Shhhh… this is one the locals want to keep a secret.
Just off Elizabeth drive, the Hubertus Country Club has been a hub for the local Austrian-German community for 45 years. And Jagerstubn, the club restaurant has been there to feed them. Noodlies, Sydney food blog takes a look.
Luddhenham, where the hell is Luddhenham?! The locals are probably happy that the rest of CBD and inner west-centric Sydneysiders don’t know about their hidden gem. While everyone else is enjoying hip Surry Hills, they’re tucking into hearty Austrian-German fare.
The Hubertus Country Club is a long, double storey building located in the centre of large open grounds. Enter and the first thing that greets you is wood, lots of wood and then you’ll notice the deer head welcoming visitors. It’s traditional, with all the bygone touches, which makes a lot of sense because the club has been around since 1969, although it relocated to this current location in 1995 from Elizabeth drive just around the corner (the old location was compulsorily acquired for Badgery’s Creek airport).
Jagerstubn is the club restaurant run by Oscar and Sebastien who bought into the business in 2008. It was struggling at the time, but these days, it’s packed every weekend, thanks to an extensive and delicious Austrian-German menu – and to the typically huge German servings. Today’s happy Sunday lunch crowd is noisy evidence of their success.
Our clan descends on the Club today for two reasons, their hearty food and amazing German bread and pastries from Schwarzes Patisserie, Wentworth Falls. For the past 12 years, Alex Schwarzes has been driving his delicious treats down to sell direct to members on the first Sunday of each month. The hazelnut danishes above are just one of his amazing creations, to salivate even more, check out noodlies’ post on Schwarzes Patisserie.
But back to Jagerstubn…
It’s an extensive menu (click to enlarge) with 20 mains covering standards like schnitzel, goulasch, wurst. Not surprisingly, it’s all pretty meaty with pork featuring prominently. The serving is generous, though light on salt allowing you to dial-up your level.
Come hungry because the servings are huge.
Before you attack the mains, ease yourself in with more-ish langosh (above); house made garlic bread with sour cream, salty and fatty – they’re delicious.
It seems wrong not to have the bauernschmaus (farmer’s feast, above). The German farmers must be hungry, this is pork-with-the-lot including very meaty pork knuckle, kransky, smoked pork loin, sauerkraut, crackling (of course) and plenty of sauteed potatoes. All this is a bargain for $33.50.
Schwiene goulasch (pork goulasch) is Hungarian style slow braised pork stew and served with spaetzle (mini dumplings).
Pfeffer schnitzel (pepper schnitzel) is an attractive, traditional looking meat-and-three-vegs dish consisting of pan fried pork fillet deglazed with brandy and served with sauteed potatoes and peppercorn sauce.
Paprika huhn (paprika chicken) is a half-half of chicken breast fillet sauteed with paprika sauce and spaetzle, topped with fried onion.
Schweizer schnitzel (Swiss schnitzel) is an intriguing looking plate consisting of Viennese style fresh crumbed chicken fillet topped with ham (of course) and fresh tomato and melted emmenthaler cheese. A four-section salad takes up the other half of the octagonal plate.
If you need to wash down the protein and starch, grab a Hubertus Club beer glass for $5 and they’ll fill it with German beer (or should I say ‘bier’) for another $8. You keep the glass.
There’s a choice of six desserts, but it’s hard to pass on apfel strudel (apple strudel), warm and flaky and perfect with fresh cream.
There’s a choice of chocolate or butterscotch crepes; buttebonbon crepes (butterscotch) crepes are filled with cream pastry, butterscotch sauce, caramelised nuts and served with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream.
If you’re in the west of feel like a day trip, set your GPS for Luddenham – Jagerstubn, in the Hubertus Country Club is well worth a visit. Parents will love that the club is spacious and children friendly. Currently, the club is in talks to amalgamate with Blacktown Workers Club – head there now to experience the unique Hubertus atmosphere before it changes.
Hubertus Country Club
205 Adams Road, Luddenham
(02) 4773 4100
Good to know about the Workers Club conversations, I’ll need to make my next visit here soon. Love the stodge, reminds me of my visits to Vienna and Munich. Always need a lie-down after these feasts!! 😉
Love the food, and a great atmosphere, which will NOT change, possibly just get better when Blacktown and Hubertus amalgamate.