Originally built in 1872, the Albion Hotel has been repurposed since 1933. Photo: Supplied.
Like many country pubs still standing in towns with more than enough pubs, Braidwood’s Albion Hotel has been making its living via different means since it fell into disrepair and its licence was surrendered in 1933.
Bill and Belinda Pulver bought the historic pub, which dates back to 1872, as a working cafe in December 2023 and have launched a dinner service to complement its already popular daytime cafe service.
If you think that the Pulver name sounds familiar, you’re right. Already notable business owners in the region, the Pulvers run Braidwood’s premier destination wedding venue, Mona Farm.
Farm general manager Millie De Maio said The Albion’s new dinner service, Albion Nights, was set to bring a more elevated dining option to the region, featuring fresh and seasonal produce.
“A lot of the produce comes from our productive gardens at Mona Farm,” Millie said.
“We also work with other local food producers to keep the menu local and seasonal, like the papaddelle from Braidwood Food Company. It’s a nice team effort of local produce.”
The historic town attracts visitors with its heritage buildings and creative people. Photo: Supplied.
Albion Nights is currently held on Friday and Saturday evenings, with the aim of running the dinners from Thursday to Sunday if demand is there.
It’s been a slow process for the new owners as they transition to adding dinners to the menu, as well as making other changes to the existing cafe.
“When we took it over, we wanted to make some updates but keep it quite consistent for our local customers,” Millie said.
“We’ve done some renovations and slowly evolved things for the daytime operations, but the night time offering is completely new.”
The high-end Sydney-based wedding clientele that Mona Farm attracts to the region is regularly credited by Braidwood business owners as a catalyst for change in the town. They often see an increase in trade when a Mona wedding is taking place.
It’s a responsibility that Millie and the team at Mona Farm don’t take lightly.
As the largest employers in the town bringing hundreds of people to the region each weekend, they are more than aware of the bigger picture and that’s one of the reasons Bill and Belinda purchased the cafe.
“From our perspective, our whole business is bringing people to Braidwood to experience the best of Braidwood,” Millie said.
“That’s our core offering at Mona Farm. But our whole philosophy is that we are a part of the fabric of Braidwood and having places in town for people to visit and experience adds to what we offer at Mona Farm.”
If the cafe menu is anything to go by, Albion Nights is sure to be a hit. Photo: Supplied.
Whilst Mona Farm has the Sydney event trade locked in, Millie, like other business owners in the town, would love to see more Canberra visitors.
“I’m really passionate about getting people from Canberra to actually stop in town and do more than just go to the bakery. There’s so much more here,” she said.
“We’d love to see with Albion Nights some of the Canberra to the coast trade, people who leave after work on Friday and stop for dinner with us.”
To capture that trade, executive chef Keira Madeley has crafted a small but stunningly thoughtful menu for the new dinner service.
Starters include Parafield Wallis olives with anchovies, olive oil and orange ($15); yellow fin tuna with caramelised fennel, preserved lemon, puffed wild rice and yuzu sesame ($22); and 24 month San Daniele Prosciutto with guindilla and buffalo mozzarella ($24).
This is followed by a choice of five mains, including grilled king prawns with romesco, pickled eschalot, jalapeño and tomato ($45) and Wagyu picanha with bone marrow butter and caper vierge ($49).
A choice of three desserts will wrap up your night and includes leche brulee with macerated berries ($22) and brown sugar pavlova with caramelised fig, berries and elderflower syrup ($22).
With the direction of fresh and seasonal, this menu won’t stay static for long so best to head in soon for the best of winter in Braidwood.
Head to The Albion’s website for more information or to make a booking.
