One of regional New South Wales’ most celebrated restaurants, The Zin House in Mudgee, is closing its doors after than a decade – but not because business was bad.

Owner and chef Kim Currie says she simply no longer recognised her own restaurant.

Hidden among crabapple trees and tea bushes on the edge of the wine region, The Zin House has long been a destination for food lovers who travel hours for a fine-dining experience.

But for Currie, the restaurant’s transformation into a ‘bucket-list’ venue came at a cost.

‘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.

The restaurant, which opened 11 years ago, earned accolades and awards – but the success, she says, moved it away from its humble roots.

In January 2026, Currie and her husband, winemaker David Lowe of Lowe Family Wines, will reopen the space under a new name: Zin – Food & Wine.

The shift comes as hospitality venues across the country are rethinking what it means to survive in a climate of rising costs, staff shortages, and changing diner habits.

From Sydney’s fine-dining institutions to Melbourne’s mid-tier bistros, many restaurateurs are choosing to simplify menus, shorten hours, or scale back tasting experiences in favour of casual, affordable options.

Instead of $155 tasting menus, the new Zin will serve a $95 set menu inspired by Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cooking, served all at once.

The price will include three small pours of Lowe Family Wines, with the option to add at the bar.

‘I just want to cook simply, from scratch, with the food that we grow. I want the restaurant to be inclusive, less expensive, and just a little energetic and playful,’ Currie said.

It’s a statement that feels particularly relevant as the cost-of-living crisis continues to squeeze Australians.

Dining out has become a luxury, with menu prices up 34 per cent since 2019 according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and many households cutting back on restaurant meals altogether.

Meanwhile, chefs across both Sydney and Melbourne are reporting that high-end dining – once defined by multiple courses and matching wines – is losing its appeal among a new generation of eaters who value connection and comfort over formality.

Currie’s new concept embraces that shift.

Rather than three-hour sittings and staff in pressed aprons, diners will be invited to eat at their own pace.

There will be flatbread with olive oil and dukkah, za’atar chicken skewers, and eggplant three ways, with garden-fresh produce and homemade sauces at the heart of the menu.

The restaurant will open from 11am to 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays, allowing guests to drop in for a glass of wine or stay for an unhurried meal.

QR codes on the menu will even link to the recipes and vineyard footage, so diners can recreate the dishes at home.

It’s a modern rethink of what fine dining can look like in regional Australia – equal parts farm-to-table and backyard barbecue.

For a restaurant once known for its starched white linen and five-course menus, it’s a refreshing kind of rebellion – one that might just set the tone for the next chapter of Australian dining.