In an era when many restaurants are becoming faster and leaner, prioritising quick lunch deals, set menus and speedy bang for buck, a visit to Berowra Waters Inn – which first opened in the 1980s under the stewardship of Gay and Tony Bilson – feels like a genuine act of self-care. You don’t turn up here on a whim. Instead, you gather loved ones, set a date and plan. When the day comes, you either board a seaplane or drive to the riverbank, 45 minutes from the centre of Sydney, bundle into a tinny and putter through the bottle-green waters of the Hawkesbury River, to arrive at this charming sandstone cottage, designed by architect Glenn Murcutt. It’s one of the loveliest hidden locations anywhere in New South Wales, and a proper, old-fashioned day out.
The sense of occasion doesn’t stop there. The next soul-soothe arrives in the form of the view, when you’re led to your table. The sun rays spangling over the water, the tall cliffs of eucalypts, the excitable little splashes of fish chasing prey. No wonder GT’s readers recognise it as somewhere that lifts dining far beyond the ordinary.
Of course the setting is just part of the story. The rest is told on the plates. Since taking over in 2012, executive chef Brian Geraghty and now, newly appointed head chef Jack Brown, craft a six-course menu that gathers – with a blend of gentle grace and exacting precision – the country’s best ingredients, many of them native. A pale snapper crudo is given a vegetal lift with tiny marigold leaves and the sweet tang of preserved rosella blossoms. A circlet of squid – fished from the very waters you’re looking at – is crowned by folds of warrigal greens and a muscular native XO. Bunya nut, emu eggs and marron may also make an appearance. The delicate finale is a trio of pretty petits fours: a jewel of a jube, a madeleine, a mirror-like chocolate. All of it is presented by a small, dedicated team, and three levels of wine pairing draw exclusively from home-grown producers. If the day is sunny, you could retire to the outdoor terrace and finish your coffees or digestifs beneath the gumtrees.
Running a restaurant this isolated – and this special – across decades, takes passion and dedication. No wonder it’s amassed such a devoted following in return.
Find all finalists for the Gourmet Traveller Readers’ Choice Icon Award here. To see the full list of winners in this year’s Gourmet Traveller Annual Restaurant Awards, head over here.
Past winners of the Readers’ Choice Icon Award
- 2024: Lake House, Daylesford VIC
- 2023: Brae, Birregura VIC
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