A short drive from the Illawarra are our close neighbours, the Southern Highlands, with a convenient entry point via the Illawarra Highway through to Robertson. My friends and I drove past the Robertson Pie Shop without stopping (willpower is required), towards the main street of Robertson and its interesting foodie haunts.
I have written previously of Moonacres Kitchen, where you can feast on the outstanding pastries cooked on-site and take home one of the several varieties of sourdough loaves (arrive early to avoid disappointment).
Stay for breakfast, brunch or lunch, and buy some house-made salami, preserves and pickles to have later with your sourdough. Turn up at the Kitchen on a Saturday morning and chances are you will be able to buy produce fresh from the Moonacres Farm near Fitzroy Falls.
Across the road from the Moonacres School (their cooking school) in the main street, you will find Pecora Cheese and Wine, a tiny store that is the retail outlet for Pecora Dairy, the award-winning artisan sheep milk dairy. Here you can sample the cheese, feast on the charcuterie board and have a glass of wine or local beer in the Euro-inspired venue.
From Robertson, we headed towards Bowral and the historic Retford House estate where, lo and behold, there is another Moonacres venue, Hearth. Making good use of the organic produce from Moonacres Farm and other local growers, it provides much to savour. While you’re here, take a tour of Retford House from one of the National Trust volunteers or just wander the grounds on your own.
For us, it was on to Bowral for lunch. The Imperial Hotel has an extensive bistro menu and a huge range of wood-fired pizzas. The three of us shared two meals – the fried cauliflower burrito bowl and the fried chicken and slaw. Being a warm day, choosing from the 20 local and imported beers, we couldn’t go past the Willow XPA on tap by Mittagong locals Eden Brewery. We’ll visit the brewery another day.
I am unable to forgo the opportunity to browse a good kitchen shop, and Bowral has one of the best in Cookshop Plus. I could have spent hours in there.
To complete the round trip, we made our way home the quick way, via the Hume Highway and Picton Road.
