Tatler Cafe - Hunter Valley

Sydney restaurants has nothing on Hunter Valley when it comes to idyllic settings!

Who knew that inside this unassuming restaurant, laid a dish that would take me in its arms, make my eyes roll to the back of my head and my toes curl in ecstasy? But you didn’t think I’d take you straight to the climax this quickly right?

Last week or so The Captain decided to get romantic and take me away to my favourite Hunter Valley Wine Country to celebrate the anniversary. I’m not one to celebrate clichéd ‘love-days’, but how can I refuse two days of country fresh air and copious amounts of wine? Of course spending two days sloshed and intoxicated is extremely tacky so a lightweight such as myself needs to eat and eat lots. This relaxing getaway also meant that we got to play with some new toys (i.e. restaurants) and boy, did we discover some worthy gems out here in wine country NSW.

The same building also houses the cellar door and the loft accommodation

To think I wasn’t going to pick this restaurant to try! Oh the humanity! Located in Lovedale, about a 5-10 minute drive from Pokolbin, Tatler Cafe sits in a rather idyllic setting, even on an overcast day. The outdoor fireplace in their back courtyard roars into life as we all settle in for what has to be the best lunch in weeks. On a Sunday lunch, the restaurant was constantly full and countless people were consistently being turned away. The biggest tip I can give you regarding any Hunter Valley restaurants on weekends: book, book, book.

Tatler WInes at the entrance of the cafe

The café sits alongside their vineyard and the Tatler Wines' cellar door is adjacent to the restaurant. I could literally feel the envious eyes of wine tasters who were obviously hankering for a table!

There are no separate courses (except for desserts of course) and as they explained to us newcomers, it’s a tapas style menu, where your selection of dishes will basically come out one after the other. Admittedly their menu is more like an array of entrees as they are far larger than a standard ‘tapas’ dish.

We decided on four – one pasta, one seafood, poultry and pork, which didn't turn out to be the best of ideas. Unless you're a big eater of course! I think three dishes for a couple with average appetites during lunch is more than ample, as us poor souls didn’t even have room to try dessert! Woe!

The only thing I can complain about is that the dishes came out in succession, and I would've preferred it if we could have more than one dish to enjoy at one time! It didn’t help that the wait time between dishes was hitting 10-15 minutes and we were constantly teased with the strong smell of sizzling garlic prawns! Let’s hope it was a one-off. But with food this good, we can probably forgive them for murder.

Pan-fried potato gnocchi in a smoked salmon and dill cream sauce $18

First up was a Pan Fried Potato Gnocchi in a Smoked Salmon and Dill cream sauce. Ever the Italian Stallion, The Captain loved this dish. I myself am not a lover of gnocchi but holy damn, I could be converted! Light, airy, fluffy with none of the starchiness or floury texture that inferior gnocchi sometimes have. The inside was so creamy and the way it melted over my tongue was truly sinful. The sauce itself was also devilishly creamy yet light and oh, how I sing when it comes to smoked salmon!

Lemon and thyme crusted scallops with lemoncello sauce $18

The delicious crust was crisp with a beautiful tang but I thought it overwhelmed the delicately flavoured scallops, which were a touch overcooked but thankfully, didn't descend into rubbery territory. However, I can only imagine how beautiful this tangy lemon crust would be on a robust fillet of fish.

Crispy skinned duck breast with kumara mash and orange sauce $30

Sound the fanfare, this has to be the best duck dish I’ve tasted in a long time! This was pure, unadulterated pleasure: toe-curling, sheet-pulling, eye-rolling, animal-moaning pleasure at its most hedonistic. This must be what it's like when you've struck culinary gold.

Sure the skin wasn’t all that crispy and the duck breast was slightly overcooked and lost a little of its moisture and tenderness. But that sauce! Oh that sauce! Syrupy, thick, sticky and sweet with an ambrosial touch of orange. Eat it with the sweet, creamy kumara mash and don’t be afraid to let loose with the ‘yes!’, ‘yes!’, ‘yes!!’. Meg Ryan had nothing on my set of pipes (and she was faking it). I literally could write a whole erotic masterpiece on this sweet duck.

I can't believe I'm still sitting here looking at it. This dish is seriously worth driving two and a half hours for.

Marinated slow roast pork belly with green beans and red wine sauce $24

I feel sorry for the pork to have to follow the duck breast! Pork belly deserves its own accolades but we were too full to enjoy it and you just knew it wasn't going to be as good as the duck. The skin unfortunately wasn't as crispy or crackled as it should be but that gorgeous salty pork fat flavour was! The red wine sauce was pleasant enough but it’s a bit hard to appreciate it while you’re still in the orange duck afterglow.

A model of restraint. I wanted to lick up the orange sauce from that plate like it was nobody's business. Oh come to Mama!

Painfully we had absolutely no room for dessert, which was a shame, as we were eyeing the mousse, lime tart and soft-centred chocolate pudding! Obviously we will return crying out for duck as well as the rest of the menu. After all where else am I going to get raunchy for poultry in Sydney? And that erotic masterpiece is going to need a sequel, no? Umm, dirty weekend indeed.


Tatler Cafe and Bar
477 Lovedale Road
Lovedale NSW 2321

Open for lunch Thursday to Tuesday & dinner Friday & Saturday nights. Closed Wednesday.

Bookings recommended. Phone (02) 4930-9139

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