Set in a charming village that’s the gateway to the Clare Valley, Terroir Auburn is an intimate, hyperlocal, produce-driven restaurant showcasing the standout wines of its neighbours.
Two things come from the mouths of first-time visitors to Auburn. Having arrived, as most do, by car from Adelaide, they’ll say, “That was a lot quicker than I thought it would be.” It’s an easy 75 minutes. Then, after a while exploring the charming village that marks the gateway to the Clare Valley, they’ll say, “Why haven’t I been here sooner?" And then when their eyes fall on a beautiful old shopfront with flickering candles and polished tableware visible through its windows they step inside.
After a couple of hours in the capable hands of chef Dan Moss and his wife, Annika Parish, they’re trawling through real-estate websites looking to buy a place in Auburn to call their own. This has become known as “the Terroir effect”. Terroir is the kind of intimate, hyperlocal, produce-driven restaurant that all country towns should have but so few do.
Don’t bother seeking out a menu online to get a sense of what to expect at Terroir. Chances are it’s still being written as you make your way towards Auburn. Dan Moss is a chef who understands seasonality is a commitment, not a buzzword. It’s reflected in every part of his working day.
From the restaurant’s earliest days, Dan fostered close relationships with local farmers and small growers, many of whom tailored what they were doing to his requirements. His restaurant has become a portal through which the abundance of Auburn and its neighbouring villages pass. Everything in its prime, everything in its time.
Dan has also established a substantial kitchen garden of his own, its tidy rows a map that guides his inspiration. That might lead to the likes of butter-poached leek with oat crumble, lentils and sumac yoghurt or roast pork fillet with cabbage and pancetta.
Dan respects the work of his suppliers, and understands the toll of his own, and that drives his cooking – an elevation of the ingredients, not an essay in ego.
In a small place like Auburn, you don’t have many neighbours. But when the neighbours you do have include in their number winemakers like Jeffrey Grosset, Stephanie Toole and Kerri Thompson, you’re going to want to be one of those sensible people who proclaim the good word on riesling.
Annika Parish puts together a concise and well-considered list that showcases all the Clare Valley’s vinous attributes, but pays extra-special attention to its star attraction, riesling. You wouldn’t go to Rome and not order cacio e pepe pasta, or New York City and forgo a slice of pizza. And you certainly don’t come to Auburn and not have at least one great riesling. Grosset’s Polish Hill riesling is a fine place to start.
Longevity and restaurant ownership are too often mutually exclusive concepts. Too many restaurants shut up shop before they finish the first bottle of bitters they bought for the bar. In regional areas it’s even tougher. By his own admission, Dan Moss has had a few nights where he’s locked the doors behind him and contemplated not coming back. But now, after more than a decade coming back to keep those doors open, Dan possesses a most precious thing – a restaurant on the verge of becoming an institution.
Such places are rare and rightly cherished. Terroir has the quiet calm of a restaurant comfortable in its skin. It’s polished, assured and exudes a quiet confidence. It just feels right.
Terroir is a restaurant that understands the golden rule of regional restaurants, the one that says “Visitors spread the word, but the locals pay the bills.” So every Wednesday evening is Local Appreciation Night, a fixed-price set menu delivering the kind of exceptional value that keeps Auburnites coming back every week.
But don’t worry – you too can take advantage of this community spirit without having to supply your driver’s licence. Just tell them you may not be a local yet, but it’s only a matter of time.
