This rustic venue blends into its backdrop of an eco-hotel and provides a bar, restaurant and coffee area plus an open-plan kitchen bulging with jars of colourful bounty from their kitchen garden. Supported by a knowledgeable and easygoing team, chef Chris Scott delivers a menu that stands by his long-held belief that good eating begins in the garden. And boy, what a garden he has; more than 700 square metres of organically grown plants. Homegrown and with a focus on eliminating food waste, the menu is hyper-seasonal. The skilled addition of pickles, preserves and ferments makes the food sing. There’s jammy-delicious tomato marmalade and Royalburn lamb bacon with pecorino and rosemary on wood-fired flatbed; perfectly pickled Stewart Island mussels with carrot and saffron; and deeply umami-fied karengo butter (you would happily swim laps in) accompanies the blackfoot pauā and squid-ink pasta. With a thoughtfully constructed drinks list, the team at Sherwood are walking their talk. Check website for opening hours. MAINS: $32-$85