The Barrel Room restaurant at Ballandean Estate on the Granite Belt operates independently from the winery and is in the hands of capable Brisbane chefs Travis Crane and Arabella Chambers. They offer a surprisingly ambitious menu replete with big, bold flavours, and use local produce sourced within a strict three-hour radius of the restaurant. (The Mallow lamb is from up the road at Stanthorpe, the beef from Killarney an hour to the north and the pork from around the corner.)  

The cheekily named Kentucky fried lambs brains entree arrives with a slab of smoked tongue that had been both poached and grilled and served in a whey reduction with yoghurt and pickled daikon.

Even better is the mackerel gnocchi served in fennel-flavoured bisque with radishes for crunch. The free-range Ballandean pork, accompanied with a ham and bean cassoulet, sauerkraut and broccoli, is a robust dish packed with flavour.

It pairs nicely with the Granite Belt “strange bird” alternative variety malvasia – a white wine with aromas and flavours of stone fruit and orange peel. From the choice of three deserts, the pick is the burnt honey brulee with sponge cake and a citrus sorbet.  

The restaurant also offers a seven-course degustation with matching wines.

Must-eat dish:  Kentucky fried lambs brains