Briars Country Lodge (MOTEL) — Hotel in Burradoo

I use to frequent the Briars before it burnt down in 2018. It was homely, country style food with a salad bar and a choice of ‘cook your own steak’ or traditional restaurant meals. The inside seating was limited but ‘cosy’. Outside seating was traditional souther highlands style bars and open fire pits. It was a nice place yo go for beers with mates or take your family for dinner.

I went with the family for dinner last night after it has since reopened and now under new ownership. The outdoor setting was much the same. Bars and tables with small fires and heating. Good if you want have a couple of drinks with friends. Sadly the inside setting was polar opposite. They have reconstructed the inside setting to all for more seating and tables. It’s a large open space with tiled floors and a high ceiling which creates an echo with everyone’s conversations and cutlery.. the smaller rooms through the inside of the inn remain as small bar type rooms with limited seating but direct access to the bar if you want a drinks and nibbles type setting.

The food was less than impressive. It was simply overpriced for what you were served. 40$-45$ steaks which came with some chips and a finger full of rocket lettuce and dressing. Fish & chips? Think deep fried mushy fish with some chips to the side - $32. Briars burger? Think an American cheese burger with a slice of lettuce thrown on it -$29. The meals looked more suited to the small town bowling club kitchen then to a top priced country inn. Extremely disappointing compared to the old Briars.

Service was a mixed bag. Plenty of seemingly nice young waiters and kitchen staff. But the ‘floor manager’ the person who greets and seats you was one of the rudest people I have ever experienced in hospitality. She was pushy in getting us seated and ordering like they were in a rush despite being essentially the only people in the restaurant at the time. She then said out loud to us we need to “contain the children” after our daughter went to the bathroom. Followed up with stoping and speaking to my 11 year old niece and 5 year old daughter as they were making their way outside to play with the other children, telling them to “slow down and be respectful”. I’m not sure how much slower then a walking pace, they needed to be? To then top it all off, we were rushed off our food table and we went into one of the small bar style rooms after getting permission from staff with the kids. She enters the room sees us all together and states “oh I see what’s happening… yeah… NO” this was said in the rudest most pretentious tone you’ve ever heard.

I have never felt the need to be more “Karen” in my life.

I’ll just also say there was definitely a mouse running across the kitchen floor as we ate our dinner hahah. The poor kitchen staff were trying to catch it as it ran, sadly he didn’t have a spare thing handy. :)

TLDR: if you want drinks and snacks outside with mates it’s the briars of old. If you want to take the family and cook your steak on the hot plate before serving your own salads and veggies from the old bar, avoid at all costs. They need a new...

Having been closed for an extended period, it was great to see it back open and restored beautifully, particularly in the older part of the inn. The new area is quite cold, filled with hard surfaces so is quite noisy. The lounge area is comfortable and cozy, perfect for winter. The food was good, and compared to some of the nicer pubs in the highlands, competitively priced. The portions are possibly a little smaller than you'd expect, but still not tiny.

Where I had issue was with the drinks list. Firstly, there are hardly any local wines available by the glass. Given people come here to visit our wineries, you'd think they'd showcase this a lot more. Secondly, the drinks list is EXPENSIVE. $15-$21 for a glass of wine is ridiculous, especially since several of them are not even local. Given they have only recently reopened, I'd hope they would be reviewing their approach and considering some revisions. I'd suggest getting more local wines in and dropping your prices by a few dollars a glass. We had a glass each based on cost and are usually 2-3 glasses per meal drinkers. Lost opportunity.

Anyone who has reviewed the service as poor since the place opened obviously has never attended a new restaurant before. It takes a few weeks for everyone to find their groove. When we went, staff were very friendly, professional and offered good service. So ignore any other review saying otherwise.

Overall, I think it's great we have this option back in the highlands again and will revisit again with friends for lunch. Whoever owns it clearly appreciates the history of the place and wants to create a great escape for locals and...

It all started so well.

The heritage interior looked resplendent and came complete with a roaring fire which was more than a welcome sight on a chilly evening.

Even the barman was chipper and welcoming.

But after ordering a pint (of Old Speckled Hen) I looked down at the till and did a double take, as I soon came to realise that I'd just purchased the most expensive pint of beer in my existence! $17.50! Yes you are reading that correctly! $17.50!

Now I'm no stranger to paying over the odds for a decent pint of draft beer (which would normally be upto $14/$15) but this is outrageous.

There's nothing particularly special about this beer either, it's good but It's no double or triple IPA which could possibly justify that price.

The Lord Dudley in Paddington, Sydney was charging $13.50 for it on my last visit and this is in one of the most expensive areas of Sydney, not the Southern bloody Highlands!

So to wrap this rant up, I'd say this newly re-opened place is mostly targeting (and blatantly ripping off) the touring Sydney weekend crowd.

I'm left wondering how many conversations at the bar go like this;

Customer: '3 pints please barman'.

Barman: 'That will be $52.50 please sir.'

Customer: 'I said 3 pints, not 4'.

Barman: 'That's the correct price Sir. The pints are $17.50 each.'

Customer:...