One of regional New South Wales’ best-known farm-to-table restaurants will close after 12 years, just months after its owners overhauled the venue in an attempt to return it to its roots.
Zin Food + Wine House in Mudgee will serve its final guests on December 21, owners Kim Currie and David Lowe announced this week.
The couple opened the restaurant as The Zin House in 2014 and built a loyal following for its produce-driven cooking, much of it sourced directly from their farm and gardens.
Earlier this year, they reinvented the celebrated fine-dining destination, dropping The Zin House name, abandoning its $155 degustation menu and relaunching with a more relaxed $95 offering.
At the time, Currie said the restaurant had become a ‘bucket-list’ destination she barely recognised, with locals increasingly replaced by visitors celebrating special occasions.
But the couple said the decision to close altogether was ultimately about reclaiming their time rather than the performance of the restaurant.
‘After more than a decade as The Zin House, and our recent chapter as Zin Food + Wine House, David and I have decided to close the restaurant at the end of the year,’ Currie announced on Instagram.
‘Since opening in 2014, Zin has achieved everything we set out to do and more – highlighting our region, sharing our love of uncomplicated food and wine of outstanding quality, and creating a space for people to connect.’
Zin Food + Wine House in Mudgee will serve its final guests on December 21, owners Kim Currie and David Lowe announced this week
‘The decision to close is a hard one’
Hidden among the vineyards and gardens of Mudgee, Zin was built around a simple philosophy: cook with what could be grown on the property.
Currie said three words written in large letters on her office wall – ‘generosity, authenticity, quality’ – had guided the restaurant throughout its 12-year run.
‘From day one our ethos has been to cook simply with what we grow,’ she said.
But after more than a decade running the restaurant, Currie and Lowe, who is also the winemaker behind Lowe Family Wine Co, decided their priorities had changed.
‘The decision to close the doors on this chapter is a hard one, but ultimately feels right,’ Currie said.
‘As parents, grandparents, and business owners, we are at a stage where we want to reprioritise our time.’
Instead, she said she was looking forward to having the freedom to cook when inspiration struck, develop recipes, write and pursue new projects in the kitchen without the demands of running a restaurant.
Hidden among the vineyards and gardens of Mudgee, Zin was built around a simple philosophy: cook with what could be grown on the property
The restaurant had only recently undergone a dramatic transformation
The closure comes months after Currie made the unusual decision to dismantle much of the fine-dining experience that had helped make The Zin House a destination restaurant.
Despite its success, she admitted late last year that the accolades and elaborate dining format had gradually pushed the restaurant away from what she originally wanted it to be.
‘Every time I heard the word degustation, I cringed. I would look out and think, there’s nobody here I know. The locals aren’t coming. We’ve become a special-occasion place,’ she told The Sydney Morning Herald at the time.
The Zin House subsequently became Zin Food + Wine House in January 2026.
The $155 tasting menu was replaced by a $95 set menu influenced by Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cooking, with three small pours of Lowe Family wines included.
The changes were designed to make the restaurant less formal, more affordable and easier for locals to visit regularly.
‘I just want to cook simply, from scratch, with the food that we grow,’ Currie said ahead of the relaunch.
‘After more than a decade as The Zin House, and our recent chapter as Zin Food + Wine House, David and I have decided to close the restaurant at the end of the year,’ Currie said online
‘I want the restaurant to be more inclusive, less expensive, and just a little more energetic and playful.’
Instead of lengthy degustations, dishes were brought to the table together, with menus featuring the likes of flatbread with olive oil and dukkah, za’atar chicken skewers and eggplant prepared three ways.
Opening hours were also expanded across Fridays and Saturdays so customers could stop in for a glass of wine without committing to a lengthy meal.
Even QR codes were introduced to allow diners to access recipes and footage from the vineyard.
It was a deliberate attempt to strip away some of the ceremony the restaurant had accumulated during its success and revive the relaxed farmhouse experience Currie originally envisaged.
A changing landscape for Australian restaurants
Zin’s reinvention came during a difficult period for Australia’s hospitality industry, as rising operating costs and changing spending habits have forced restaurants to reconsider increasingly expensive dining formats.
Currie had already recognised that diners were looking for greater flexibility and value, particularly as households became more selective about how often they ate out.
Rather than continuing to chase the prestige attached to degustation dining, she chose to make Zin more accessible.
The decision to now close means that experiment will ultimately be short-lived, although Currie has made clear the restaurant’s final chapter is ending on her and Lowe’s terms.
She thanked the customers and generations of employees who had contributed to Zin since 2014.
‘To all our customers, the teams who have cooked, served, cleaned, gardened, marketed, and to everyone who has supported us and been part of the Zin journey I offer my heartfelt thanks and warm respect,’ she said.
After 12 years creating one of Mudgee’s most recognisable dining experiences, Currie and Lowe will enter 2027 without a restaurant – and, for the first time in over a decade, with the freedom to choose what comes next.