hefty meatballs in a fig and sour cherry sauce, the sweet riffing off the meat with pomegranate and pine nuts and a dollop of labne adding a Middle Eastern accent to warming effect.

But many come just for pasta, for Handley has some renown round these parts and the cavatelli with ’nduja and chilli-spiked pangrattato is a comforting case in the affirmative.

A well-stocked cellar is a drawcard, with local heroes joined by a few Frenchies for good measure, and beers from Beechworth, Mount Beauty and Bright.

The secret’s out that Templar Lodge offers High Country comfort that’s all class.

Must-eat dish: Cavatelli with ’nduja

Chef: Emma Handley

Cuisine: Italian/contemporary

Open: Lunch Sun 12pm; dinner Thurs-Sat 6pm

Price: $$

Bookings: Yes

BYO: No

Instagram: @templar.lodge