‘The pies are epic’: Andy Allen’s Aussie restaurant, bakery and pub favourites

With an opening set for February 2026, MasterChef Australia judge Andy Allen and business partner Darren Robertson are in a race against time. The duo is hard at work transforming their Southern Highlands site in Burradoo into the latest Three Blue Ducks destination – an ambitious Byron Bay-style hub featuring a craft bakery, a farmhouse eatery, and an intimate 60-seat restaurant.

“We will be serving food that is Three Blue Ducks-inspired with more finesse,” says Andy Allen, who lives in the inner-Melbourne suburb of Northcote but is travelling interstate for work right now.

“Daz [Robertson] and I are excited to delve into a simpler way of cooking, and the menu will highlight proteins and vegies coming off the land,” he says.

The 121-hectare property features a three-hectare vegetable garden, while a Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden and cooking school is set to come to the site.

Allen’s plate is about to get even fuller. Alongside his growing business empire, he and his wife, Alex, have announced they are expecting their first child in 2026.

The Toyota bZ4x ambassador says he loves nothing more than exploring Melbourne with his electric car, heading to bakeries, choosing pubs over late-night bars and has a soft spot for farm-to-table restaurants Brae and O.My in regional Victoria.

EATING OUT

Favourite Melbourne restaurants

Reed House in Melbourne’s CBD. Owner and chef Mark Hannell worked with us at Three Blue Ducks for seven years and always had a dream to open his own place. It’s been so lovely to see that come to fruition. I like their take on British classics – the ramen Scotch eggs are a must.

Chicken, bacon and leek pies are pretty epic here too; as are the lamb and ox tongue ones. When these things come to the table, it’s a piece of art. The bone marrow pops out of the top, and it’s well done. The family-size pies are winners.

Nostra Kitchen – it was a fabulous pop-up in Northcote run by chef Dane Hewson and his partner, Lydia Greenwood. It went gangbusters over a week. Dane used to work at [CBD wine bar] Embla, and there was a lot of cooking over fire here. I ate some of the best pasta and can’t wait for them to do it again.

When we lived in Carlton, we ate at [Brunswick East wine bar] Etta a lot. It’s one of the few restaurants in Melbourne where the mains are better than the snacks and entrees.

Alex and I love Fenton Farmhouse in Carlton. Nes [Nesbert Kagonda] is an epic dude and he runs this more like a cafe. He’s built a community, and there’s even a run club there. The coffee is very good here. I always order a long black. The triple-smoked ham on a perfectly set jammy boiled egg is my go-to. It’s got some pickles on it and fresh veg. It’s all you want on a Sunday morning. They also do a roti night during the week.

I love The Royal Oak, a great pub in Fitzroy North. It’s been around since 1871. The owners have done a great job keeping its beautiful facade. I order a chicken schnitzel with Japanese curry sauce, which is delicious and served with a punchy coleslaw. They do pickled mussels on toast and an epic tempura eggplant with sweet and sour sauce all over it.

Favourite place in Australia

O.My Restaurant in Beaconsfield, Victoria. We took my mum there for her birthday while she was in town visiting with my dad. We grew up in a country town west of Newcastle, so to experience something like this was definitely special.

My parents took me to Sizzler for my 21st birthday, and like many people’s childhoods, mine didn’t revolve around food or anything fancy. We always sat together as a family for meals, but it was really just to get fed.

Taking mum and dad down to experience this restaurant was amazing. The owners have a farm and work hard to create awesome produce. Mum loved the sourdough bread. They also make a slow-braised cabbage dish, rich and full of umami and plated so delicately. The snacks are so good – we ate raw flathead and a turnip dish. Dad grew up fishing. He’s never seen flathead served raw, and he was really interested in that approach.

ON THE ROAD

Collingwood bakery Falco makes a great smashed burger/Big Mac pie. They mix pickles, American cheese and bake it in their pies, and add a Big Mac sauce they make in-house. Their laminated pastries and croissants are also on point.

South Yarra bakery Tivoli Road is another favourite spot for traditional pies. I always get the brisket pie – it’s amazing.

We stayed at [three-hat Birregurra restaurant] Brae for a night, and it was a great experience. It’s a world-class restaurant, farm and accommodation site. The dessert was memorable – we ate the parsnip and apple cigar. The salad dish was also insane, made with lots of ingredients from the garden, and it came out looking like a beautiful arrangement of flowers. They spray the vinaigrette tableside, which is awesome.

Sydney favourites

Banh Xeo Bar in Rosebery. They make a famous turmeric pancake – it’s crispy and normally filled with barbecue pork. They also make fried pigs’ trotters with caramel sauce.

I love an ice-cold schooner at The Icebergs Club. It’s nothing revolutionary food-wise, but it’s one of those spots to people-watch. Everything slows down here.

AP Bakery is leading the charge in the cafe/sandwich scene. The egg roll and fermented chilli sauce is so simple but so delicious.

For pasta, it’s Ragazzi in Sydney’s CBD. Spaghetti vongole is my favourite dish. They also make an anchovy toast with a wedge of sourdough, and put on an abusive amount of garlic and chive butter and drape a couple of anchovies over the top. This is the perfect way to start a food crawl in Sydney.

I’m also a big fan of Sean’s restaurant in North Bondi. It’s classic cooking, perfect for long lunches in the sun. You have to order the roast chicken. It’s simple and the garnishes change seasonally.

Baba’s Place in Marrickville is another favourite. The head chef is formerly of Three Blue Ducks. It’s flavour-first food – Mediterranean and Middle Eastern-style food that is not traditional but is lots of fun to eat. There’s tarama on toast and barbecued Skull Island prawns with tomato butter and Italian crumb.

EATING IN

Signature dish at home

A beautiful piece of trout on the barbecue with an oakleaf lettuce salad and a glass of wine with my wife, Alex, in the backyard.

Guilty pleasure

It’s ice-cream – a tub of Connoisseur Cookies and Cream or Maggie Beer’s Burnt Fig.

Kitchen wisdom

When entertaining, I like to do as much as I possibly can before the actual day. Make sure you have all your sauces done so you can spend time with your guests rather than running around the kitchen like a headless chook!