Hunter Valley boost: Two new restaurants at Brokenwood to open in December

Brokenwood Wines have named Hunter Valley hospitality stalwarts Andy and Janet Wright to run two new dining offerings: The Wood Restaurant and Cru Bar + Pantry, at the winery’s new Cellar Door development. 

Both will open in December in time for the peak tourism season.

The development centres around a new cellar door, which will include circular tasting bars known as “pods”, a large outdoor terrace, two private tasting rooms, two private dining rooms and a wine museum.

British-born husband and wife team, Andy (head chef) and Janet (front-of-house) have been residents have run The Cellar Restaurant in Hunter Valley Gardens for the past 18 years and have a long friendship with veteran Brokenwood MD Iain Riggs and his team. 

They will operate both The Wood Restaurant, a contemporary dining room, and Cru Bar + Pantry, a casual eatery. 

The Wood Restaurant, the Cellar Door’s modern dining room will offer contemporary Australian dishes, many of which will be cooked in the restaurant’s wood-fired oven.

With seating for 90 guests both inside and outside, The Wood Restaurant will serve lunch daily and dinner on Friday and Saturday evenings and will use local produce wherever possible. 

A market-style display of the freshest seafood delivered from the Sydney Fish Market will be an eye-catching feature while menu items will be designed to pair with Brokenwood’s flagship wines, the Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz and ILR Reserve Semillon.

The extensive wine list will serve premium Brokenwood wines, as well as “friends of Brokenwood” from across the globe.

Adjacent to the The Wood Restaurant will be Cru Bar + Pantry, that will serve a selection of shared plates, cheese and charcuterie, wood-fired pizzas made to order, coffee, homemade pies, toasties, sweets, and picnic packs to enjoy on the lawn or take away.

Cru Bar + Pantry will be open for breakfast, lunch and snacks daily and will feature an Enomatic self-serve dispenser which will serve a selection of premium and rare wines that would not ordinarily be available for tasting.

“The Cellar has been our home for the last 18 years, but we’re ready for a new and exciting adventure and couldn’t think of a better place to do that than at Brokenwood’," said Andy Wright.

The new cellar door is set to open on Friday, December 7.