This weekend we were in Canberra for the Half Ironman.  Yes, The Runner went well, No, he did not come off his bike.  Thank goodness!

We had a lovely weekend exploring Canberra- well, that was really only Saturday and really, we spent most of it driving in circles.  Canberra, if you’ve never been, should be called the City of Circles.  It seems like all streets either go in a circle or have at least one roundabout on them.   It was a lovely weekend, but the highlight was clearly our post race lunch.

I had never in my life heard of Gundaroo, NSW and I doubt many of you have either.  However, it’s worth the trip.  The Runner’s work colleague recommended we eat at a restaurant called Grazing, and it was fantastic.

Gundaroo itself is only about 300 people.  I swear it’s the sister village to Ballyorgan, Ireland, where The Runner and I stayed when his brother got married.  They’re both quaint, one road, blink and you’ll miss them villages.  Ballyorgan had a few holiday houses, a pub, and a church.  Gundaroo had a couple of shops and a restaurant.  And what looked to be a Mazda MX-5 convention.  Very weird to see 10 or more Mazda Convertibles in varying colours in a tiny NSW town.  We thought it might be the official village car or we had stepped into a Mazda commercial.

What makes Gundaroo worth the visit isn’t the Mazdas though, it’s the food (and the wine).  We went to Grazing, and it was literally flawless.  The service was amazing, the food was fantastic, the one glass of wine I had was delicious and the experience was second to none.  I even saw an artichoke plant in bloom.  I’m a city girl, I have no idea what plants and animals look like before they get to the grocery store.   It was all local produce and locally produced wines and they were cooked to perfection.   My pork belly was melt in the mouth delish and The Runner’s loved his braised ox cheeks so much I think I probably could have convinced him to move to Gundaroo so he could eat them more often. 

I know it’s unlikely, but if you ever find yourself in or around Gundaroo, you have to try it out.  Gundaroo is about 30 minutes from Canberra and about 2 ½ hours from Sydney.

Grazing Restaurant, Cork and Harp Streets, Gundaroo, NSW.  It makes a weekend in Canberra well worth it!