About Regional readers love their food and drink, so we’ve assembled our top 22 food and wine stories for 2025. Which ones will you put to the taste test this summer?
22. Local legends bring Little Sutton’s cafe dreams to life
by Hayley Nicholls
Fresh new flavours and country air at Sutton. Photo: Supplied.
Something special is brewing at Little Sutton Bakehouse – smoother than their signature coffee and sweeter than their finest artisanal treats.
This isn’t your local bakery putting on a few hot options – tucked away in a quiet rural setting, this café is run by Canberra hospitality royalty.
21. Cheers to a new chapter as The Apple Thief Cider House opens in Batlow
by Edwina Mason
Celebrating the opening of The Apple Thief Cider House near Batlow are owners David and Mel Purcell with sons Jack and Sam. Photos: The Apple Thief/Facebook.
Something delicious has been brewing in the hills of Batlow – and it’s not just the award-winning cider.
After months of anticipation, the doors to The Apple Thief Cider House have officially swung open.
Located a few minutes outside the Batlow CBD at 4066 Batlow Road, the new venue is already turning heads with its striking design and warm, rustic charm.
20. Bodalla Dairy queens Sandra and Jane McCuaig break into sweeter offerings
by Marion Williams
Sandra McCuaig and Isabel Jamieson of Bodalla Country Chocolate with some of their chocolate slabs that break with the most satisfying snap. Photo: Marion Williams.
Now there is another reason for lovers of first-class, delicious country produce to stop at Bodalla. The mother and daughter behind Bodalla Dairy have opened Bodalla Country Chocolate.
Just like their award-winning dairy produce, their chocolates are beautifully presented.
19. How the Drom has kept Tilba thriving for 130 years
by Tenele Conway
The Drom is an integral part of the Tilba community. Photo: Supplied.
In the tiny Far South Coast town of Central Tilba, the two-story weatherboard pub known locally as The Drom is making waves in this coastal community of less than 400 people.
Under the guidance of Jeremy Corfield and Susan Gray since 2018, the Dromedary Hotel has begun a slow but steady facelift. That’s not the only change. There’s branded merch and lots of it, food 364 days a year, live music every Sunday, their own brand of locally brewed beers and even a Drom gin made with local rhubarb.
18. Bakers’ delight as Tumbarumba scores national pie honours
by Edwina Mason
Tumbarumba Bakery has won gold for its Pepper Pie and bronze for its Chunky Plain Meat Pie at a national competition, while Ladbroken’s distinctive Berrylicious Apple Pie was a bronze medal winner. Photo: Tumbarumba Bakery Facebook.
Tumbarumba has stamped its name on the nation’s pie map, with Ladbroken Distillery Brewhouse and Tumbarumba Bakery bringing home medals from the 36th Annual Great Aussie Pie Competition.
17. New owners for one of the top 50 wine experiences in the world, Yazz Bar
by Tenele Conway
Mel and Matt Leahy have taken over Yass’s eclectic Yazz Bar. Photo: Supplied.
Once voted as one of the top 50 wine experiences in the world by Gourmet Traveller Wine, Yazzbar has new owners who are embracing its quirky side and looking to the future.
16. Trader and Co aren’t letting the hospitality crisis slow them down
by Tenele Conway
Trader & Co. has been operating in Yass for eight years. Photo: Supplied.
When Toni and Daniel Neuhaus saw the first signs of the hospitality crisis affecting their Yass cafe Trader & Co., they kicked into action and chose to focus on progress instead of the negatives.
15. Local food legend and all-Aussie drinks list on the menu at Outpost Bar in Broulee
by Lucy Ridge
The drinks list at Outpost Bar features an all-Australian line-up of wine, beer and spirits. Photo: H Creations..
Broulee has a new local bar featuring the best of Australian wines, spirits and beers, and they’ve even snagged a local food legend to run the kitchen.
Lee and Peter Louttit run a development and design business and are the team behind the impressive new Train Street Central precinct. The precinct is full of businesses, but they knew they wanted a bar to serve as a gathering place for the community to relax. Eventually, they realised that they could do it themselves.
14. Vanilla Catering celebrates 140-year legacy in Braidwood
by Tenele Conway
Vanessa Bunn comes from a long line of Nomchongs who have been operating businesses in the Braidwood region for 140 years. Photo: Supplied.
In January 2025, a milestone in Braidwood’s history came and went with only a mere Facebook post to mark its occurrence.
One of the region’s oldest families, the Nomchongs, celebrated 140 years of commerce in Braidwood. The legacy that began with Chinese immigrant Cheedock Nomchong, who opened his first store on Braidwood’s main street in 1885, is held today by his great grandchildren Edward Nomchong, who owns RJ Nomchong Electrics, and Vanessa Bunn, who owns Vanilla Catering.
13. Swell done: Couple on their Merry way to success with coastal eatery’s signature style
by Lucy Ridge
Dishes like the pork parmy pop with a balance of bitter greens and melty cheese. Photo: Merry St/Instagram.
The South Coast of NSW is fast becoming a genuine foodie haven, with exciting, independently run restaurants, cafes and bars adorning towns from Kiama to Eden. One such restaurant is Merry St, in quiet Kioloa and run by Brooke and Luke Bow.
12. Bon appetit: the butcher meets a sourdough baker at Grabben Gullen
by John Thistleton
Phillip and Maia Gould are drawn away from their day jobs in Canberra to become footpath vendors each Saturday morning until their sourdough sells out. Photo: John Thistleton.
Meet Maia Gould, one of a growing number of food and fibre producers giving Crookwell its own distinctive flavour.
11. Here’s cheers to Bermagui’s Camel Rock Brewery coming back to let the good times flow
by Marion Williams
Customers enjoying a drink at the renamed Camel Rock Brewhouse, which opened on 18 December. Photos: Supplied.
Bega Valley’s first microbrewery has reopened thanks to Broulee Brewhouse taking it on.
10. New blood to take on Moruya icon The River
by Lucy Ridge
The new River Moruya menu will use local seafood. Photo: Peter Jones-Best.
Peter Compton has handed over the apron of The River Restaurant after 18 years. Now the restaurant’s new owners aim to bring refreshed energy to the Moruya icon.
9. The Major’s Creek classic pub that’s dodged gentrification — just how the locals like it
by Tenele Conway
The Major’s Creek Hotel is a great spot for a day trip. Photo: Tenele Conway.
Jackie and Rowan’s pub may be falling down around them, but locals and visitors alike fall for the historic charm of the Major’s Creek Hotel.
8. Change on the menu for iconic Bungendore eatery
by Hayley Nicholls
Now operating solo, Cafe Woodworks is exploring its new identity with a “light and fun vibe”. Photo: Supplied.
After more than 20 years of operating alongside the adjoining Woodworks Gallery, Bungendore’s Cafe Woodworks is navigating its new-found independence – starting with a fresh new look.
Following the gallery’s closure earlier this year, property owner Richard Graham seized the opportunity to breathe new life into the building, including “refreshing the identity of Cafe Woodworks in a post-Woodworks Gallery era”.
7. Historic Goulburn Brewery returns in all its glory
by John Thistleton
A $20 tasting paddle gives you a choice of four Wayback beers at the Goulburn Brewery. From mid-range to full-strength, the brewery has a sparkling ale, local lager, happy lager, hazy pale, extra hazy, classic IPA and a dry stout. Photo: Ali Nasseri.
Workers took almost two years limewashing three-storey buildings at one of Goulburn’s most significant heritage buildings. Now the Goulburn Brewery has reopened and patrons are judging for themselves whether the beer is equal to the quality of a stunning restoration.
6. Where fine fare is a shore thing: Best South Coast Eats
by Lucy Ridge
Slow-cooked lamb with HAUS-made baba ganoush and garden salad. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
Fine dining is no longer restricted to the big city. And the coast is no longer restricted to fish & chips! There’s incredible food to be found all the way up and down the NSW South Coast. Here are just a few of our favourites.
5. Big plans are in motion for Braidwood’s historic Troopers Rest
by Tenele Conway
Braidwood’s historic Troopers Rest dates back to the early 1840s. Photo: Supplied.
Gav Gillin of Hold Fast Distillery has purchased Braidwood’s historic Troopers Rest and put into action some big plans for the well-loved building.
4. 13 years marks time for a change for Bungendore Chinese
by Tenele Conway
Bobby Kong is ready to add his touch to the menu three years after buying Bungendore Chinese. Photo: Tenele Conway.
In almost every regional Australian town there is a Chinese restaurant. You’ll find them in RSL clubs, in historic pubs, in standalone shopfronts or sandwiched between a dry cleaner and a jeweller. They might be sprawling, they might be a hole in the wall, they might do yum cha or they might have a special sizzling dish that spits hot oil on you.
Bungendore’s Chinese restaurant is in a bowling club. It’s a low-key location that belies the solid reputation it has for excellent Chinese food, and it’s owned by a man named Bobby Kong.
3. Where’s the best place for a drink on the South Coast?
by Lucy Ridge
Small Town Provisions has everything you need: great wine, great food (but you’ll need to bring your own great company). Photo: Small Town Provisions/Instagram.
Whether you’re into craft beers, wine bars or micro distilleries: there’s a thriving culture of local drinks down the South Coast. Here are a few of our favourite spots.
2. Sydney restaurateur establishing new Goulburn eatery from ground up
by John Thistleton
John Gebran with horses Buddy (roan coat) and Dasher, with Sooley Dam in the distance. The property has Angus cattle, alpacas, pigs, six horses including a two-year-old Clydesdale stallion and ponies, a donkey, chickens, geese, peacocks, turkeys and sheep. Photos: John Thistleton.
Against a backdrop of gently rolling hills and the deep blue of Sooley Dam, the son of a successful Sydney foodie is making plans for a new venture and wooing customers with wine and exotic, highly intelligent parrots.
1. Quiet no more: Wombat pub thumps back into action
by Edwina Mason
The Wombat Hotel has reopened after 15 months of closure. Photo: Supplied.
For more than 160 years, the low-slung Wombat Hotel, perched alongside the Olympic Highway south of Young, has seen it all.
Bushrangers and goldminers once rumbled through its doors; today it welcomes bikers, car enthusiasts, travellers, locals, and the curious passing through.
Anzac breakfasts, birthdays, pub lunches and raucous parties have all played out within its walls, each a chapter in the town’s story.
