5 ways to enjoy ‘Europe’ in the Southern Highlands of NSW

From comfort food to cool climate wines, quaint villages, rolling hills and boutique book stores, a weekend escape to the Highlands oozes with decadence and old world romantic charm.

Although the region is known for it’s distinct English style countryside, the constantly evolving food and wine scene gives a taste of not only the UK, but also Italy, France and even Scandinavia – without getting out the passport.

So, if you’re in need of injecting a little bit of the Northern Hemisphere into your life, but your bank balance or annual leave won’t allow you to take that 24 hour flight to London, Paris or Rome, follow my lead with the next best thing and escape on a whim for a weekend in the NSW Southern Highlands.

Here is my ‘must do’ food and wine guide to doing the Southern Highlands:

1. Have a French inspired long lunch:

Feel as if you’re in a cute French countryside restaurant with a long lunch at Eschalot Berrima, located in the beautiful village of Berrima.

Set in a heritage sandstone cottage, this hatted restaurant manages to blend elegant dining with a comfortable home-style setting.

The contemporary French-Australian menu is pretty heavenly, making the ‘what to pick’ decision incredibly difficult.

After carefully analysing the menu, I can personally vouch for the seared scallop, done in a scallop mousse, wild nettles, tarragon and pasta verde for an entrée, followed by the perfectly cooked local chicken with salted eggplant, jamon and garden squash for a main (don’t forget a cheeky side of Eschalot’s version of onion rings!).

2. Taste Scandinavia at Biota Dining

Biota’s slightly quirky approach mixes Scandinavian interior design, with paddock-to-plate style produce, making for a fun and creative night out.

Head Chef James Viles sources much of the menu’s ingredients from the onsite garden and local farms. The menu is constantly changing to fit in with the changing seasons, with the ‘Cooler Months’ being the current option on offer.With a choice of either a seven or five-course degustation, the five course with matching wines was my preference: the portion sizes were perfect and we left feeling satisfied and not overly full.

While all of the five-dishes were degustation goodness, the pasture fed beef cooked over coals, combined with Jarrots 2012 Cabernet Merlot Franc from Orange really hit the spot for me.

Biota’s five-course ‘Cooler Months’ degustation with matching wines (as of April 2016):

Five-courses of creativity and deliciousness at Biota Dining

3. Escape to the ‘UK’ countryside

Ok so it’s not quite Europe (being its next door neighbourhood is close enough!) however you can’t have a trip to the Southern Highlands without getting the English countryside feels.

Get into the spirit and book in for the High Tea with Centennial Bubbles option at Centennial Vineyards

With beautiful vineyard views, it’s the ultimate place to treat both your savoury and sweet tooth, with layers of Arancini balls, ham and egg sandwiches, scones with jam and warm pumpkin soup; matched with the Centennial Bong Bong (meaning water!) Sparkling Wine.

After getting your sugar high on at High Tea, make sure you pop by the cellar door for a taste of the delicious wine on offer – the Centennial Chardonnay is my top pick, combining the perfect blend of butter and oak flavours.

4. When in Rome (or Bowral)

Located in the centre of town in Bowral, arrive with an empty stomach ready for a traditional good old fashion Italian meal. Onesta Cucina translates into ‘honest kitchen’ and as a family run restaurant, it really delivers on making you feel warm and comfortable, while enjoying hearty and flavourful dishes.

Although the menu changes on a regular basis depending on the produce available, I can personally vouch for both the soft shell mud crab with salsa verde and the 16 hour braised beef cheeks with vegetables and a shiraz sauce – both are dishes you truly won’t want to end.

What’s also great and pretty rare these days (especially in Sydney!) is that Onesta allows for BYO wine (with a $10 corkage fee) – meaning you can pick up a fab bottle of wine from one of the many cellar doors in the Southern Highlands – like Tertini Wines, Centennial Vineyards and Bendooley and enjoy it over your evening meal.

Hot tip: treat your inner child with the famous Onesta Sundae, filled with honeycomb, berries and chocolate goodness. I’m not usually a dessert person (I prefer to fill up on entrée and mains) however after recommendation I gave it a taste, and it didn’t disappoint 😉

Bendooley Estate Berrima:

Ok so Bendooley Estate probably has more of an English countryside feel to it if anything, HOWEVER when it comes to Italian cuisine, the wood fire pizzas and linguine with blue swimmer crab, chili, garlic and lemon on the menu are both deserving of a mention mixed with the Bendooley 2015 Pinot Gris.

After carbing up on pizza and pasta, drop into the Bendooley Cellar door, just next to the main restaurant.

As a new addition to Bendooley Estate in late 2015, the cellar door is cozy and character filled, with a rustic feature piece style fireplace in the middle of the room, making it the perfect place to settle in on a chilly Autumn afternoon with a Bendooley 2015 Pinot Gris, which while young, has a fresh pear and honey taste to it which goes down a treat.

How Saturday afternoons should be spent, sipping Bendooley Pinot Gris

5. Retreat to an English country manor:

After a long hard day of wining and dining, Peppers Craigieburn Bowral, located just five minutes out of the centre of Bowral is the ultimate countryside retreat.

Retreat to the ‘English’ countryside with a stay at Peppers Craigieburn Bowral.

Have you been to Bowral? Tell us about it below.

• Stay at Peppers Craigieburn Bowral
• Flights to Sydney
• Sydney hire cars

Sarah travelled as a guest of Destination NSW