Melissa Hoyer
I drove up to Pokolbin over the weekend to check out the newest arrival at Roche Estate, and ‘Lucia’ has landed exactly where Hunter Valley dining needed it – stone-fired pizzas, Italian share plates, and a wine list that doesn’t need to travel far to make its point.
Doors to Lucia opened 17 September, and it’s already doing what it set out to do. Heading the kitchen is Jack Zideluns, who’s done the rounds – Merivale, Society, Hamilton Island, the Boathouse Group, and a stint as Junior Sous Chef at Gordon Ramsay’s Savoy Grill in London.
But the food here isn’t about the CV. It’s about his Nonna, and the kind of Italian cooking that lands in the middle of the table and gets fought over.
“Some of my best memories of food are sitting around a table with family, with plenty of dishes in the middle and everyone helping themselves,” Zideluns says. “The food is considered, but it isn’t precious.”
Order the burrata with romesco and pizza bread. The Prosciutto Rucola pizza, loaded with fig and San Marzano tomato. The Pesto Mafalde Corte, basil and pistachio doing the heavy lifting. Wash it down with the house Lucia Lager or an Amalfi Sour, poured under the watch of charming Venue Manager John Samway – a WSET Level 3 wine man with a CV that includes Manly Pavilion and The Gantry at Pier One.
The Lucia pitch, according to Samway, is unhurried: “There’s no rush to order or to leave. It should feel special enough that you want to make a plan to come here, but relaxed enough that you can spend a few hours over good food and wine.”
Which is, frankly, the entire point of the Hunter Valley – you’re not there to eat and run. Loved it. . .
Lucia Roche Estate – Pavilion E, Roche Estate, Broke Rd & McDonalds Rd, Pokolbin NSW 2320 Wed, Thu, Sun: 11.30am–9.30pm
Fri, Sat: 11.30am–late
@luciaroche.estate luciarocheestate.com.au
