‘I came for a barbecue and left with a restaurant’
This Blue Mountains eatery might have its genesis in a boozy lunch but it took two years to grow – literally – into the real thing.
The final leg of our drive from Sydney to Megalong at Lot 101 is like a long, slow, pressure release. The descent from Blackheath into the Megalong Valley is lined with gum trees, then fanning ferns, all flickering in the sharp, clear sunlight. City life fades further as we drive through pale gold and green-grassed countryside, laid out like a picnic blanket at the foot of those rocky Blue Mountains ridges. A final leg down a long driveway and we’re greeted by Mackenzie, a beautiful and excited border collie that happily leads us down the garden path to the front door. And … breathe.
The restaurant, in a beautifully restored homestead, sits low in the landscape, a humble witness to the towering escarpment where, way up the top, sprawls the historic Hydro Majestic Hotel. Megalong at Lot 101 may be down to earth but perhaps “of the earth” is a more apt description. It opened in May last year, but the seed was planted in 2021 when executive chef and co-owner Colin Barker was celebrating his wife Amber’s belated 40th birthday party on the property. Kristina Stefanova and James Schultz own Lot 101.
“James probably got me with a few too many shandies,” laughs Barker of the fateful night. “He walked me down to this old building and said: ‘What do you think?’ ” Barker was in: “I came for a barbecue and left with a restaurant.”
If only it was that simple. Two years of soil preparation, testing vegetable crops and other painstaking work are testament to the patience required to establish a true farm-to-table offering in a world where the phrase is used somewhat liberally.
Located on 600ha, Lot 101 comprises a farm as well as vegetable gardens and orchards. The restaurant sources about 85 per cent of the produce from the property and the remainder comes from neighbouring producers.
Formerly of Sydney’s Boathouse on Blackwattle Bay (which closed during the pandemic), Barker relishes the scope-widening joy – as well as the challenges (cockatoos are “public enemy number one”) – of the operation. His team now includes horticulturalists, a production manager, farm manager, and an agronomist who “looks after the cattle and the soil health” as part of the regenerative approach to farming. “We’re trying to basically show that you can do what we’re doing and have a positive impact on the land as well,” says Barker.
The interiors, designed by local firm Thornton & Blake, bring the landscape in via a nature-hued palette and, of course, those views. Sunshine pours through large windows, playing softly on the eggshell-coloured walls and eucalypt-toned accents. Hefty jars of pickles and preserves provide a pop of colour above the kitchen pass, a steady hum of activity in a room that radiates country calm. It all sets a sophisticated yet soothing stage for the real star of the show: the produce right outside those windows.
The set menu is inspired by the best of the bounty outside, changing weekly and sometimes daily, depending on what’s growing, or which cuts of meat (butchered and aged on site) are up next. The intention is set with the little precis on the menu: “Moving into the middle of spring, the farm is beginning to thrive. The garden is fragrant with herbs and umbellifers … tender leaves and herbs are ready to be picked at the whim of the chef.”
It details the purple glory of radicchio; how the lambs are reaching maturity after 11 months on the farm and how tomatoes are starting to take hold in the greenhouse. It’s a beautifully immersive way to draw diners into life on the property (it may be testament to the persuasive power of this place that I finally – after years of dallying – plant our backyard herb and veggie patch the weekend after my visit).
Service is warm and laidback in tune with the setting, and staff happily share how many hours ago the produce was picked from the soil; that I’ve made a “good choice” from the wine list, as they know the bloke down the road whose wine I’ve just ordered (a mellow, buttery-citrus 2019 Darragh chardonnay from Jon Darragh).
I kick off with a negroni sbagliatissimo, one of four Megalong negronis. Much harder to pronounce than to drink, it’s a thing of mellow beauty. Accompanying snacks include wafer-thin bresaola and chive-spiked cultured cream on a buckwheat blini; a little pot containing silken cauliflower creme studded with pickled purple cauliflower florets, crunchy slivers of trout skin, tender flakes of smoked trout and roe tumbled on top; and a simple plate of just-picked baby veg with a dollop of full-bodied mayo.
I can still taste the pleasing snap of the radishes and carrots “picked this morning about 10 metres away, behind here”, says the waiter, gesturing out to the garden.
The four-course set menu commences with leek, hit “pretty hard on the grill”, with a vinaigrette and goat curd. A piece of Murray cod cooked over coals comes swimming in a consomme and heady with fragrant flavour. Broad beans are brought to bright green perfection, contrasting with darker spears of spigarello.
A piece of Kanimbla heritage (Berkshire cross large black) pork shoulder has excellent crackling and plays beautifully with charred wedges of “Mal’s oranges” from down the road.
Dessert is a cloudlike choux bun, the lightest crunch giving way to white chocolate cream and ruby-red chunks of rhubarb, all freshened with leaves of native mint. We eat with our hands, lick our fingers, and lean back, coffees steaming in the softening light.
A stretch is called for, and Barker shows us his gardens, past the cool room stocked with meats at various stages of ageing. The idea is for diners to wander the grounds post-meal, soaking it all in.
Plans are afoot for on-site cabins to open in 12 to 18 months, allowing guests to really bed down the farm-to-fork experience. We’ve booked into The Machinery Shed at Logan Brae Orchard, the last remaining apple orchard in Blackheath (Megalong uses its apple juice in some cocktails). The “shed” is at the end of a long driveway, overlooking tree-topped escarpment views.
Formerly used for farm storage, owner Asia Upward could see its potential. Double doors open to reveal a sweeping, loft-like abode, homely with patterned rugs and cowhides, reclining velvet chairs and oversized greenery. The well-equipped kitchen is stocked with provisions (an outdoor firepit begs for toasted marshmallows) plus muesli for the morning (breakfast provisions have recently been expanded, and guests can collect their own eggs; a welcome picnic is also included). Meals can be pre-ordered and delivered; we have truly outdone ourselves at lunch, so snacks and a bottle of wine from the local pub suffice.
We tootle down to the “bush bath” beyond the gate, the hot water delicious on our skin against the encroaching evening chill. A Scrabble session on the expansive front deck is hijacked by the sunset. We surrender to the views as a veil of the last light drapes itself over the ridges, the silence broken only by birdsong and wind whispering through the trees.
The balance of rustic luxury is casually struck here; fairy lights woven around the roof beams twinkle above our bed like an indoor sky of stars, mirroring the glorious wild expanse beyond. Next morning we sip coffee and that famed apple juice, also blissfully drinking in the last of the serenity before winding our way back home.
In the know
Megalong at Lot 101 is on Peach Tree Rd, Megalong Valley. Open for lunch Saturday and Sunday; dinner Thursday to Saturday. The set menu is $185 a person; matched wines $115 a person; matched non-alcoholic drinks $75 a person.
Logan Brae Retreats has four accommodation options for one to six guests; from $900 a night in The Machinery Shed; $1200 a night for the three-bedroom Lodge.
Nikki Wallman was a guest of Megalong at Lot 101 and Logan Brae Retreats.
