The Best Restaurants in the Central Tablelands

Carcoar might be a small town in the Central Tablelands of just under 300 people but it has a big drawcard: Antica Australis restaurant. Its owners, Paolo and Kelly Picarazzi, share their picks in the village and beyond.

“We started in Orange but that was too big for Paolo. He was looking for a village,” says Kelly Picarazzi, explaining how the duo decided on Carcoar in their search for the perfect place to open restaurant Antica Australis. The town, a 40-minute drive south of Orange and south-west of Bathurst, proved just right for their 24-seat diner. Paolo, who grew up in Italy’s Ciociaria region and emigrated to Australia 10 years ago, was keen to open a dining establishment like he’d find back home – a locanda, where dishes come with a backstory. “It feels like you’re in someone’s home,” says Kelly. And Paolo’s favourite thing to make? The millennia-old agnello alla Romana (lamb with anchovy sauce). “Once a year, the shepherds from Ciociaria would walk their flocks to Rome to sell at the markets and they’d meet the fishermen there,” explains Paolo. “We believe this dish was created from the two groups saying, ‘Hey, we’ve got some lamb, we’ve got some fish; let’s mix it together.’” When the duo aren’t stepping back in time, they’re exploring the region. Kelly shares their favourite haunts.

For the burgers: Royal Hotel Mandurama

“This is the first place we go to either before our weekend starts or at the end of it. Mandurama is the next village, five minutes up the road. It’s smaller than Carcoar but it has The Mando, a country pub with a beautiful beer garden. We go for the burgers – they use Black Angus beef straight from the farm. The quality blows you away.”

For the chilli mud crab: Mr Lim

“We love Mr. Lim in Orange, which does contemporary Korean cuisine; it makes us happy every time we go there. Because we’re cooking Italian food, when we go to Mr Lim we’re looking for something spicy. The chilli mud crab and duck breast pancakes are our top picks. Plus, it has a wine list supporting local vignerons.”

For a unique drop: Matthew Atallah Wines

“Matthew Atallah is a local vigneron but he doesn’t have his own vineyard and he doesn’t have a cellar door; you can buy his wine online. Matthew uses grapes from select parcels of land on a series of different vineyards in the Orange region, which is a really elegant concept. He only has chardonnay, rosé, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and syrah and his wines are top class.”

For the artisanal cheeses: Jannei Goat Dairy

“Okay, this is about two hours away in Lidsdale, between Bathurst and Lithgow. But the longer drive is worth it. They’ve won many awards and have been running for nearly 20 years. And the cheese is out of this world but not punch-you-in-the-face goat-flavoured. We usually pair it with local honey or handmade fig jam.”

For the steak and lamb: Blayney Hi Grade Meats

“We didn’t realise when we opened a restaurant how important your butcher is. And we’re so lucky to have one of the region’s leading butchers 15 minutes down the road. Cameron Cassel is the head butcher and owner and he sources directly from local farmers and hand-selects produce for us so everyone at Antica gets the best.”

For a stay: Hargans Cottage

“We’ve got an amazing homewares store in the village called Tomolly. The owner, Belinda Satterthwaite, is a pioneer – she came to Carcoar five years ago when there was very little else open. And she also created accommodation, Hargans Cottage, which is for two. It’s elegant and thoughtful. Belinda is one of the best interior stylists in Australia.”