---

---

Dear Mary-Jane
Robert and I would like to thank you for a very memorable meal last Saturday. Every part of it was absolutely superb and we only regret not having the capacity to sample the desserts. I have not eaten such tender meat since the Hungry Horse at Paddington was still tiny and in its heyday at least 35 years ago!!! (The chef there used to hang his meat until it was quite gruesome I suspect but you could have cut it with a butter knife).  Your squid and lamb are up there with the best and as we eat out quite often and at some highly acclaimed restaurants, that is a pretty fantastic recommendation. You must never let Corinne escape. And your service has just the right balance also - pleasant and attentive without being intrusive.
 
We will certainly recommend you most highly to our guests.
 
We would love to be linked to your website if possible - it would be a great honour (www.whitegables.com.au) But if this is a nuisance, we won't go into a decline. We will take great pleasure in telling everyone what a great night we had with you.
 
Best wishes and may all your enterprises thrive.
Libby and Robert Sayers.
White Gables B&B Leura

Hi Mary-Jane
I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU for the delicious dinner we had last Friday night. You have a beautiful restaurant - the food, the people, the space - and we had a lovely night. (I hope our rowdiness wasn’t too off-putting to other diners!?) I will certainly be coming back for dinner as soon as I can.

Warm wishes,
Amanda

Hi Mary-Jane

Just wanted to tell you how much Eddie enjoyed his made-to-dietary-order meal at Ashcrofts again, as did the rest of us. It is Sunday night and we are home and he is still talking about the delicious meal he had at your restaurant on Friday night! Thank you to both you and Corinne for making his night just as special as the rest  of ours. We look forward to many more visits in the future.

Warm regards
Leora - Sunday Canberra Times - Sunday 14th Novenmber 2004

There’s more to the Blue Mountains than trekking. Try eating, says Stacey Lucas.

Start with Blackheath. The main street of the historic little town is sprinkled with cafes, bakeries and watering holes and chi-chi restaurants including ashcrofts ( featured in the gourmet traveller top 500 dining experiences food guide) where we ate some rather spectacular plump oysters. The lovely waiter informed us that even he wasn’t allowed the secret of the wasabi sauce. They also do a great platter of Jannei cheeses.

SMH GOOD FOOD GUIDE 2004
Modern Australian
From the moment co-owner Mary-Jane Craig greets you at the door, you know you're in good hands. The service is happy and efficient in this neat, sparse restaurant, which she opened with chef Corinne Evatt as a break from city life.
Don't resist when Mary-Jane points you in the direction of the open ravioli with scallops in a very delicate saffron and ginger sauce. She's also right about the excellent Atlantic salmon with a sumac, macadamia nut and basil crust, with swordfish velouté; and the more-ish pork saltimbocca with green apple fritters in spider-web-light batter. It can get noisy, as other conversations bounce off the dark wooden floors and white walls hung with original nude drawings. But everyone falls silent when the spectacular vanilla bean custard, with its hat of spun toffee, ceremoniously arrives - assuming you've managed to resist the heavenly dark chocolate steamed pudding with warm chocolate sauce and vanilla bean ice-cream. But why choose? Have both.

SMH WEEKENDS AWAY
Ashcrofts, a 10-minute umbrella-covered stroll into town, turns out to be a real find. Thank goodness we'd booked. As we sit waiting for our meal - shared antipasto, the slow-cooked duck with rum-soaked plums and the veal, followed by a sumptuous chocolate pudding washed down with a shiraz - we watch a stream of would-be diners walk away, disappointed the place is full.

SYDNEY EATS WITH CHEAP EATS
Restaurant Guide 2004