Latest news with #IronGateKitchen
Time Out
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time Out
This new sunlit restaurant on an award-winning Hunter Valley estate needs to be on your wine country hit list
The punchy gilda, bursting with salt and vinegar, and the velvety burnt Basque cheesecake may take you back to scoffing them on the streets of San Sebastián's Old Town. The grand, curved archways, golden-honey tones and terracotta tiles sure do evoke a rustic Spanish-style villa. But those vineyard views – all gentle green hills and twisted vines – and award-winning tropical verdelho and party-ready sparkling chardonnay – are all the Hunter. This is Iron Gate Kitchen, a new Mediterranean-inspired restaurant now open within Pokolbin's celebrated and historic Iron Gate Estate. And you need to add it to your wine country hit list, now. Opened in May this year, the fire-fuelled restaurant brings together punchy Iberian flavours and fine vino in a sunlit, communal-style space that's the stuff of long lunch dreams. The 130-seat dining room features both indoor and alfresco seating – making it an ideal spot for your next weekend away with friends in the Hunter. Iron Gate Kitchen is helmed by head chef Lara Hagan (ex- Circa 1876), with talented general manager Harrison Plant (ex- EXP) leading the front of house. Hagan says: "In the winter, especially at Iron Gate Kitchen, it is all about bright sun-drenched courtyard lunches with seafood and semillon. Pair this then with a dinner elsewhere in the Valley that has a fireplace and serves big juicy reds, alongside with some really refined countryside produce. I swear you'll find some of the best cooked lamb of your life in the Hunter." Menu highlights include golden and crisp salt cod croquettes brightened with lemon juice; wood-fired flatbread topped with creamy stracciatella, 'nduja and fresh basil; slow-cooked caramelised lamb shoulder with a zippy salsa verde; and sizzling garlic prawns. Iron Gate Kitchen's wine list features Iron Gate Estate's award-winning drops by head winemaker Geoff Broadfield, who has been making wines in the region for more than 40 years – backed up by vino from friends across the Valley. Cocktails-wise, my pick is the Blood Orange Margarita, best enjoyed on the grass at sunset. The beautiful architecture and chic, sun-drenched interior design is by Emilie Delalande of Etic – the same gun behind Redfern's colourful Southeast Asian eatery, Island Radio. Also a bonus: Iron Gate Kitchen is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner – which is good news if you're feeling a little dusty in the AM and no one in your crew is keen to warm up the pans. And one more thing: Iron Gate Estate's Spanish-style villa, which sleeps up to 15 guests and boasts a lush swimming pool, stunning European design and plenty of entertaining areas, is available for hire. Hello, birthday parties, hen's dos and weekends away with your people. Take it from me – it'll be a weekend for the memory books. You can find out more and book here. Address: 178 Oakey Creek Rd, Pokolbin NSW 2320. Where to drink, eat and stay in the Hunter Valley.
The Advertiser
28-05-2025
- Business
- The Advertiser
Cooking over fire at Iron Gate Kitchen 'speaks to the soul'
It wasn't an easy decision for Joey Ingram and Lara Hagan to leave Pokolbin restaurant Circa 1876 to bring Iron Gate Kitchen to life. Similarly, restaurant manager Harrison Plant left the hatted EXP. restaurant to take on a general manager role at Iron Gate Estate at Pokolbin's first restaurant. "For me, it was opportunity and potential that drew me across," executive chef Ingram explained. "While Circa is one of the most, if not the most, significant restaurants in the Valley, having launched the great Robert Molines, this was an opportunity to not just be a part of Hunter Valley dining history, but to create part of its history. "It was an emotional decision to move on from Circa after only 12 months, yes, but it's an institution of a restaurant, and it will be fine and continue to thrive. "This was an opportunity to create something that's a little bit more aligned with my own personal beliefs in dining, that's what really attracted me." Cooking over fire is a passion of Ingram's, and it's what brings Iron Gate Kitchen's Mediterranean-inspired menu to life. He says it's a "really beautiful, intuitive way to cook" that "shows a lot of honesty ... there's nowhere to hide". He is also in favour of offering diners a broad and flexible menu that caters for walk-ins and differing budgets. "That spontaneous market is what we want to tap into, in terms of our approachability," he said. "We are doing a refined offering but we want to position ourselves in a more premium-casual part of the market. "We've done away with a mandatory set menu and that spend-per-head direction that I think was a bit of a hanger-on from COVID, when there were capacity restrictions. I don't necessarily think that's aligned with pure hospitality. "We want people to be able to come in, have a glass of wine and a plate of octopus, and be in and out for under $40 in under 40 minutes. "If they want to settle in for longer, they are welcome to. We want people to be able to use the restaurant in a way that works for them." Lara, who is head chef at Iron Gate Kitchen, said she could not pass up an opportunity to "make a mark on where I see the hospitality industry is going". "Having creative freedom so early on in my career, and the opportunity to lead a team, I had to do it. Also, I quite like intuitive cooking ... there's something that speaks to the soul when you cook over fire," she said. The menu at Iron Gate Kitchen is inspired by Mediterranean cooking and complements the varietals produced by Iron Gate Estate, however, there are "little twists on things" in terms of presentation and approach. "We're seeing the Hunter winegrowing region really lean into those Mediterranean varietals. It's very Mediterranean in climate anyway, so for us it makes sense," Ingram said. "We make no statement that we are traditionally Spanish - we are cooking from that region, but we are trying to tap into the emotions of Spanish dining without necessarily having to be locked into traditional rules. "Our food is lightly perfumed by smoke, rather than being low and slow, and while there are some large cuts of meat, our menu is quite soft and refined. "We don't skimp on flavour or texture, but in its composition, our food has a real finesse and quality about it." It wasn't an easy decision for Joey Ingram and Lara Hagan to leave Pokolbin restaurant Circa 1876 to bring Iron Gate Kitchen to life. Similarly, restaurant manager Harrison Plant left the hatted EXP. restaurant to take on a general manager role at Iron Gate Estate at Pokolbin's first restaurant. "For me, it was opportunity and potential that drew me across," executive chef Ingram explained. "While Circa is one of the most, if not the most, significant restaurants in the Valley, having launched the great Robert Molines, this was an opportunity to not just be a part of Hunter Valley dining history, but to create part of its history. "It was an emotional decision to move on from Circa after only 12 months, yes, but it's an institution of a restaurant, and it will be fine and continue to thrive. "This was an opportunity to create something that's a little bit more aligned with my own personal beliefs in dining, that's what really attracted me." Cooking over fire is a passion of Ingram's, and it's what brings Iron Gate Kitchen's Mediterranean-inspired menu to life. He says it's a "really beautiful, intuitive way to cook" that "shows a lot of honesty ... there's nowhere to hide". He is also in favour of offering diners a broad and flexible menu that caters for walk-ins and differing budgets. "That spontaneous market is what we want to tap into, in terms of our approachability," he said. "We are doing a refined offering but we want to position ourselves in a more premium-casual part of the market. "We've done away with a mandatory set menu and that spend-per-head direction that I think was a bit of a hanger-on from COVID, when there were capacity restrictions. I don't necessarily think that's aligned with pure hospitality. "We want people to be able to come in, have a glass of wine and a plate of octopus, and be in and out for under $40 in under 40 minutes. "If they want to settle in for longer, they are welcome to. We want people to be able to use the restaurant in a way that works for them." Lara, who is head chef at Iron Gate Kitchen, said she could not pass up an opportunity to "make a mark on where I see the hospitality industry is going". "Having creative freedom so early on in my career, and the opportunity to lead a team, I had to do it. Also, I quite like intuitive cooking ... there's something that speaks to the soul when you cook over fire," she said. The menu at Iron Gate Kitchen is inspired by Mediterranean cooking and complements the varietals produced by Iron Gate Estate, however, there are "little twists on things" in terms of presentation and approach. "We're seeing the Hunter winegrowing region really lean into those Mediterranean varietals. It's very Mediterranean in climate anyway, so for us it makes sense," Ingram said. "We make no statement that we are traditionally Spanish - we are cooking from that region, but we are trying to tap into the emotions of Spanish dining without necessarily having to be locked into traditional rules. "Our food is lightly perfumed by smoke, rather than being low and slow, and while there are some large cuts of meat, our menu is quite soft and refined. "We don't skimp on flavour or texture, but in its composition, our food has a real finesse and quality about it." It wasn't an easy decision for Joey Ingram and Lara Hagan to leave Pokolbin restaurant Circa 1876 to bring Iron Gate Kitchen to life. Similarly, restaurant manager Harrison Plant left the hatted EXP. restaurant to take on a general manager role at Iron Gate Estate at Pokolbin's first restaurant. "For me, it was opportunity and potential that drew me across," executive chef Ingram explained. "While Circa is one of the most, if not the most, significant restaurants in the Valley, having launched the great Robert Molines, this was an opportunity to not just be a part of Hunter Valley dining history, but to create part of its history. "It was an emotional decision to move on from Circa after only 12 months, yes, but it's an institution of a restaurant, and it will be fine and continue to thrive. "This was an opportunity to create something that's a little bit more aligned with my own personal beliefs in dining, that's what really attracted me." Cooking over fire is a passion of Ingram's, and it's what brings Iron Gate Kitchen's Mediterranean-inspired menu to life. He says it's a "really beautiful, intuitive way to cook" that "shows a lot of honesty ... there's nowhere to hide". He is also in favour of offering diners a broad and flexible menu that caters for walk-ins and differing budgets. "That spontaneous market is what we want to tap into, in terms of our approachability," he said. "We are doing a refined offering but we want to position ourselves in a more premium-casual part of the market. "We've done away with a mandatory set menu and that spend-per-head direction that I think was a bit of a hanger-on from COVID, when there were capacity restrictions. I don't necessarily think that's aligned with pure hospitality. "We want people to be able to come in, have a glass of wine and a plate of octopus, and be in and out for under $40 in under 40 minutes. "If they want to settle in for longer, they are welcome to. We want people to be able to use the restaurant in a way that works for them." Lara, who is head chef at Iron Gate Kitchen, said she could not pass up an opportunity to "make a mark on where I see the hospitality industry is going". "Having creative freedom so early on in my career, and the opportunity to lead a team, I had to do it. Also, I quite like intuitive cooking ... there's something that speaks to the soul when you cook over fire," she said. The menu at Iron Gate Kitchen is inspired by Mediterranean cooking and complements the varietals produced by Iron Gate Estate, however, there are "little twists on things" in terms of presentation and approach. "We're seeing the Hunter winegrowing region really lean into those Mediterranean varietals. It's very Mediterranean in climate anyway, so for us it makes sense," Ingram said. "We make no statement that we are traditionally Spanish - we are cooking from that region, but we are trying to tap into the emotions of Spanish dining without necessarily having to be locked into traditional rules. "Our food is lightly perfumed by smoke, rather than being low and slow, and while there are some large cuts of meat, our menu is quite soft and refined. "We don't skimp on flavour or texture, but in its composition, our food has a real finesse and quality about it." It wasn't an easy decision for Joey Ingram and Lara Hagan to leave Pokolbin restaurant Circa 1876 to bring Iron Gate Kitchen to life. Similarly, restaurant manager Harrison Plant left the hatted EXP. restaurant to take on a general manager role at Iron Gate Estate at Pokolbin's first restaurant. "For me, it was opportunity and potential that drew me across," executive chef Ingram explained. "While Circa is one of the most, if not the most, significant restaurants in the Valley, having launched the great Robert Molines, this was an opportunity to not just be a part of Hunter Valley dining history, but to create part of its history. "It was an emotional decision to move on from Circa after only 12 months, yes, but it's an institution of a restaurant, and it will be fine and continue to thrive. "This was an opportunity to create something that's a little bit more aligned with my own personal beliefs in dining, that's what really attracted me." Cooking over fire is a passion of Ingram's, and it's what brings Iron Gate Kitchen's Mediterranean-inspired menu to life. He says it's a "really beautiful, intuitive way to cook" that "shows a lot of honesty ... there's nowhere to hide". He is also in favour of offering diners a broad and flexible menu that caters for walk-ins and differing budgets. "That spontaneous market is what we want to tap into, in terms of our approachability," he said. "We are doing a refined offering but we want to position ourselves in a more premium-casual part of the market. "We've done away with a mandatory set menu and that spend-per-head direction that I think was a bit of a hanger-on from COVID, when there were capacity restrictions. I don't necessarily think that's aligned with pure hospitality. "We want people to be able to come in, have a glass of wine and a plate of octopus, and be in and out for under $40 in under 40 minutes. "If they want to settle in for longer, they are welcome to. We want people to be able to use the restaurant in a way that works for them." Lara, who is head chef at Iron Gate Kitchen, said she could not pass up an opportunity to "make a mark on where I see the hospitality industry is going". "Having creative freedom so early on in my career, and the opportunity to lead a team, I had to do it. Also, I quite like intuitive cooking ... there's something that speaks to the soul when you cook over fire," she said. The menu at Iron Gate Kitchen is inspired by Mediterranean cooking and complements the varietals produced by Iron Gate Estate, however, there are "little twists on things" in terms of presentation and approach. "We're seeing the Hunter winegrowing region really lean into those Mediterranean varietals. It's very Mediterranean in climate anyway, so for us it makes sense," Ingram said. "We make no statement that we are traditionally Spanish - we are cooking from that region, but we are trying to tap into the emotions of Spanish dining without necessarily having to be locked into traditional rules. "Our food is lightly perfumed by smoke, rather than being low and slow, and while there are some large cuts of meat, our menu is quite soft and refined. "We don't skimp on flavour or texture, but in its composition, our food has a real finesse and quality about it."
