Our understated country waitress is effortlessly beautiful. She gestures casually out one window to show where the 2014 Logan Sauvignon Blanc ($12/glass) comes from, then the other to indicate the origins of the Pressed Duck ($36) with lentils and heirloom carrots.
Mayfield Garden is a grand folly. When the opportunity arose to visit the public-facing segment of billionaire Garrick Hawkins’ Oberon weekender for an Autumnal Harvest Feast, I leapt at the chance.
"My father is now 99 and we were in his biodynamic garden picking for the restaurant this morning," explains winemaker Sue Carpenter. She’s just taken me through arguably the best tasting I’ve had in the Canberra Wine District, and has moved on to selling the restaurant.
Lured in by their award-winning artisan bacon, I came to be at Canberra’s latest dining destination, Farmhouse, a mere week after they opened. Youthful Chef Brendan Walsh has produced a mature menu that reflects his time with Alain Ducasse at London’s Dorchester and at Melbourne’s Vue de Monde.