It's picture-perfect quaint, but off the beaten track. And with climate change an ever-present concern, flooding is a painful reality - twice this year, no less.
Throw in a tiny population - let's be generous and call it 1000 including surrounding areas - and Wollombi hardly ticks all the boxes as the ideal venue to start up a restaurant.
So what was the attraction for Tabatha Muzik, owner of Tabu Wollombi?
"I came up to Wollombi from Sydney for a break from city life and to write a film script, and used to hang out at this great cafe/restaurant called Panino's. The owner, Bruno Giagu, needed a waitress on weekends and asked if I'd help out. I said yes, but I wouldn't be here long... and that was four years ago," she says.
"Basically I fell in love with the town and the people. Earlier this year Bruno retired and suggested I take over, which I did, but I wanted to take the restaurant in a new direction.
"I thought about what wasn't available in Wollombi and what locals would want... without having to drive 40 minutes to Pokolbin or Cessnock to get it."
"I also wanted it to be welcoming to everyone, dine in or takeaway."
That's why the picturesque hamlet is now home to a family-friendly eatery that bills itself as Euro-Asian.
"I love seafood so it's Euro-Asian with an emphasis on fresh seafood. Everything from soft-shell crab, school prawns, scallops... all sourced from the fish co-op in Wickham and just kilometres from where they've been hauled out of the water."
At Tabu you can take your tastebuds on a journey. The menu is predominantly Thai with forays into Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and France.
Chef Panuwat Wasadsoy (known as Tum) grew up in Thailand and worked at Pad Thai Chai Yo in Potts Point before moving to Wollombi to work with Tabatha. He uses local products whenever possible on the seasonal menu with every dish bursting with flavour.
"We source our fruit and vegetables from local Wollombi farmers, meat from Barry's Meats in Cessnock and spices from AKK Asian Grocery in Newcastle," Muzik says.
"We also make pretty much everything inhouse - from sauces, spring rolls, crab cakes, pad Thai - except for the Peking duck, which we get from Sydney.
The restaurant in "downtown Wollombi" is housed in the historic Grays Inn, a 19th-century sandstone Georgian building, with a softly lit indoor space and a covered verandah overlooking the magnificent manicured garden out back.
But it hasn't all been plain sailing. What many people don't know is that not long before taking over the restaurant Muzik had a near-fatal accident.
"I flipped a 600-kilogram Polaris on a dirt road and was trapped underneath," she says. "I had to be rescue-helicoptered to John Hunter Hospital and had three operations to save my leg. I still have metal in it. It gets sore sometimes, but I manage."
And then Wollombi was inundated by the worst flood since 1949.
"The garden was under water but fortunately it only lapped at the back steps of the verandah and didn't engulf the building," she says. "A lot of people were worse hit than me."
After the clean-up, she rebranded the restaurant and reopened as Tabu Wollombi to the delight of the locals.
And it seems every one of them drops by for lunch, dinner, a coffee or cocktail.
"The friendship and support here is unbelievable. I created the logo for Tabu - an illustration of Mount Yengo - in dedication to the Wollombi community and its meaning of 'coming together'."
The locals come for Tum's green chicken curry, his home-made dumplings and the pork larb is also a real favourite.
But no matter what you order, it's one delicious bite after another, from an opening snack of mushroom and spinach gyoza to a winning pairing of lemon and coconut sorbet with lychee and mint that ends the meal on a high note.
There's also a short but sufficient wine list with some local drops and a couple of French and Italian labels too, as well as four classic cocktails.
To celebrate the festive season, Tabatha has planned a mini night noodle market in the garden on Sunday, December 18.
"We're going to have four different noodle stalls, as well as a dumpling stall, bao bun stall and drinks stall with Anna Weatherup singing carols."
"Then Tum and I are going to close the restaurant from December 19 to January 13 and take a well-earned break."
