Category: Hunter Valley

Blaxland Inn Review:

In our annual trip to the Hunter Valley region, we went to Blaxland Inn restaurant. Since Zomato isn’t exactly a reliable source for this region, we decided to try them out based on their menu offerings.

Blaxland Inn is located in the main road leading to the centre of Pokolbin. When we were there, there was a renovation going on the building next door. The restaurant itself was looking quite vintage.

Wagyu Beef Carpaccio – $18 –White truffle oil, parmesan crumb and grissini

Beef carpaccio has always been my favourites for a long time. We loved the carpaccio at Blaxland Inn. The beef was melting in my mouth with quite a strong taste of truffle oil and parmesan.

House made char grilled flat breads – $10 – with warm olives and labna

This entrée is the perfect dish to be shared at the beginning of the dinner. They served a generous serving of olives with a nice blob of labna. There weren’t too much bread tho.

300g Rib Eye – $39 – with mashed potato and creamy brandy mushroom

Rib eye is one of the three steaks that they served in the restaurant. In addition to the steak, you get a complimentary side dish and sauce. There were 5 different sides and 4 sauces to choose from. They were $6 and $2 respectively if you would like a second serving. For the rib eye, my father opted for a more traditional match: mashed potato and mushroom sauce. I was not a big fan of the mushroom sauce.

250g Scotch – $36 – with roast garlic & rosemary butter and roasted cauliflower with za’atar spiced hummus, honey and almonds

Scotch fillet was the dish that I chose. As usual, I liked my steak medium rare. Instead of the sauce, I chose the roast garlic and rosemary butter. They gave three generous pieces. I don’t really want to count that calories!

The roasted cauliflower side that I ordered was so good that we ordered another one to be shared with the whole table!

Wild mushroom papperdelle pasta – $27 – with garlic, sage, lemon, almonds and parmesan cheese.

I didn’t really try the pappardelle but it was quite decent. For an extra $10, you could add 5 garlic prawns into the dish.

Chocolate Tart – $15

I couldn’t remember the exact dish that we ordered for the dessert, but I recalled that the ice cream was pretty good and the tart itself was quite dense. Considering that chocolate wasn’t my favourite thing, I wasn’t a big fan of this.

The final verdict for Blaxland Inn

We enjoyed our dinner at Blaxland Inn, especially the carpaccio and scotch fillet.

Do you think I should go?

There aren’t many restaurants to choose from in Hunter Valley, especially during weekdays. Blaxland Inn is probably one of the few we would visit.

Rating for Blaxland Inn:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 7.5 / 10

Price: $27 – $39 per main dish

Place: 7.5/ 10

Details:

2198 Broke Road, Hunter Valley, Pokolbin 2320

+61 2 4998 7550

Blaxland Inn’s Website

Review:

This week, we were in a pretty rare occasion that we actually decided to stay, rather than having a return trip to Hunter Valley for the weekend. After some discussions with the family, we decided to eat at The Cellar Restaurant in the Hunter Valley Gardens. It’s also because not a lot of restaurants are opened on Friday night.

 

House sourdough roll, Olio Mio olive oil, dukkah and beetroot relish – $3

The sourdough roll was accompanies by Hunter Valley’s Olio Mio olive oil. The usual suspects (dukkah and beetroot) completed the dish.

 

Yorkshire pudding with braised Wagyu skirt and horseradish crème fraiche – $6

We ordered the Yorkshire because a lot of people have been talking about it in Urbanspoon. The portion is pretty small, so sharing is NOT an option. All I can say is: It is awesome and it is a must-order dish!

 

Indian spiced kangaroo with sweet potato and onion bhajis, pickled carrots, lentil dhal and coriander yoghurt – $26

I am pretty sure there is no kangaroos in India. So, having an Indian spiced kangaroo was sort of interesting. What’s more interesting was that the taste actually worked!

 

Free range duck confit with beetroot and eschallot tart tatin and Seville orange marmalade sauce – $39

I only tried a little piece of the duck and my wife said it was lovely.

 

300gr Cape Grim grass fed sirloin with anchovy and parsley butter – $32

It was a bit of a gamble for me ordering this main dish considering that I am VERY particular about my steak. The sirloin steak that came out was beautiful and juicy. The anchovy and parsley butter enhanced the flavour but just enough that I could still taste the quality of the meat.

 

350gr Angus rib eye cutlet with Café de Paris butter – $36.50

My brother ordered the rib eye but he wanted more on the medium side.

In addition to the types of butter listed above, you can choose ten other sauces.

 

Brandy snap “taco”, lime and mascarpone parfait and spring berries – $16

When I am in a new restaurant I always look for something unusual to try. The dessert “taco” was something that I had my eyes set on since the start of the dinner.

My curiosity paid off early, the brandy snap “taco” was very pretty. The taste was also not disappointing.

 

Apricot sorbet, little meringues, candied oranges, kaffir lime and toasted coconut – $16

The apricot sorbet is actually more refreshing than the taco, but I am not a big fan of the apricot.

The final verdict for The Cellar Restaurant

Anyone who can cook the steak according to what I like is automatically in my good book and The Cellar Restaurant is one of them!

Did you know?

Hunter Valley is the wine country tourism for the state of New South Wales.

Rating for the Cellar Restaurant:

 

7.5 / 10

 

Taste: 7.5 / 10

Price: $32 – $39 for main course

Place: 7.5 / 10

 

Details:

Hunter Valley Gardens, Broke Road, Pokolbin NSW 2320

+61 2 4998 7584

http://www.the-cellar-restaurant.com.au/