The Sir George — Restaurant in Jugiong

We'd not visited Jugiong before and a friend recommended the pub for lunch, so we thought we'd stay the night enroute to our southern destination. Our booking was for one of the rooms in the stables, a historic renovated set of stables on the back of the hotel, also on the side of the road. Whilst it's relatively new accommodation I wouldn't recommend the stables as it was too noisy (which I'll explain a little later). The individual cabins away from the road might be a better option. There was a weird sewerage smell outside the cabins in the garden for the duration of our stay, so really didn't encourage sitting outside- the gardens at the cabins and stables are beautiful, but the exhaust fan noise from the nearby cafe (the cafe next door to the hotel, so not on the hotel property) does detract somewhat from any relaxation during day-light hours. The stables rooms beds were comfortable, air-conditioned and the bathroom was ok - if not a little dark as Stable 2 lights in the shower weren't working, nor was one of the bedside lamps, so the room felt a little dark. Also would have liked free-to-air television (not connected and explained in their room guide), whilst the TV has internet capability it was limited with ABC and netflix apps (no 7, 9, 10, SBS or other major apps). The main issue for us was the noise, mainly created by poor insulation in the plumbing between the stable rooms - the rushing of loud water at 3.11 am by the room next door was jarring, as they flicked their tap on and off a few times. The stables are also right next to the road that is the entry to the freeway, so 4wd's and noisy cars moving up and down the road vibrate through the stable walls, particularly around 6-8 am. You can also hear the noise of the freeway in the distance during the night. And to top off the noise issues at 7.00 am the gardener was running around with one of those electric blowers for about an hour. The complimentary breakfast in the room was good, with fresh bread and toaster provided as well as coffee machine and other breakfast treats. Overall we decided we'd not return to The Sir George Accommodation as it's just too noisy (and pretty expensive for what it was), for those who really want to try it ensure you get an individual cabin away from the road and not one of the...

This restaurant is overrated and the hype surrounding it is unwarranted. Despite its restored façade, the actual establishment is a substandard pub that falls short even in basic areas. We ordered a porterhouse steak and two chicken schnitzels, but the steak - which commanded a mouth-watering price tag of $50 - was disappointing as it didn't come with a basic essential of a garden salad, and was tough despite our request for it to be rare. The presentation was lackluster, with just a few chips thrown on the plate. I might add that they were burnt and stale. Although we're not steak connoisseurs, the steak tasted like it had been frozen, lacked flavour, and was practically inedible, even after additional seasoning. The Diane sauce was runny and didn't mask the poor taste.

The steak lacked the juiciness and tenderness that is expected of a premium cut of meat like a porterhouse. It was so tough that we had a hard time cutting through it with our knives, let alone chewing it. To make matters worse, the Diane sauce that was served with it was runny and didn't help to mask the poor taste of the steak.

Moving on to the schnitzels, we found them equally disappointing. The schnitzels were equally unsatisfactory, as they were tough and lacked flavour even after adding salt to the heavily herb-based seasoning. They were tough and lacked flavour, even though they were heavily seasoned with herbs. We had to add a tablespoon of salt just to make them palatable, which was a shame because we were hoping that they would be a redeeming factor of our meal.

Overall, we found that the restaurants restored façade was misleading as it did not reflect the substandard quality of the food and service. For the high price point, we expected much more than what was delivered. We would not recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for a good meal, as there are better options available...

MISSY THE CAT RETURNS!

A tricky one to review. The Sir George was a five star venue in many ways, but a few slips at the edge lead me to post a four star review.

It's an impeccable venue with beautiful gardens that are a real treat for the soul. You can sit there with a glass of wine from their well-considered list, or with nothing at all. SUPER.

The room we had was very well appointed. You can see the eye and hand of the owner in every detail, in- and outside. It's aimed pretty squarely at the Country Living set, and hits the target with complete success.

I do have a reservation, in that our 'barn' was fronting the parking lot, which is the one corner of the place that's a bit of a visual let-down. Happily we weren't there on the weekend, because if I'd been paying max tariff for the room I'd have been very peeved about this. Even then, a splendid room - and thank you so much for leaving out the usual ugly, noisy, stupid, television. Again, it's a peaceful place.

Finally: dinner. Not memorable, either for better or worse. My impression is that the hotel proper serves double duty as the local pub, and I think the kitchen is leaning a bit more in that direction. Good, yes, but not quite up to the five-star vibe of the operation as a whole. (Breakfast was even better than expected, though.)

Well worth a visit if you're in this price bracket - you certainly aren't going to beat it anywhere else along the highway.

Missy The Cat Star Ratings:

5 - a place of rare genius that merits repeated return visits

4 - a strong effort with no major shortcomings

3 - a solid, worthy effort with perhaps one important thing to fix

2 - several important things wrong, but at least one important thing right

1 - can't be given a zero, doesn't deserve a dollar (as of...