Bridgewater Mill

8339 9200, Mount Barker Rd, Bridgewater. SA 5155 www.petaluma.com.au
Open Lunch Thu-Mon noon-2.30pm; Licensed; AE DC MC V EFT, Seats inside 45, Outside seats, Private room 130, Kids welcomed
Chef: Zac Ronayne (21-9-11) Owner: Lion Nathan/Petaluma (8-3-10)

Mietta's Review
The reason to visit Bridgewater Mill, apart from the wine, is to sample the cooking of chef Le Tu Thai. Refined flavours and textures in beautifully conceived and executed dishes are what you will find. Two courses at the Mill are $60, three cost $75, there's a fixed price of $75 on Sundays and public holidays. On fine days, sit outside on the deck by the giant mill wheel. The Cellar Bar has wine tastings and sales.

Other Published Opinions

Gourmet Traveller 2012 Australian Restaurant Guide Score: One Star "This celebrated Adelaide Hills lunch institution moves seamlessly into a new era with chef Zac Ronayne. Located amid picturesque gardens only 20 minutes' drive from the city, the old stone mill, with its giant working waterwheel, houses Petaluma's cellar door plus a dining conservatory and deck"

Gourmet Traveller 2011 Australian Restaurant Guide Score: ** "Subtle nuances are the key to chef Le Tu Thai's culinary artistry, requiring tastebuds to work for their reward of pleasure, but what a reward. Each dish on the brief menu - five entrees, main courses and desserts - skilfully highlights the essence of quality ingredients"

The Adelaide Food Guide 2010 Score: * "Dining on the deck of this historic mill building, with the 'Old Rumbler' waterwheel turning languidly through the heat of a summer's afternoon, has become a rite of passage for foodies visiting the Adelaide Hills"

Adelaide Advertiser "One of Adelaide's great dining experiences, particularly on a clear day when a seat on the outdoor deck, as a fine mist drifts off the mill wheel, is the perfect partner to the heavenly kitchen alchemy of Le Tu Thai"

Gourmet Traveller 2010 Australian Restaurant Guide Score: ** "Renewed purpose in Le TO Thai's kitchen is producing sparkling results across the menu. Thai's intricate flavour combinations and precise presentation characterise the modest card of five entrees, four mains and four desserts, each one a model of harmony and balance"

Gourmet Traveller 2009 Australian Restaurant Guide Score: ** "Many things don't change about Bridgewater Mill: alfresco lunch on timber decking beside a slowly turning water wheel; the interior dining conservatory with slate floors and black Series Seven chairs"

Gourmet Traveller 2008 Australian Restaurant Guide "Having soared as a leader in regional dining, Bridgewater Mill has pulled back to more modest levels under Lion Nathan ownership and has chef Le Tu Thai working with a more restrained hand"

Gourmet Traveller 2007 Australian Restaurant Guide Score: ** "Long considered the pinnacle of SA regional dining, Bridgewater Mill is a 30-minute drive from central Adelaide. It's hard to beat a great meal on a converted old grain mill's deck with a glass of Croser in hand. The signature grilled marron with shellfish essence, and crustacean mousseline and truffled cream are still winners, among entrees mostly imbued with chef Le TO Thai's Asian touch."

Adelaide Advertiser 2006 "One of Adelaide's great dining experiences, particularly on a clear day when a seat on the outdoor deck, as a fine mist drifts off the mill wheel, is the perfect partner to the heavenly kitchen alchemy of Le Tu Thai."

Gourmet Traveller 2006 Australian Restaurant Guide *** " A deck at Bridgewater Mill has long been Adelaide's most envied lunch booking, but Le Tu Thai's cooking is (incredibly) finding new heights of inspiration and technical virtuosity."

Gourmet Traveller 2005 Australian Restaurant Guide *** "The Mill's executive chef Le Tu Thai is a phenomenon. A Vietnamese boat refugee who started as a kitchenhand at 16, he is now, 26 years later, acclaimed as one of Australia's finest chefs. Le's fine cooking is largely classical French in style but some dishes draw heavily on his Asian heritage"

Adelaide Advertiser Food & Drink Simon Wilkinson score 18/20 "A superb dining experience and excellent service in a setting that can be either magical or comfortable, depending on the thermometer."

Sydney Morning Herald GFG 2004

AGFG 2004

Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide Australia 2004, 3 Black Star,'has been one of the best in SA.Its reputation has never been better than it is now...In summer, eating on the deck outside the Mill is one of life's treats.'

Sydney Morning Herald, Good Living, 12/11/02

The Advertiser, 18/6/03, Food &Wine,'would rate inclusion in any listing of the best restaurants of the world...dishes that are rich,wholly Australian but with classic French inspiration.'