24 October 2024
12 mins Read
It’s a new meeting point for millennials and a much-loved destination for oenophiles, but the Hunter Valley has earned a reputation for its restaurants, too. Here is our definitive guide on the best restaurants in the Hunter Valley.
Myrtle & Stone in the village of Wollombi, in the thick of NSW’s wine country, morphs into a tapas and gin bar by night. The charming eatery is housed in an old stone and wood cottage built in 1932 that has a rich history of serving food along the Hunter River.
Make a pitstop at Myrtle & Stone.
Adjust your waistband to better enjoy the vego brekky with spinach, avocado, roast tomato, garlic mushrooms and crispy chats. Stay overnight at the beautifully renovated Myrtle Cottage next door so you can enjoy a leisurely breakfast and then slink back into your luxury boutique accommodation.
The charming eatery serves up smooth-yet-strong coffee.
Address: 2877 Wollombi Rd, Wollombi
Thirsty, hungry travellers road-tripping to the Hunter should factor in a visit to Usher Tinkler Wines to enjoy a platter of salumi alongside local varietals from this next-gen winemaker’s cellar. Usher Tinkler Wines is regarded as one of the best in the mix of Hunter Valley wineries.
Sit in the cellar door of Usher Tinkler Wines.
While there are multiple platter options designed to cater for different groups, the focus here is on the wine tasting. Sit in the cellar door, located in the original Pokolbin Church, to enjoy light streaming through the stained-glass windows and thank the heavens you’re in the Hunter.
Feast on a generous antipasto platter at Usher Tinkler Wines.
Address: 97 McDonalds Rd, Pokolbin
Margan Restaurant is regarded as one of the best Hunter Valley winery restaurants for a multitude of reasons.
Soak up the serene ambience at Margan Restaurant.
For starters, the one-hatted restaurant is renowned for its inspired approach to agri-dining and sustainability; the rammed-earth restaurant is also the place to enjoy the farm-to-fork tasting menu of your dreams and feel good about supporting a family-run business that is so committed to sustainability.
Enjoy breathtaking scenery from your table.
Don’t just book a table; book the Ultimate Margan Experience, which includes a guided tour of the abundant kitchen garden followed by a five-course degustation lunch.
Select from a range of excellent wines.
Address: 1238 Milbrodale Rd, Broke
Take in the views of the undulating hills in the distance at éRemo Restaurant at the newly restored Spicer’s Guesthouse.
Elegant dining at éRemo Restaurant.
The modern Italian restaurant is run by head chef Jayden Casinelli whose menu will suit those in the mood for food that is Italian with a twist, running from pumpkin ravioli in sage burnt butter to sirloin tagliata with green peppercorn sauce, zucchini, pecorino and rocket. Enjoy a bottle of local wine on the side.
Reward yourself with a plate of premium-graded Wagyu beef.
Address: 57 Ekerts Rd, Pokolbin
The architect-designed revamped cellar door and restaurant complex at Brokenwood is a destination in its own right.
Dine on the aesthetic outdoor terrace in The Wood Restaurant at Brokenwood Wines. (Image: Cody Adams Media)
Sit on the shaded terrace of the Wood Restaurant Brokenwood and build your own banquet with a mix of small plates (kingfish crudo with finger lime dressing) and large plates (grilled Hunter Valley spatchcock or hand-rolled gnocchi).
Feast on a range of mouth-watering dishes at The Wood Restaurant. (Image: Moonshine Media)
While you’re here, book a behind-the-scenes tour, the ultimate Brokenwood winery experience with Ultimate Winery Experiences Australia.
Address: Brokenwood Wines, 401-427 McDonalds Rd, Pokolbin
Adam Frey is now at the helm of Restaurant Botanica, conveniently located near Spicer’s Vineyards Estate overlooking the beautiful bony ridge of the Broken Back Mountain range. Frey pays strict adherence to local produce and seasonality with the menu inspired by the restaurant’s huge kitchen garden.
The restaurant is worth the detour down the pretty country lane for the duck and prosciutto roulade with pickled cabbage, black pepper, brandy and orange jus alone. It’s one of the hidden gems of the Hunter Valley.
Follow the scenic route to Restaurant Botanica.
Address: 555 Hermitage Rd, Pokolbin
Ask Hunter Valley locals what the most romantic restaurant in the Hunter Valley is and they will point you toward Bistro Molines. The restaurant overlooking a terraced hillside of rose-lined vines belonging to Tallavera Grove Vineyard is run by Robert Molines, a much-loved French transplant who moved here in 1973.
Vineyard views don’t get much better than those at Bistro Molines.
Working alongside Molines is head chef Gareth Robbs, whose efforts in the kitchen have helped the restaurant retain a hat in multiple editions of the Good Food Guide.
The sophisticated dining space is just as inviting.
Address: 749 Mount View Rd, Mount View
Divvy means to ‘divide up and share’ and divvy dishes define the menu at Wandin Kitchen, a haven for foodies visiting the Hunter Valley.
The countryside estate at Wandin Kitchen.
The Lovedale locale is a fine example of a restaurant with rooms, located as it is on the wider Wandin Valley Estate near to accommodation options that overlook the vineyards.
Dine at Wandin Kitchen while admiring the picturesque vineyards.
Everything, from the prawn linguine to the house-made chicken is elevated to outstanding thanks to Wandin Kitchen’s bucolic country setting and chef John Rutherford’s attention to detail. The eatery is open from Fridays to Sundays for breakfast.
Try the specialty smoked chicken.
Address: 12 Wilderness Rd, Lovedale
Walking into the intimate EXP. dining room feels like going to a friend’s house for dinner. Expect pre-dinner theatre and polished service here, whether you sit at the bar watching chef Frank Fawkner (ex-head chef at Muse) plate up at the pass or in the restaurant filled with handcrafted furniture and local art.
Kangaroo cooked over the BBQ with butternut pumpkin, macadamia and saltbush from EXP. Restaurant.
Keep it simple with seasonal dishes such as Morpeth butternut pumpkin soup, or Paroo kangaroo with smoked beetroot and an emulsion featuring the small-batch black garlic Frank sells at Fawk Foods Kitchen & Bakery.
Delicious eats at Fawk Fine Foods.
Address: 2188 Broke Rd, Pokolbin
If you really want to make the most of a trip to wine country then book ahead at Muse Restaurant, the two-hatted fine diner that is one of the Hunter Valley’s best restaurants.
Book ahead at Muse Restaurant in Pokolbin.
It’s easy to fall under executive chef Troy Rhoades-Brown’s spell in the elegant dining room, where savvy wait staff pirouette around the tables.
The food at Muse is lavishly exquisite.
Rhoades-Brown marries French technique with local ingredients to deliver crowd-pleasing dishes such as whey and lemon risotto or Jurassic quail with smoked celeriac cream and local mushrooms.
Indulge in aesthetically pleasing, delicious meals at Muse.
Address: 2450 Broke Rd, Pokolbin
There is a sunny energy to the experience of dining on the balcony at Esca Bimbadgen where you are as likely to see a wedding party as a wedding proposal. While the restaurant’s interior is a neutral clean Scandi palette, the balcony pops given its proximity to these patches of green.
Drink and dine at Esca Bimbadgen. (Image: Tim Pascoe)
Order a bottle of wine – perhaps a Bimbadgen Shiraz Viognier 2017 – with a main course of spanner crab tagliatelle or pork loin with chilli jam, rapini and BBQ shallot and then exit stage left like James Bond via helicopter.
Experience dining on the balcony at Esca Bimbadgen. (Image: Tim Pascoe)
Address: 790 McDonalds Rd, Pokolbin
Hunters Quarter has been a hotspot since opening in 2017 as word of the head chef’s Brian Duncan’s credentials grew from a whisper to a roar.
Try the melt-in-your-mouth Wagyu steak. (Image: Dom Cherry)
Duncan has worked for the Dorchester Hotel (three Michelin stars) and Claridge’s Hotel (one Michelin star) in London and was executive chef at Level 41 and The Establishment in Sydney: try the Berkshire confit pork neck with wild boar salami and ocean greens or the mountain-peppered Paroo kangaroo with celeriac remoulade and beetroot gel. Exquisite.
Sit in an exquisite fine dining setting. (Image: Dom Cherry)
Address: 576 De Beyers Rd, Pokolbin
The Hope Estate family-owned Tower Lodge is a celebration of Basque Country and its restaurant leans further into this obsession. Sit at the mighty tables in this grand dining room with furnishings that allude to this vibrant region in the western Pyrenees region of Spain. But when it comes to food and wine, the spotlight is firmly on local produce.
Experience dining like a royal at Tower Lodge.
Hope Estate Group Chef Anthony Fullerton (2022 recipient of the Regional Chef of the Year title) embraces a ‘farm to table’ approach to dining, overseeing the evolving onsite kitchen garden and the estate’s own local Angus cattle farm, as well as sourcing fresh local produce from the community of local producers and growers.
Start your dining experience with the seared scallops.
Loosen up over an entree of seared scallop, cauliflower cream, chorizo crumb, salmon roe, and smoked extra virgin olive oil, followed by the duo of Margra Australian White Lamb, oven-baked rack, pressed shoulder, heirloom carrots, green pea, and black garlic jus for mains. Make sure you leave room for dessert.
Expect local produce to steal the show at Tower Lodge restaurant.
Address: 6 Halls Rd, Pokolbin
Boydell’s Cellar Door & Restaurant in the main street of Morpeth has made a visit to Maitland a must. The restaurant is housed in a landmark 1820s slab hut that has, at different times over the past 200 years, been home to a blacksmith, pie man and clairvoyant.
Sip the finest wines at Boydell’s.
Beyond the incredible food prepared by Chef Paula Rengger, dinner here is an exploration of the wines produced at Daniel and Jane Maroulis’s East Gresford vineyard, first established by Charles Boydell in 1826. Expect a memorable meal; Paula is renowned for her eclectic style, using locally sourced seasonal produce to create artwork on the plate. One current standout on the menu is Patagonian toothfish with diamond clams, tomato dashi and potato crisps.
Boydell’s Cellar Door & Restaurant is housed within a historic 1820s slab hut. (Image: Dom Cherry)
Address: 2 Green St, Morpeth
According to local legend, Yellow Billy was a local bushranger who raided and plundered around the Broke and Pokolbin region during the 1860s.
Sit on the al fresco dining terrace at Yellow Billy. (Image: Dom Cherry)
Yellow Billy (a.k.a. William White) was also a forager who lived off the land so it only seems right to light a fire in his honour: the custom-made fire pit here is used daily to cook proteins and vegetables, which are served in the centre of the table to share.
Hit up Yellow Billy for great-tasting meals. (Image: Dom Cherry)
Everything is better with a bit of smoke and char: expect fireworks with brown-ale braised brisket with fried Brussels sprouts and ginger-roasted pumpkin.
Or go to the cellar door for wine tasting. (Image: Dom Cherry)
Address: 697 Hermitage Rd, Pokolbin
The Mill located on the grounds of Estate Tuscany is one of the destination diners in the upper Hunter Valley. Although the restaurant offers magic mountain views, it’s executive chef William Townsend’s contemporary take on comfort food is what really turns heads.
Settle at one of the rustic tables inside The Mill.
Order the 72-hour slow-cooked, hoisin, bone marrow croquette, carrot anise puree and spring onion with baked Brussels sprouts and you will feel, deeply, the chef’s devotion to his craft.
Dine on artfully prepared dishes.
Address: 28 Mistletoe Ln, Pokolbin
It’s an open-and-shut case: The Gates gives off everything from ‘girls’ weekend away’ to well-heeled wine lovers’ energy. Forget piling onto a party bus. The setting here is way too sophisticated for such shenanigans. Located at Leogate Estate, which was shortlisted for Winery of the Year by Halliday Wine Companion, the go-to at The Gates is grain-fed black Angus beef that is dry-aged in-house. Either that or plump for the degustation.
Address: 1693 Broke Rd, Pokolbin
It’s not a huge trek to the Hunter Valley from Sydney. And the fact that you can be dining at Vines Restaurant after just a couple of hours behind the wheel makes it a notable food destination. Start with an antipasto platter to share or pappardelle with ragu and parmesan you will want to keep all to yourself. The Upper Hunter Valley restaurant has a lovely outlook over Wollomi National Park and is one of the region’s best-kept secrets.
Address: 3483 Golden Hwy, Jerrys Plains
Redsalt is hidden in plain sight in the Hunter. While the signature restaurant within Rydges Hunter Valley is relaxed, and family-friendly, it’s also well known for supporting local producers and being consistent with its focus on seasonality.
Redsalt is hidden in plain sight in the Hunter.
It’s well suited for a business lunch, popular with locals for its themed dinners, and has veg-friendly degustation dinners, too. Whatever you do, order the 18-hour beef short rib, which you’ll be dreaming about for the next decade.
Address: 430 Wine Country Dr, Lovedale
The stylish interiors round out the dining experience.
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No thanks, I like to travel solo
I was lucky enough to have lunch at Muse yesterday it was all of what you say and more, I would love to try most of the places you have written about so I plan to make the effort to do just that in 2019. I do go to the valley quite a lot but tend to stick to old haunts, time to widen my outlook and taste buds. Thank you for your guide.