Second visit to an old pub near Canberra
About a half hour drive north from my home in Canberra is a lovely old town called Gunning which is located in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales. The town has a population of just over 600 people and located inside the historic and refurbished 1865 Royal Hotel is a lovely restaurant called Grazing. The restaurant serves decent size portions of food, made with fresh seasonal organic and local ingredients along with an extensive list of Canberra District wines.
It’s a lovely drive to the township through country farms and bushland. We arrived a little early and took the opportunity to walk along the main street and pop into a couple of stores. Then it was time for eating (yay)…we were seated in the main part of the restaurant; there are smaller more private rooms but usually for more than six or so people.
The meals were as good as they were on my previous visit. We started off with a salmon pate on crisp bread which I declined but my friends thoroughly enjoyed. 
I ordered a risotto which the chef was happy to make vegan. It arrived with Jerusalem artichoke and greens; beautifully presented and delicious. One of my friends ordered the original risotto made with braised lentils, Wagu beef cheek, Jerusalem artichoke, chestnut and truffle dressing.
Also ordered was the Barramundi which was oven roasted and came with curried celeriac and crab crust, buttered cabbage and fennel velouté. And we shared the baked eggplant with miso glaze, blackened Baba Ghanoush, sesame and labneh. Again I must say all the meals were beautifully presented.
We also ordered a couple of other dishes but looking at them now I genuinely cannot remember what they are well apart from the Brussel sprout dish; guess it’s such a long time ago and the dishes are not still on the Grazing on-line menu.
Gunning is a lovely little town to visit and Grazing is especially worth a visit with good friends.
