Three Blue Ducks Bellingen: A New Destination for Foodies
This NSW northern rivers town is all abuzz with the arrival of a big name in the restaurant scene.
With a neighbouring district called the Promised Land on Never Never Creek and just a short drive up Waterfall Way to a Gondwana rainforest where the dinosaurs roamed, Bellingen, or “Bello” to its friends, is destined to be a place of inspiration. So it was for one-time residents, author Peter Carey and pianist David Helfgott – the latter on whose life the film Shine was based. Now a new wave of cuisine creatives has arrived to bolster the town’s already healthy culinary credentials.
For travellers on the Pacific Motorway, the Bellingen area, south of Coffs Harbour, has that “half way” sense of achievement; it’s 515km from Sydney and 420km from Brisbane. Inland from the highway in pastures at the foot of the Dorrigo escarpment, Bellingen sits on the Bellinger River. Folklore has it that a government draughtsman mistook the final “n” for an “r”, hence the discrepancy between town and waterway but conformity seems to be of little concern for the laid-back locals.
On a startlingly clear Saturday morning, Hyde St is alive with shoppers, cafe dwellers and dog walkers but, sitting on the footpath, the grandchildren of those at the dawning of the Age of Aquarius make music. Nearby, challengers play chess and others browse the Bellingen Book Nook. Happily, the grand Hammond and Wheatley 1900 commercial building survives as an emporium, but with updated wares. Shopfront posters give notice of a host of music events, an “ecstatic dance”, work wanted for electricians and a balloon twister and, for sale, Poll Hereford bulls, 22-months old and “very quiet”. There are frequent reminders Your Forests Need You. I’m fitting right in here.
The big buzz is the opening of a Three Blue Ducks outpost at The Lodge Bellingen on the outskirts of town, on the way to the Dorrigo National Park. Note the restaurant’s location at the luxury digs, set in 6.5ha of gardens with views of pastures across to the escarpment; book in and peruse the inviting drinks list with ease. Three Blue Ducks is the culinary venture of three surfing mates with a shared interest in sustainable food. They started with a cafe 13 years ago at Bronte, in Sydney’s east, but now have outlets in Rosebery (Sydney), Melbourne, Nimbo (not far from Gundagai at the northern end of Kosciuszko National Park) and Byron Bay. Think TV shows such as MasterChef and My Kitchen Rules but owners Darren Robertson, Mark LaBrooy and Andy Allen have also appeared together in a Three Blue Ducks series in 2021 in which they travelled Australia meeting local producers and cooking up a storm. With head chef Julien Vasseur, they’ve scoured Bello and environs for suppliers for their beef, chickens, vegetables and beverages.
The restaurant is relaxed in mood, with an 80-seat dining room opening to a terrace that accommodates another 100 diners (undercover and heated). The menu is, in the 3BD way, no-frills and, as Darren (on the premises the night of my visit) says, “showcases local flavours and draws from some of the favourite dishes we’ve cooked during our travels”. I’m thinking those travels have a decided Asian bent and am keen on the pork belly bao buns with Oomite hoisin and pickles for starters, after (of course) a plate of succulent oysters. Try also the master stock caramel chicken with lime and a side of sour cucumber, garlic, ginger, fungi and sesame crunch. For dessert, a coconut and kaffir lime rice pudding with pineapple and macadamia is a delightful surprise.
After a satisfying dinner how nice it is to slip into the warm comfort of my superior king guestroom a few steps away at The Lodge. The 30-guestroom renovated boutique accommodation also offers glamping tents, family rooms and a two-bedroom mountain retreat. My guestroom is spacious and neutral in tones with olive offsets. The bedroom opens to a lawned terrace and I have kitchen facilities and a decent-sized bathroom. Two swivel tub chairs enhance the comfort, but the bed is a dreamy work of art. Maybe that final negroni helps.
A few other restaurant openings have locals and visitors enthusiastic about the growing dining scene and they are putting their money where their mouths are. Each place I visit is lively with diners, even midweek. At Bruno’s on Oak St, in an original cottage with outdoor extension, the flavour is Mediterranean. A fireplaces glows, the service is impeccable and the menu is complete with delectables. I’m going the “feed me” route with chef selections and (do we keep it a secret?) discover the bargain of a lifetime. For about $60 I am served a “lost-count” number of dishes including a raviolo with duck egg, hazelnut and shaved truffle. Coming up, slow-roasted lamb ribs with zhoug (a sauce with bite) and pickled onion. House pickles are a must.
On “restaurant row”, Church St, find Charlie’s, a rustic Italian newcomer that is proud of its sourdough pizza and handmade pasta. It joins another arrival for simple, Italian-styled food and wine, Osteria Fiume, which means river in Italian. The spaghetti with sardines, pine nuts and chilli is a winner.
Church and Hyde streets are busy with cafes, many with outdoor seating, catering to the brunch crowd and I head to Black Bear, where proprietors Ed and Maree, who left city life for Bellingen to start a family, revel in the local produce they serve. Ed’s logistics background helps meet the tricky demands of running a food business in a small town with seasonal visitors.
I have been on a Peter Carey riff since arriving in Bellingen. His life in Promised Land provided “vision” for my favourite novel of his, Oscar and Lucinda, so I’m on the 15-minute drive to the village of Gleniffer where the once-threatened removal of a wooden church inspired the book’s (and later film’s) memorable scene of a glass church being floated along the Bellinger River. And there the source of inspiration still stands, praise be.
In the know
Guestrooms at The Lodge Bellingen from about $265 a night.
thelodgebellingen.com.au
Three Blue Ducks is open for dinner only, Monday and Thursday, lunch through dinner Friday-Sunday, and breakfast Saturday-Sunday.
threeblueducks.com
brunosbellingen.com.au
visitnsw.com
Also try
Head west on Waterfall Way and twist and turn up the escarpment to Dorrigo Rainforest Centre where an observation deck offers a splendid panorama of one of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia. This vista is of one of the most ancient forests on Earth. Take a tailored adventure with ecologist Mark Graham, of Bellingen Nature Tours, who knows secret locations and has tales galore about the local plants and animals, from spotted-tail quolls to cutest-of-cute greater gliders. He is passionate about creating the Great Koala National Park to connect 175,000ha of state forests to existing national parks in a bid to save our emblematic species.
Graham Erbacher was a guest of The Lodge Bellingen and Destination NSW.
