Greetings people! 

I wouldn’t call myself a foodie. I was diagnosed as a celiac back in 1999, before eating gluten free was a “thing”! So, for the past 20 years I’ve seen food as a survival thing more than an enjoyment thing! When I eat out, I stick to a small list of restaurants that understand what GF means...so I know I won’t be feeling like crap 12 hours later.

In Surry Hills, even though I was surrounded by dozens of amazing restaurants with incredible food, I limited myself to a handful of restaurants that had great GF food and fantastic service.

My breakfast place was Single O on Reservoir Street in Surry Hills, and I still miss their coffee and the amazing people who work there (hi guys if you’re reading this 😊). And for dinner, my favourites were Pasta Emilia on Riley Street and Nour up on Crown Street (both short walks from home).

For lunch...there was no competition. My favourite place was Grill’d burgers up on Crown St in Surry Hills. I love Grill’d. I’m obsessed with it. The food is delicious and the staff there were so damn friendly. I ate it all the time. At least twice a week. If I felt guilty and thought I was going there too often, I would order the Super Power Salad instead of a burger. My favourite burger for many years was the Simply Grill’d on a GF bun...because I’m a simple man! But over the past year I’ve been ordering the Beyond Garden Goodness on a GF bun. It’s a vegetarian (or vegan) burger and it was even better than a meat burger. You must give it a try. It will convert the most ardent meat lover. 

Once I find something I like....I stick to it. I don’t change my routine unless something pretty significant happens. Like a menu change, staff changes or I get thrown out. The latter doesn’t happen very often, but it has happened.

I used to live in San Francisco, and my go to restaurant was a sushi place in Cole Valley near the corner of Cole and Carl, that I’d frequent 3 or more times a week. One night they refused to serve me as they were worried about mercury poisoning. I was sort of impressed that they took the health of their customers so seriously, but when you’re hangry, you get annoyed. So I left, and never went back...although I wanted to go back and say thanks....and order some more sushi! 

We’re not blessed with a Grill’d burger restaurant in the Southern Highlands, so lunch has become a bit of a quandary for me. And there’s only a few places in Mittagong within walking distance, so I’ve been on a mission to find the best lunch place in the NSW Southern Highlands.

As you’ve gathered by my obsession with Grill’d, I don’t care for fussy food. It’s got to be delicious, with great service and a little bit of ambiance.  When it comes to ambiance, you can’t go wrong sitting by a vineyard on a beautiful highland's day, enjoying a glass of wine and a fresh wood fire pizza! Artemis Wines is only a 10-minute drive from Nattai Lodge, and it is a pretty special place. You do need to make a reservation, which means you must plan your lunch. But you can sometimes get lucky and rock up after 2pm and find a table. The staff are lovely, and I’ve become a huge fan of their cool climate Pinot Noir. I even love to go there after lunch for one of their local cheese and charcuterie boards.

It’s the perfect way to relax on a Sunday afternoon, and it’s not that expensive (unless you have a driver and knock back a few bottles). The only negative, is sometimes there are a lot of children around. So if you have children...fantastic. If you can handle children...also fantastic. But if you’re after a quiet lunch by the vines...you may find yourself sitting amongst a few crazy kids. It doesn’t happen all the time, but just a warning. Oh, and there’s a dirt road leading up to the winery, so if you’ve got a super low sports car, you may want to leave it at home and take something with a little more clearance. 

A little further afield, but also with a great outlook is the Sutton Forest Inn. It’s only a 30-minute picturesque drive from Nattai Lodge (through Bowral, Bundanoon and Moss Vale), and it’s best to book here also. We have rocked up and got a table, but the best tables are out on the veranda. I would hate to be stuck inside...especially on a beautiful day. You get a beautiful view across the hills and up to the crest of the hill opposite, where Mr and Mrs Kidman live sometimes. They also have some amazing tables out on the grassy area, but for the life of me, I don’t know they don’t serve food out on the grass. You can only take drinks out there.

They also don’t offer table service, so you need to order food at the cashier and alcohol at the bar...which is a bit of an inconvenience. But the food is delicious, and the staff are lovely (and a little quirky 😊). They have some great steaks and some vegetarian options, offer their burgers on a GF bun and have a yummy, decadent cauliflower cheese. While I don’t think the buns burgers are as good as Grill’d, they are delicious. I also loved their vegetarian and GF moussaka but I think it’s a special and not offered all the time. But check out their specials when or if you go. And being a pub/inn, they also offer a pretty mean chicken schnitty (Rob’s favourite). 

On the way to Sutton Forest, you’ll drive past the newly re-opened Briars! It had a kitchen fire about 3 years ago and only opened again in April this year. It must have been a big fire!!! It looks resplendent in pink, sitting on the hill. And the outdoor patio area is also quite lovely. It can get a little cold on a windy autumn or winter’s day, but they do have outdoors heaters! But I must admit, the indoor area looks like the common buffet area on a cruise ship. Not a lot of character at all. They have some beautiful nook areas near the log fires, and these are lovely if you can grab one. We enjoyed a pre and post dinner drink in front of the fireplace and it was amazing.

They are known for their “famous Briars potato bake” (apparently)! It is yum and it’s also GF...so a bonus! They also offer pizzas on a GF base...so another bonus (and it was quite delicious)! The highlands sausages main was also a hit with our friends, especially on the freezing cold winter’s day we went. If you can get a table under the pergola, I would recommend lunch at the Briars. And as with most places in the highlands, you also need to book a table in advance. 

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a pretty simple guy! I like good old fashioned pub food in a characterful location, where I don’t have to dress up too much (that means I can go straight from the garden to the table without too much cleaning). You can do that in the previous 3 places, but you can’t do that at Harry’s on Green Lane in Bowral. Well, I’m sure you can, but there is a little pressure to look your best when you go to Harry’s! There are a lot of Sydney folk who go to Harry’s for a special occasion, and in winter, that means there are a lot of people in puffer jackets!

I did search for some constructive things to say about Harry’s....but I couldn’t fault them. The food is delicious. The staff are super lovely and helpful (especially with food allergies). The wine is superb. And the location is beautiful (European chic meets Los Angeles boho)! We had the mushroom and truffle soup and Scotch Eggs as starters and asparagus risotto and crab linguini as mains plus two glasses of wine and it came to around $170. So, it’s not a place we will go to every week but it’s a place to celebrate a special occasion. And you need to book a few weeks in advance. You can also kill three birds with one stone and visit Dirty Janes and The Orangerie on Green Lane either before or after your lunch. And btw, we didn’t ditch dessert because we’re healthy and watching our weight. Rob indulged in some decadent donuts from The Chubby Wombat van, that sits in the Dirty Janes carpark most Sundays!

But my favourite place in the highlands is down the road from Nattai Lodge. Walking distance if nobody puts up their hand to be designated driver. It doesn't have the best street presence (a small red door below their neon sign) and doesn't have the best outlook (although I do like the view to Mt Alexandra from the outside seating, but I’m a little biased as we do live on the slopes of it), but Hendriks Mittagong has that something special that makes a restaurant stand out from the crowd.

The food is delicious, the décor is inviting and stylish, whether you sit inside or outside, and the staff are bloody lovely and amazing (one of them even looks like Spiderman’s Tom Holland :-) ). We have taken Mavis (our fur baby) a few times and sat out the back. And their menu is crazy and mouthwatering delicious. Rob is obsessed with their Cheeseburger Spring Rolls (yes, you read that right), and they also have Giant Savoury Jaffles. YES...GIANT JAFFLES!!! Their menu is marked with their GF and vegetarian options, and they get the dietary thing! And they have a great selection of cocktails and wines. You've got to try their signature cocktail, The Henk! We only had one course, with some wine and it came to around $70. 

We’re still exploring and checking out new restaurants and I’ll post more lunch and dinner experiences in coming blogs. While the restaurants above aren’t Grill’d....they all offer amazing food, in special locations, and with fantastic service.

Send me a message at nattailodge@gmail.com to let me know what you think of my list, or if you've experienced some other great lunch venues in the NSW Southern Highlands. I'd love to hear from you!