Saddles Mount White — Restaurant in New South Wales

Being brought up in the country, I do have a tendency to like things a little bit rustic. When we stepped foot into Saddles property at Mt White, I instantly connected to its theming and it brought back fond memories of a country life. Together, we both like weekend getaways, so the fact that Saddles is only an hours drive from Sydney makes for the perfect little getaway. Saddles is a stunning bakery, cafe and restaurant at Mt White. Heading up the M2, just after the Mooney Mooney Brooklyn bridge on the way to the Central Coast, you’ll find a turn off to Mt White. Saddles is found about 10 minutes down the road, inconspicuously sign posted. The turnoff which may be missed if you haven’t planned a visit. However, as we drive in, we see it’s completely packed. From what we hear, it’s booked out 3 weeks in advance. Rightfully so, Saddles is outstanding in every regards. It is an absolute gold mine and one of the most picturesque places we’ve been. John Singleton, entrepreneur (of Bon Pavilion, as featured in another of our posts, and owner of a number of other locations on the Central Coast) purchased this 10 hectare property, built a man made dam and the overlooking bakery and restaurant, all amongst the stunning bush backdrop. Sit in the restaurant, look out at the view and you will be completely relaxed. With oldies on road trips, families having celebrations and a few couples too, it’s perfect for any guest. We describe the space as bush elegance. A large wooden cottage featuring iron bark beams, a fireplace as the focal point, opening both into the lounge and outdoor dining areas. Velvet and brass lounges are draped in furs, and tables feature interior design books, candles, dropped pendant lights - the styling is on point. Artisan Saddles are hand crafted by Heath Harris, featuring as amazing chairs utilised for bar seating. There’s also a beautifully crafted piano off to the side of the bar, another great feature. This well considered styling continues on into the bathroom with cast iron sinks, brass taps and huge brass rimmed mirrors. An open kitchen allows you to see the staff in the kitchen at work, and it is clear they are super busy and plating the meals with precision and efficiency. Saddles bakery and restaurant serves breakfast and lunch as well as a dinner menu on Fridays. We’re here for the brunch menu, for choice of drinks there were freshly made juices, milkshakes, coffees and even a morning mimosa or a Bloody Mary. We have a coffee, the house blend. Smooth and not too strong. The house made granola, with pecan, oats, dried fig, cranberries, other roasted nuts and served with a thick creamy fromage blanc, and poached rhubarb. We really enjoyed this choice and find it’s the perfect rustic dish for this venue. Followed up by the asparagus and eggs dish which is brightly coloured with its greens, served with mushrooms, tomatoes (to replace avo which had sold out). It was topped with a pistachio crumb, spring herbs and a lemon dressing. The eggs were nicely poached, making for a spectacular yolk explosion when piecing the eggs. Waffles, corn fritters and poached trout are amongst the other menu choices, but we needed to leave space for something that caught Kurt’s eye instantaneously, the pork & fennel sausage roll with house made sauce. This sausage roll was gigantic, with a golden crisp pastry, nice and flakey, the filling a flavourful, moist sausage mix. This is now added to our list of favourite sausage rolls. We finish off with a patisserie item, their famous lamination. A fluffy sponge, filled with jam and coated with daintree chocolate and sprinkled with roasted coconut. A crowd favourite. We recommend booking at least three weeks in advance, as they are super busy. There’s a few lounge seats for walk ins, but I wouldn’t take a risk as you don’t want to miss out. They also do takeaway...

👀 We celebrated my beautiful friend’s Jo 30th here. We had a massive table out on the deck and out on the deck is dog friendly!! They have a carpark attached to the venue as it is ‘in the middle of nowhere’’.

The name, ‘saddles’ takes inspiration from a local artisan saddler, he personally designed the famed saddle chairs at the brass-scalloped bar.

Their menu is seasonal menu and simple yet elegant and thoughtfully curated to showcase Australian cuisine. They use a range of native, bush-inspired ingredients including lemon myrtle, strawberry gum and pepper berry to feature in their dishes.

💥 Saddles feel very cozy for a big space. They have stations like a Piano bar and seperate place for coffee too. Their black outdoor furniture looks super luxe. Their kitchen is drenched in kitchen plants overhead. They have wood accents throughout and even firewood storage outside. The main feature is the bar, lined with saddles for chairs, sitting on their raw stone around 80mm thick!

💁🏼‍♀️ Service was great especially for a big group, they welcomed my fur baby with open arms.

🍷 They have an extensive list full of cocktails, wine by the glass and carafe, bubbles, Australian Reds, Whites, Roses, Beers, Ciders, spirits and liquors. Non alcoholic and hot beverages.

🍴 House made organic bread with fromage blanc, olive tapenade $10 - ridiculously good, I love olive tapenade. This was super buttery.

Saddles charcuterie – Smoked cabanossi, Tasmanian aged cheddar, house cured ocean trout, pickles & onion jam $29 - I love this and would get this again, its not only pretty but it its delicious, especially the thinly sliced bread and the ocean trout!

Pork & fennel sausage roll with tomato relish & house salad $25 - this is one of the signature dishes here, it’s super expensive for a sausage roll but it's huge and fat. We shared this dish and all the others so it was perfect to share. Love the flavours, I think it’s a great dish to order if sharing but maybe not just for one person.

✨ Thank you Saddles, for being dog friendly!! People come from near and far because they are so...

Each year, a few close friends and I celebrate our birthdays by choosing somewhere special for lunch — and this year, for my birthday, I chose Saddles at Mount White. I’d heard lovely things about the setting, and was looking forward to a relaxed afternoon in beautiful surroundings.

The setting did not disappoint. The grounds and building are truly stunning, with the dam views and natural bush making it feel like a peaceful retreat. The restaurant itself is beautifully crafted, and from the moment we arrived, it looked like it was going to be a wonderful day.

Unfortunately, the experience from that point was underwhelming.

The service was slow throughout. We poured our own wine and found the staff largely disengaged. For a venue with such a strong reputation — and quite a limited menu — it was also disappointing to find that several key items were unavailable, including the oysters and a rosé we’d been looking forward to.

To their credit, a staff member offered us a complimentary bottle of wine to make up for the missing items — a gesture we appreciated and accepted. However, when the bill arrived, we were told that the wine couldn’t actually be taken off, and we would need to pay for it after all. It was awkward, and frankly left us feeling a little misled.

Saddles is a beautiful place, and I can see why it has a strong following. But in our case, the slow service, unavailable dishes, and confusion over the bill made for a disappointing and rather deflating birthday lunch. The food that did come was underwhelming, too, unfortunately.

I hope this feedback is taken in the spirit intended — to help ensure the experience lives up to...