When Bar Berkelo's first customers trotted up on horseback in search of a takeaway coffee, it was pretty clear the new northside eatery had opened in a part of Sydney with a bit of space.

Bar Berkelo swung open the barn doors in recent days, tucked into the former home of Buddha Belly, the nursery restaurant on Mona Vale Road in Terrey Hills.

Its owner-chef, Tom Eadie, who operates several northside bakeries under the Berkelo banner, isn't fond of the restaurant moniker for his latest project. "I prefer garden eatery," he says of Bar Berkelo.

Before Eadie left to set up his bakeries, he launched a number of venues for the Boathouse Group, which has a sprawl of venues from Patonga to Rose Bay. He kept in touch with Boathouse co-founder Andrew Goldsmith, who left the Boathouse in 2022 after a few rocky years and a change of ownership at the group.

Goldsmith and his wife, Pip, have popped up as the operators of The Palms, the nursery in which Bar Berkelo is planted. Goldsmith, who studied landscape design before venturing into hospitality, has gone back to his horticultural roots, while interior designer Pip Goldsmith's first love is also on show in the nursery shop.

"There's pots and furniture, we're waiting on a shipment ... from India," Andrew says.

Eadie has been pinching some of the native edibles the Goldsmiths are growing at the 1.5-hectare nursery for dishes such as custard infused with native ginger. "And I love the native oregano; it tastes a little bit like eucalyptus," Eadie says.

The lunch menu includes sourdough spaghetti with clams, gnocchi with kale pesto and blue-eye cod with tomato and capers, while brunch jumps from fresh fruit to smoked trout, leaving some room for a sprinkling of Berkelo Bakery items.

Open daily 9am-3pm (opening for dinners in a few months).

327 Mona Vale Road, Terrey Hills, barberkelo.com.au