RIVERINARiches
Albury, Wagga Wagga and Griffith are home to fabulous restaurants, quirky cafes and excellent wineries that showcase the great produce of the rich Riverina.
Words: Sue WallaceWHETHER YOU’RE planning a restaurant and winery hop or just passing through, these three vibrant destinations have much to offer on the culinary scene – plus a big side serving of warm hospitality.
Innovative chefs, passionate producers and acclaimed winemakers are showcasing their serious culinary credentials, and you won’t be disappointed by what's on offer.
AMAZING ALBURY
Cosmopolitan Albury hugs the Murray River opposite its twin city, Wodonga, and has a buoyant dining scene that showcases the area’s great produce.
Yardbird restaurant opened last year in a renovated industrial building – once a mechanic’s workshop – boasting a 13-metre bar and an eclectic feel. Head chef Simon Arkless stars here, enticing diners
to try European-themed cuisine and fabulous wines.
“Our menu is all about fantastic produce, great wine and bold flavours from Spain, France and Italy, and the season’s best local produce,” says Simon, whose kitchen features a specially imported Spanish Mibrasa oven. “We love bold flavours without fuss or fanfare, and the intense heat of the imported oven does just that.”
Favourites include charcoal-grilled Wagyu hanger steak with watercress and fresh horseradish with a salad of roast Jerusalem artichoke, local blood orange, goat curd and hazelnuts.
Charcuterie, tortilla, croquettas and Padrón peppers star in tapas offerings, and the drinks menu has more than 200 wines plus craft beers on tap as well as traditional cocktails highlighting local distilleries. The Murray River Sea Monster with spiced rum and bitters has a following.
Love Italian? Head to East Albury’s new Italian restaurant, Mamma Mia Italian Kitchen, where owners Serena McGuffie and Italian-born Alessandro Destri serve traditional pizza and pasta dishes inspired by family recipes. The former corner shop features a Cinque Terra theme and an environmentally friendly pizza oven imported from Italy.
Also new on the scene is gastro pub The Lincoln, in revamped premises on the Lincoln Causeway between Albury and Wodonga. It offers casual family dining and grab-and-go options.
Popular favourites include the Level One Wine Bar in Dean Street, with a menu focused on local produce and 300 wines to tempt you, while nearby Aida restaurant offers traditional Mediterranean cuisine and a fun atmosphere.
Spanish cuisine is at the heart of Saludos near the garden end
of Dean Street, with Spanish treats and tapas to share. You may even catch a flamenco dance performance!
Bistro Selle, a small European-style bistro in central Albury, does the classics with a twist, while chef Ludo Baulacky offers a cosmopolitan menu at The River Deck Cafe on the banks of the Murray at Noreuil Park. The Italian-inspired Norma Wine and Pasta, located in a converted corner shop, serves Italian fare deserving of a nonna’s praise.
Need a drink and a trim? The quirky Two Fingers bar and gentlemen’s barbershop offers both. Or you can indulge in high tea and lunch at the Vintage Rose Tea & Coffee House in East Albury, where French patisseriestyle desserts are served on beautiful china.
For a picturesque wine tasting, cross the heritage-listed Bethanga Bridge on Lake Hume to Websters Estate, a boutique family-run winery offering guided wine tasting and delicious platters – it’s all about graze and gaze, with sweeping views over the lake.
Across the river in Wodonga is award-winning Miss Amelie, where David Kapay’s eclectic modern European fine-dining menu shines.
Fly into Albury with Rex airlines
GORGEOUS GRIFFITH
Often referred to as Little Italy, with more than 60 per cent of its residents claiming Italian heritage, Griffith has a vibrant food bowl with an emphasis on big tastes and top wineries producing swoonworthy drops.
Chef Luke Piccolo, who opened Limone Dining in 2016, describes the city as home to “genuine” food, where amazing produce stars – with much of it grown on the Piccolo Family Farm. Here farm to fork rules, with a focus on seasonality.
BEST WESTERN PLUS HOVELL TREE INN Albury,
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With its well-manicured gardens and hedges, complete with a charming rock pool and fountain surrounding the hexagonal conservatory style restaurant, you’d be forgiven for thinking you were in the English countryside.
However, you’ll definitely know you’re in Albury when you stay in one of the oversized luxury suites at the Best Western Plus Hovell Tree Inn, because you can cross the road and take a wander along the mighty Murray River.
The location is whisper-quiet and the landmark hotel has 60 newly refurbished stylish rooms, ranging from studio to twobedroom apartments. The hotel has a welcoming restaurant with views of the gardens and trees serving modern Australian cuisine with Mediterranean influences, and a great selection of wine, beer and cocktails. There’s a large outdoor rooftop swimming pool with a spa, and a Swedish-style sauna.
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selection of fresh produce – we have it all,” he says.
“We are in a bit of a bubble in Griffith, and everything is centred around great food and great experiences,” says Luke, who thrives on cooking food that reflects his heritage and story. “That’s what I love about cooking with the diverse
Casual cucina Zecca Handmade Italian, where co-owners Ben Di Rosa, his wife Michaela Cangelli-Di Rosa and friend Daniel D’Aquino create authentic Italian recipes, has a big following. It’s housed in the original
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Yardbird; Level One Wine Bar; Two Fingers; Albury CBD at night. Images: Visit Albury Wodonga.
Rural Bank building, and “zecca” means mint in Italian, a nod to money. The menu changes daily for lunch and dinner and the pasta dishes are divine.
A farm-to-table philosophy is also central to the Bull & Bell Steakhouse, known for its established traditions, dynamic wine, food and produce with a background of European flair and a strong Italian heritage.
“Farm-to-table philosophy is all about ensuring every step your food has taken, between being in the ground and on the hoof to your dining table, is carefully monitored, to ensure sustainable practices and that the food is kept as fresh and unprocessed as possible,” says executive chef Anthony Fullerton. “We have set ourselves a 300-kilometre radius where we have worked with farm gate producers to provide us with the best local ingredients.’’
Another popular Griffith institution, La Scala, opened its doors in 1977. Open in the evenings, it serves up traditional wood-fired pizza, homemade pasta, gelato and delicious desserts.
Fill up your picnic basket at La Piccola Grosseria, a small family-owned authentic Italian deli run by Salvatore, Michele and Maria Trimboli, who specialise in coffee, cold meats, antipasti, homemade bread, biscuits and Italian treats.
Wineries include Yarran Wines, established by the Brewer family, with organically certified vineyards and a cellar door on the outskirts of Griffith, where you can go for a guided tasting.
Calabria Family Wines is another familyestablished winery that dates back to 1945. The estate is home to a Tuscan-style cellar door where visitors can try award-winning Italian grape varietals including Nero d’Avola and Montepulciano.
It’s also worth dropping into De Bortoli’s cellar door in Bilbul for a tasting, garden tour and delicious platters, and Whitton Malt House just outside of Griffith for food and beverages where local sustainably sourced produce is the star of the show.
Fly into Griffith with Rex airlines
WONDERFUL WAGGA
Straddling the meandering Murrumbidgee River, the city of Wagga Wagga has become an exciting foodie centre. Food entrepreneur Tania Sibrey of Food I Am, who runs a cooking school and organises private dining experiences and food tours, is confident the Riverina is set to become the next top dining destination.
“The food and wine scenes have really matured in the Riverina, and we’ve had a lot more cafes, bars and restaurants open, offering what used to be just the metro experience,” she says.
Jamie Shepley, co-owner of Mr Lawrence cafe and bar on the Murrumbidgee, agrees that Wagga is ready to take on that food destination mantle.
Mr Lawrence, named for the original owners
FAST FOOD FACTS
Griffith has so many kilometres of trellised vines they could lap Australia’s coast three times, and the region recently planted one million hazelnut trees for chocolate maker Ferrero.
Chiko Rolls originated in Wagga Wagga. Invented by Francis Gerald McEnroe, a boilermaker from Bendigo, the popular Australian hot snack made its first appearance at the Wagga show in 1951.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Bull & Bear Steakhouse. Image: supplied; Zecca. Image: Visit Griffith; Charles Sturt Winery. Image: supplied.
