Seasonal cooking that feels like home at Milk HAUS

Nat Taylor is co-owner, head cook and head gardener at Milk HAUS. Photo: Milk HAUS/Instagram.

Nat Taylor and partner Kitty Stidwill were senior corporate executives in Sydney when COVID-19 completely turned their lives around. Looking to change their lifestyle, the couple bought South Coast institution Milk HAUS in 2020 and haven’t looked back since.

The restaurant, cafe and accommodation venue is situated on the outskirts of Milton, a ten-minute drive inland of Mollymook, in the Shoalhaven region of the NSW South Coast.

The menu at Milk Haus draws heavily from the adjacent kitchen garden, and guests are encouraged to wander around the garden beds before or after their meal. Summer breakfast dishes include Green Eggs, served with herby salsa verde and garden salad, or the impressive Farm HAUS Garden Plate which comes with an assortment of HAUS-made pickles and preserves alongside a jammy egg, seasonal veg and slice of toast.

The restaurant building is an old, converted cheese factory, and has a rural-industrial-chic kind of charm. Garden green accents, local artwork on the walls and an open kitchen offer warmth to the space, which is complemented by the generous hospitality of service staff. Or sit under the shaded wisteria courtyard, with a view across to the chook pen where a very handsome rooster heads up a flock of happy hens.

Wander through the kitchen garden before or after your meal. Photo: Lucy Ridge.

Walking through the kitchen garden before lunch, we chat with a staff member picking tomatoes. Noting the number of flowers dotted among the veggies, she tells us they attract beneficial insects such as ladybugs and pollinators, as well as offering a few edible garnishes for the menu. Head cook and head gardener Nat Taylor writes the menu around what is growing in the garden, with carefully planned succession planting to ensure there’s enough to see the menu through each season.

For our lunch I order the lamb flatbread, and my parents choose the summer tart and falafel plate. The lamb is slow cooked to pull-apart tenderness for 16 hours and sits on a generous dollop of smokey, creamy baba ganoush. The flatbread is soft and flakey, with a fresh scattering of cucumber, herbs and a garden salad. As a food writer I’ve often been disappointed by limp, uninspiring green salads thrown on plates as an afterthought, but this salad is a delightfully diverse blend of soft and bitter greens that have real bite and flavour to them.

Slow-cooked lamb with HAUS made baba ganoush and garden salad. Photo: Lucy Ridge.

The falafel plate is generously piled with a herby tabbouleh and pickles, and I enjoy stealing a bite of the falafel: crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside and packed full of flavour. The tart is a wholesome dish that sums up the ethos of Milk HAUS nicely: seasonal vegetables, cooked simply to allow the flavours to shine.

The drinks list is as well considered as the food, with local wines making a strong showing. Opting for a non-alcoholic option I get a punchy lemon soda, which is refreshingly tart on a hot day.

Fennel in a meringue may sound unusual but it was oh so delicious. Photo: Lucy Ridge.

The seasonal focus doesn’t stop with savoury dishes, and the dessert menu offers a few intriguing ingredients. Fig leaf syrup accompanies roasted summer peaches and vanilla labneh. The leaves have a surprising coconutty flavour which is delicious. I order a meringue that has fennel fronds folded through and is topped with lycee and macadamias. Our server – co-owner Kitty – explained that the rest of the fennel plant is featured elsewhere on the menu, so Nat wanted to find a use for the fronds in the dessert so nothing would be wasted. It adds a subtle aniseed flavour which I really enjoy.

Take home a taste of Milk HAUS after your meal. Photo: Lucy Ridge.

Milk HAUS is a destination, and one that is well worth searching out if you’re visiting that part of Shoalhaven. You can even stay on-site in the farmhouse accommodation if you’d like to extend your visit, or take a cooking class. There are also two pop-up retail spaces outside, housing Motion Ceramics and local florist Fred Made.

Milk HAUS is located at 170 Woodstock Rd, Woodstock NSW. They are open from Thursday to Monday from 8:30 am to 2:30 pm, bookings recommended. Follow Milk HAUS on Instagram.