4o mins east of Brisbane, Wellington Point Farmhouse has launched a cafe and restaurant on their farm, exciting the locals and drawing Brisbanites to the region.
There’s farm to table and thethere’s a table in the middle of a farm. Wellington Point Farmhouse, just east of Brisbane, has taken the paddock-to-plate philosophy one step further, by launching a cafe and restaurant on a farm.
The clever concept opened last month at the Sumvista-owned property in the Redlands, which grows everything from sweet corn and strawberries to zucchini, kale and silverbeet.
Wellington Point Farmhouse, Wellington Point. Picture: David Kelly
At the centre of rows of perfectly ploughed red dirt sits an elegantly appointed, long, timber-trimmed shed. Inside is the eatery, alongside a grocer where customers can shop fruit and veg fresh from the farm and neighbouring areas, as well as artisan-produced edible goodies from local makers. A deli is coming too, and perhaps a cooking school to give customers a better understanding of where their food comes from and the work involved to grow it. At the moment, though, the education process is being done in the restaurant and cafe, with chef and co-owner Gordon MacGregor turning out breakfast and lunch Wednesday to Sunday using as much of the farm’s ingredients as possible.
MacGregor is no stranger to the farm-to-table experience having worked at the Mornington Peninsula’s acclaimed 10 Minutes by Tractor restaurant inside a winery, and brings some of that fine dining-esque approach to his menus here – albeit more relaxed.
Veg is the underlying hero of the brekkie menu, with options available from toasted sourdough topped with beetroot hummus, feta, confit tomatoes, spiced chickpeas and dukkha to zucchini, corn and basil fritters with poached eggs and feta. For carnivores, house-made bacon is the star, which is served in everything from the Farmhouse breakfast to a bacon and egg roll.
The crispy skin barramundi. Picture: David Kelly
At lunch, the menu is more share-style with small plates such as house-made terrine and cured ocean trout, plus large plates of antipasto, charcuterie, cheese and more.
We take a seat at the edge of the dining room underneath the corrugated roof lined with timber beams, while full-length windows provide captivating views to the paddocks.
From the handful of traditional-style mains available at lunch, the slow-cooked lamb leg ($30) arrives like a pimped up Sunday roast. Hunks of butter-soft meat covered in gravy accompany roasted baby carrots, singed baby gem lettuce, peas and broad beans. Barramundi ($35) comes as a small fillet atop a mushy potato hash cake of sorts, with shavings of fennel and broccolini on the side that’s barely heated through. It’s fine without being outstanding.
The charm of Wellington Point Farmhouse is its location, its rustic fit-out and its novelty, with the food and service to no doubt hit their stride as the venue settles in.
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