TasWeekend Indulge: Deloraine Bush Inn sets bar high

The Brewhouse offers all the faves from chicken parmas to top-notch steaks but the thing that makes this country pub’s menu really stand out is its Italian bent, writes TasWeekend food writer Alix Davis

The Bush Inn’s Chicken parma which is elevated with house-smoked mozzarella and a pancetta crumble. Picture: ALEX LEE

Winter’s chill is in the air and it snowed on the Western Tiers at lunchtime, but when we tumble through the door of Deloraine’s Bush Inn Brewhouse the open fire is blazing and the dining room is buzzing. Our group of six – a little saddle sore after a day’s cycling around the district – is quickly led to a table (right by the fire – yes!) and we fall gratefully onto the repurposed bus seats that make up the banquette seating.

We dispatch one of our party to order drinks from the bar – well-stocked with Tasmanian craft beers and local wines as well as a whisky list that’s comprehensive without being overwhelming – and get to examining the menu.

While the Bush Inn Brewhouse offers some familiar favourites – chicken parma, a Cape Grim steak and chunky chips, it is a country pub after all – there’s a distinctive country Italian bent to the menu that includes pizzas made with a 125-year-old sourdough starter, hand-minced meatballs and housemade gnocchi. What’s going on?

“We had plans to revamp the place in about 10 years,” says Belinda Sheehan, whose husband Michael grew up in the pub which has been owned and operated by his parents Lyn and Peter for 35 years.

The Bush Inn Brewhouse’s Cape Grim flat iron steak with a side of chunky fries. Picture by ALEX LEE

“But then COVID hit and we thought we might as well do it now.”

They renovated the dining room, exposing the original bricks and highlighting old beams to create a space that’s slick yet unpretentious and inviting.

“We wanted it to feel really friendly – like you were having dinner at a friend’s house,” Sheehan says.

The Bush Inn’s Seared steak pizza which features a good kick of chilli. Picture: ALEX LEE

In addition to tables with banquette seating for larger groups, there are plenty of smaller settings and high tables for those who’d like to be closer to the well-stocked bar.

After a day on our bikes, two garlic pizzas ($16) are in order to kick things off and we get one each of the tomato sauce and the creamy garlic sauce. Our table is evenly split as to a favourite, but everyone agrees that the bases are excellent with a thick, chewy, perfectly blistered crust and a thin base. A few of us double down with pizza for our mains – the seared steak pizza ($24) has a good kick of chilli, while the pepperoni with olives and slow-roasted onions ($22) is a little more mellow.

Since the reopening the kitchen team has been focusing on smoking, fermenting, preserving, cheesemaking and curing and the results are well worth it.

The Bush Inn’s Chicken parma which is elevated with house-smoked mozzarella and a pancetta crumble. Picture: ALEX LEE

House-smoked mozzarella and a pancetta crumble (rather than the usual slice of deli ham) elevates the chicken parma ($22) beyond its humble origins and the generously sized yet delicately textured meatballs are hand-minced using Cape Grim beef and a special blend of spices. They’re served on a tangle of spaghetti and loaded with finely grated parmesan. Our youngest member, a notoriously slow eater, opts for the homemade gnocchi with burnt butter and sage sauce ($18) and a side of chips ($8.50) – you can choose whether they’re fried in dripping or vegetable oil. And on this occasion, both dishes disappear so rapidly I miss my chance to sample more than one pillowy soft piece of gnocchi.

The Bush Inn’s Roasted portobello pizza. Picture: ALEX LEE

While mains are served with a side salad (no iceberg lettuce here), we order additional sides – broccolini tossed with lemon, chilli and parsley; honey-roasted baby carrots; and heirloom tomatoes dressed with pesto (all $8.50) – that are all worthy of a second helping.

With its proximity to the rowing course at Lake Barrington, the Bush Inn Brewhouse is a popular choice with families visiting for regattas as well as cycle tourists and locals. The venue is open seven nights a week and on each of our three visits so far, it’s been full of satisfied patrons.

The Bush Inn’s Chocolate fondant pudding. Picture: BELINDA SHEEHAN

Weary cyclists though we are, dessert is not to be missed and we dig into a satisfyingly molten chocolate fondant pudding ($14), a wobbly panna cotta sweet with strawberries and a single-serve tiramisu that comes in a little terracotta flowerpot complete with chocolate “dirt”.

Some hardier members of our crew enjoy a whisky from the well-curated list of Tasmanian labels before we reluctantly leave the warmth of the fire and head into the snow-tinged night.