In autumn, we love driving through Bilpin to visit the beautiful gardens of Mount Tomah and Mount Wilson. We get to pick apples and chestnuts and see the beautiful autumn colours. A highlight of this trip was our stop for lunch at the Apple Bar restaurant in Bilpin. Do remember to book in advance as it is an extremely popular place and hard to get a table at if you just drop in. Michael Jaggard is the owner and head chef. He focuses on fresh local produce and has a great woodfire grill and pizza oven as the restaurants main theme. Michael started his career with Neil Perry back in the 80's before travelling through Italy where he picked up his skills with wood cooking. After a few years in Sydney he moved to the mountains - Bilpin and opened the apple bar. We got there for lunch a bit late and were told that the wait for pizzas would be about 45 mins as the restaurant was full. So we opted for other dishes on the menu. We did order the chili calzone to start with. The highlights of the meal were the woodgrilled pork loin with the caramelized apples and the flourless chocolate cake!!!!! To die for! Great friedly staff, warm cosy feel and great food. Worth the drive from sydney...

Cheese and fresh chili calzone - fresh and hot and gooey melting cheese with a nice bite to it.

Woodgrilled pork loin with local apples caramelized, three mustard sauce and chips. The pork was perfectly cooked and moist. The apples were sensational.

Soft shell mud crab - salt and pepper

Apple Bars famous upside-down caramelized apple cake

Flourless Belgium chocolate cake - this cake was amazing….the texture was melt in your mouth. A must have on every trip.