EXP is cool, its experimental, its utterly focused on its location, the native flavours of the surrounding valley and your dining experienceWe went to E.X.P for the first time when it was at the Oakvale Winery Cellar door. I remember sitting in the old restaurant for the first time, being utterly transfixed by the food, the textures, the flavors. The experience simply wasn’t what I expected outside of a major metropolitan center.The restaurant moved to the Pokolbin village in 2020 where the Chef/Owner Frank Fawkner has very carefully created an E.X.Perience that includes not only his superb food, a decor in modern rustic, superb service, a chefs bar at which you can sit and look directly into the kitchen and a wine E.X.Perience curated by Harrison Plant.

Surrounding you are house and locally made jars of sauces, vinegars and relishes. The furniture, the plates and the cutlery are unique, locally made and crafted by local artizans. The feeling as you enter is friendly, welcoming and clearly with a focus on you, as the customer.

The entrance to E.X.P was originally a clothing shop, and the exterior really doesn't present the E.X.Perience you are about to be offered. As you enter, the restaurant is dominated by the long black stone bar fronted by tall, locally made leather seats for those customers lucky enough to get a seat at the bar. The other dominating feature is the completely open kitchen. Guests sitting at the bar are literally 18 inches from Frank and the team as they carefully prepare each dish.

The restaurant only offers a degustation / tasting menu which is constantly being changed and tweaked as new ingredients become available in the valley. The menu can almost be used as a food map of the Hunter Valley. Frank focuses on locally grown and locally made ingredients. Frank personally has a small farm, and he grows a lot of the produce used in the restaurant, particularly the rarer and hard to get items. To be clear, despite the appearance of a rustic country chic, nothing is out of place in E.X.P, every item, every ingredient is very carefully considered and placed with an attention to detail that is sublime. The food is modern, fun, light and incredibly tasty. Flavors and textures of traditional dishes are experimented with in a way that builds layer on layer of flavor, into something that is new and unexpected, yet familiar.

The duck ham is a great example of this. The dish is described as Duck Ham, your brain tells you that you are looking at a perfectly formed, miniature ham sandwich. What you are about to snaffle is a Red Gate Farm duck served on sourdough crumpet with red wine and grape chutney. This is not your grandma’s ham sandwich but will leave you craving more as much as your Grandmas did.

Each guest is greeted and sat by the superb front of house team, lead by Harrison Plant. The experience of being welcomed into the E.X.P family is genuine, warm and honest.

The meeting of food and wine in this restaurant elevates the great, to the truly sublime. Each wine pairing with each dish, complements, elevates and sometimes transforms the food. This is a place where food and wine are both stars and are truly brought together as a conversation.

Scoring 20/20

We use the Sydney Morning Herald Scoring system for consistency.

The score is based on multiple visits to the restaurant for many years.

10/10 points for food

Deliciousness, technique, complexity, quality of produce, balance, presentation, consistency, style, innovation, integrity.

5/5 points for hospitality

Attitude, friendliness, efficiency, pacing, attentiveness, professional skills, knowledge, COVID safety.

3/3 points for experience and setting

The "buzz" or "vibe", consistency, view, table spacing, noise levels, something extra (such as a kitchen garden or counter dining).

2/2 points for value

Is it worth it? I have chosen to return many times as one of my “go to” restaurants since 2015. I constantly recommend it to friends and colleagues and now to you.