Just Open: Clementine Restaurant in Yass

An intriguing new eatery has opened in Yass. Clementine is a white weatherboard cottage with a pretty outdoor deck for alfresco dining - the doors opened just a few days before Christmas.

It's the brainchild chef Adam Bantock, who's worked at Dieci e Mezzo, A.Baker and most recently at Temporada. He says the restaurant's been a couple of years in the making. "I've always lived at Murrumbateman and Yass and was always looking to do my own thing," he says.

Bantock describes it as "good old fashioned" food. "It's a European style bistro menu, very simple - four mains, four entrees, changing the menu every week," he says. "It's what I like cooking, and we've got 100 per cent local wines."

Dishes are seasonal and the latest incarnation of the menu is filled with Mediterranean flavours, including bouillabaisse, an eggplant and smoky tomato salad and roast spatchcock.

Bantock says he's hoping to bring a little elegance to the food scene in Yass, which is often overlooked or considered a mere pitstop for travellers on the road to Melbourne from Canberra. Though Clementine's only been open a couple of weeks (and right in the middle of the Christmas holidays) there's been a big response from Yass Valley diners - the restaurant is booked out for dinner for the next week or two.

One to watch - but make a reservation before you head out of Canberra. Meehan Street, Yass. See clementinerestaurant.com.au