Kangaroo Valley – Pub Lunch and Sugar Coma

On Sunday the boy (who is happy to be called ‘the boy’ and not Kermit like  I wanted) and I planned a road trip to the Southern Highlands to check out an antiques store that a friend (who would like to be referred to as Oscar the Grouch) had told me about.  

Grandpa’s Shed is in Fitzroy Falls and we had the most spectacular drive through rolling hills and farm houses that we can only dream of owning one day.

I had thought Fitzroy Falls was near Bowral, but turns out I was as lost as our GPS dude as we weren’t too far from Kangaroo Valley.  

Now I’ve been to Kangaroo Valley before on a work ‘team building retreat’ which sucked beyond all imagination. 

My “former place of work” had us hop into teams of two to paddle a million kilometers UP RIVER – UP RIVER, not down river which would be easy! Half way along we had to capsize the boat and wait helpless whilst the other teams (made up of pudgy management and their traumatised underlings) tried to rescue us (it was at this point I nearly submerged never to be seen again). 

Needless to say my memories of Kangaroo Valley were not good and as we drove over the lovely sandstone bridge past canoe hire shops my skin crawled and I shuddered. 

What I learnt from my workplace adventure to the River of Hell was that canoeing = torture. What I didn’t learn was that Kangaroo Valley is a lovely little town with cute shops and cafes.

My brother has often spoken about The Friendly Inn Hotel in Kangaroo Valley as a great place to eat and I was in the mood for a pub lunch . So was Kermie the boy. Great minds think alike.

Yes, that's our Lotus parked out the front. I wish!

“The Friendly” as I now like to call it, has all of the usual pub food that you’d expect – steaks, schnitzel, fish & chips and of course Veal Parmy.  Meals range from $16.50 for a Chicken Salad up to nearly $28 for a fancy steak. Various bar snacks are also on offer.

As we waited for our buzzer to go off we admired the lovely view.

Buzz damn you!!!

You don't get views like this in the city

We both decided on the Scotch Fillet Sandwich which comes with lettuce, tomato, aged cheddar, beetroot and some sort of fancy tomato relish which was a bit to sweet for my liking, but the boy loved it (sweet tooth). 

The sandwich also comes with a side of sugar & spice fries. 

Now I think fries are a guilty enough pleasure without adding sugar to the mix, however it really worked. The sweetness of the sugar worked well with the secret spices on the chips. Sweet & salty – a match made in…Kangaroo Valley. 

Fancy steak sanga

Burger innards

The pub also has desserts and the people behind us ordered something that came topped with fairy floss. I thought for sure that the boy would jump at the chance to eat fairy floss at the grown-ups table, but he had spotted a Fudge Shop earlier and had other plans.

So we loosened our belts a notch and headed across the road to The Kangaroo Valley Fudge House & Ice Creamery. This place smelt A-MAZING (said the way Rachel Zoe says it) and was made even better by the free samples of fudge on offer.  Mmm…free fudge. 

Free fudge - wee hee!

This shop was fun with a capital F. The owner was super friendly and a real character. He had his kids/grandkids/some random kids working behind the counter and they seemed to be mesmerised by all of the fudge and ice-cream within easy reach – lucky them.

More lollies than you can poke a dentist's drill at

In a jam

Decisions decisions!

The boy was tying to put himself in a diabetic coma and walked away with Strawberry Jam, Caramel Buttons and Chocolate Mint Fudge. I’ve made a bet that he cannot make the Fudge last til the end of November. I know for sure I’m going to win that one!

The Friendly Inn Hotel can be found at 159 Moss Vale Road, Kangaroo Valley. 

You can follow your nose to The Kangaroo Valley Fudge House & Ice Creamery or find it at 158 Moss Vale Road.