Hermitage Lodge introduces new Italian restaurant, Pescara

Pescara, which takes its name from a city in the Abruzzo region of Italy, opened in November after retiring restaurateurs Mark and Noreen Gottaas sold the McDonalds Road venue to a local family.

The Pokolbin property is the first venture for new owners the Redman family who operate as Vermilion Collective, while the restaurant is operated by head chef Kelvin Foster and his wife Nicole Panetta who bring their passion for Italian food to the Hunter Region after relocating from Sydney.

Pescara replaces Hermitage Lodge's Il Cacciatore restaurant which the Gottaas family operated for 20 years.

According to Nicole, Pescara's menu is inspired by the simple nature and fresh flavours of traditional Italian cuisine.

"It's traditional Italian, not modern plating or fine dining Italian food," Nicole said.

"It's like your neighbourhood Italian restaurant, so we have dishes like veal scaloppine, meatballs, and garlic prawns which is served in a cast iron hotpot.

"It's more of an extension of your dining room at home, somewhere warm, friendly and inviting."

Pescara's menu includes angel hair pasta with Alaskan King crab meat, chilli, garlic and white wine, a popular dish lifted from the menu of their Mosman eatery, DC's Restaurant, which they operated for 13 years before closing in May last year after the building was sold.

Nicole and Kelvin decided to move their family to the Hunter Valley after the restaurant's closure.

Shortly after the move, the couple discovered that their neighbour's sister was the new owner of Hermitage Lodge.

"We had actually approached the previous owners of the restaurant last year because we knew the property had been for sale for a while," Nicole said.

"The timing was perfect."

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The menu's entrees include salad of smoked rainbow trout, watercress, pear, pickled red onion and almonds; and baked figs, prosciutto and gorgonzola.

Mains include confit duck leg, red cabbage, watercress and jus; pork and veal meatballs in napolitana sauce; and veal scaloppine and potato in a lemon, caper and leek sauce.

The restaurant offers a minimum of two courses for $89 or three courses for $110.

"We are using a lot of local suppliers and are sourcing more local produce from around the area," she said.

That includes the wine list which predominately features winemakers from the Hunter Region and Italy.

"We want to have a combination of Italian wines, Hunter Valley wines and local Italian varietals," she said.