Hentley Farm restaurant brings the burbs to the Barossa

Jenke Rd, Seppeltsfield, Barossa Valley, modern winery restaurant.

Hentley Farm restaurant is cunningly designed to look old. Picture: David Solm

HENTLEY Farm is a Barossa winery.

It is also a Barossa restaurant at a winery. And it's quite nice, as long as your expectation of a winery restaurant doesn't include too much grapey stuff. Connection to the soil, vineyards, people and all that. Me, I like my winery restaurants to remind me where I am, talk to me of, you know, agriculture. Even better when the food reflects the product.

Hentley Farm is more restaurant in a rural location than any emotional extension of the property's raison d'etre. And maybe that's deliberate. For all its timber beams and stone walls, Hentley could just as easily be in a genteel Adelaide suburb.

As I say, maybe it's deliberate, because chef Lachlan Colwill's ultra-contemporary food has a big-city feel, even if that city might be somewhere in Scandinavia.

Fond of textural games and a bit of theatre, Colwill gets away with it far better than most. Lots of crunchy stuff, dry ice, rugged earthenware and timber accoutrements ... it's an environmental dining experience.

So, on a glorious day, we drive through the Adelaide Hills to sit at an enormous, desirable timber table in a kind of gallery dining room, a new building cunningly designed to look old. There are two options: Du Jour - technically four courses but in reality about 10 events - and Discovery, around 20. All Colwill's food is light, clean, virtuous; I'm confident the "big one" is a treat if you have the hours. Whichever way you go - paired wines or your choice from their list - you'll be restricted to the house product. You could do a lot worse.

The written menu, which they give you as you leave, is one of those with a HEADLINE. And a sub-head. Like THE HUNGER GAMES: Catching Fire. In this case, TAPIOCA: Mushroom, pumpkin seed. Ya with me? TAPIOCA is a cracker, like an Indonesian krupuk, with mushroom floss and crushed pumpkin seeds. RICE is similar, with raw scallop and duck liver parfait. Both sing.

There's a little tartare with a quinoa cracker and corn puree, a nutty complement to the slightly piquant meat, over which they grate preserved duck egg at the table. And oysters, with a tart passionfruit dressing, that come to the table in a camp stove full of rosemary, concealing dry ice. Add hot water and ... It's an old trick, but an effective one, a bit of "wow". Just how much it influences decent oysters is debatable.

An earthen bowl of raw trevalla in a tangy lemon and parsnip cream finished with a nutty, puffed wild rice crust is positively rustic. Like healthy rice bubbles. It's a standout dish. Shredded raw squid with chive and linseed gets a leek broth. Too subtle.

Colwill's nod to heritage - a small piece of superb pork fillet - gets a local sherry/pork-bone glaze flavoured with curry leaf, his interpretation of sauerkraut, sunflower seeds and bechamel, poured at the table by chef. It's also a highlight.

From which point things get sweeter. EGG is layers of mango, rice espuma and poppyseed in an eggshell, a pastiche; FOLIAGE is a subtle honey ice cream in a fig leaf with pine needle granita. Did I say subtle? An assortment of delicious, sticky treats follows - from fortified wine marshmallows to off-piste choc-coated mini ice creams - which shows the lengths they go to make the experience memorable.

While floor staff wine knowledge is good, they need an assertive anchor to bring it all home. Hentley Farm is a good restaurant that could be a great restaurant. It could even be a great winery restaurant.

Address: Cnr Gerald Roberts Rd and Jenke Rd, Seppeltsfield
Phone: [phone] Web: hentleyfarm.com.au
Hours: Lunch Thu-Sun; dinner Sat
Typical prices: small tasting menu $80; large $155
Summary: As they say at Michelin, worth a detour
Like this? Try: Racine, Orange (NSW); Royal Mail Hotel, Vic
Rating: 3.5 out of 5