Muse Kitchen

Brilliant casual restaurant. We dined there last night. The Beef Cheeks were divine. Service was impeccable. (The bathrooms were also spotless. I believe you can tell a lot about a place by how clean the bathrooms are)
The staff were very eager and willing to assist with accompanying wines. Highly recommended this place.

As an adjunct to the multiple-​hat rated Muse Restaurant, we were very happy to stop in here for lunch on our Winery Tour. From welcoming service to wonderful food, being able to get a good quality feed in the Hunter at lunchtime could not have been better.
Watch for the full-​body prawns! My gnocchi was so nice, my partner had to snag some after beheading her prawns.

The crown of the hunter, Muse Kitchen absolutely blew me away on our recent trip to Pokolbin.
To quote my Belgian girlfriend — «I think that these might be the best potatoes I have *ever* had». Belgians don’t lend praise to their holy of all holy vegetables too often, but when this praise was coupled with an even more unbelievable Australian incarnation of Rice Pudding (another Belgian staple, their called ‘Rijspap’) she almost fell off the table.
Meanwhile I was still coming down from the incredible entrée, lightly fried Brussel sprouts (there’s Belgium again!) with garlic and a light dash of chilli sauce. Oh boy.
Our mains, when coupled with the local wines, were undeniably delicious. My partner ordered the duck, which was indeed some of the tastiest duck either of us had ever had. I’d like to tell you what I ordered as a main but all I can think about is lightly fried Brussel sprouts.
Muse kitchen has not only perfected european (Belgian!) cuisine, but extended it off in a whole new direction. I’m looking forward to bringing our Belgian family here later in the year.

Set in Keith Tulloch vineyard, this was our second trip here, first time we came across it tired and hungry after a long weekend in the Hunter, and we were pleasantly surprised at the find. This time with some purpoe although a faulty memory (there are two Tulloch wineries, v confusing) we managed to find our way he in time to snag the last table indoors.
French provincial décor (white rough sawn tables and nice white and pale green walls) with good service, nice wine and a wonderful view.
Pork rillettes with cornichons and toasted baguette was fantastic, the Shiraz from on site wonderful, duck confit very tasty with cauliflower purée and lentils. Her with lamb sausage, eggplant, olives and cherry tomatoes very tasty, and the rhubarb and apple crumble with white chocolate icecream and pistachios a fantastic finish! Add a vittoria long black and it is game over! Just wish they were in Sydney, cos we would be regulars!
A bit on the pricey side, mains 30-​ish and wine 15+ a glass, but well worth it.
Highly recommended.