W: It's an all-Aussie adventure just getting to Hentley Farm. After an hour's drive north-east of Adelaide and a detour down a well-worn red dirt road, you'll find the restaurant in a low-slung 1880s stables, all craggy walls, rough beams, with a second dining room like a glass box suspended over a creek bed. Don't wait for a menu. It's a surprise, a flurry of modern dishes that speak with an Australian accent, using what's grown or found on the property.
W: They say old vines and young winemakers make a magic combination, but we say historic vineyards and young chefs is even better. Just 15 minutes from Adelaide's city centre is the 1844 vineyard that gave Australia its most celebrated red wine – Penfold's Grange – with a sleek, dramatically designed dining room that showcases Scott Huggins' inventive, locally sourced tasting menu. It kicks off with some pretty legendary snacks – think sticky pig's tail taco – then flows seamlessly from lobster with konbu and tomato ice to a dish of lamb with brussels sprouts, kale and coal-roasted pumpkin that will have you reaching for that extraordinary list of 56 vintages of Grange. Magill Estate also has a beautiful tasting room and adjacent Magill Estate Kitchen restaurant with more casual, lunchy food (charcuterie, cheese, char-grilled steaks) overseen by Scott Huggins.
W: Delightful nibble platters with a great view. They serve their wines from Enomatic wine serving cabinets to ensure each wine is preserved and poured at perfect temperature. Pair that with their regional platter for two, with cheeses, meats, frittata, bread and many dips. Served 12-3pm.
W: Was once Settlement Wines, a very popular spot. Now Beach Road Wines, they certainly haven’t dropped the ball in terms of quality or experience. For the area they serve up very well priced light lunches, pizzas and little bites. We love the pizzas the most though, try the mushroom served with the Beach Road Greco. Cellar Door 11 - 4Lunch Mon, Thurs, Fri, Sat & Sun from 12Dinner Saturdays 5 - 9pm from March 5th 2016
W: Ekhidna serves up several spectacular platter choices with their Ploughmans, antipasto and fruit and cheese platters. It has a cosy feel here, somewhere you can definitely sit and relax (and eat)! As well as serving up platters the restaurant also provides a fine dining style lunch. The ambience in the restaurant amongst the vines is beautiful. They source only fresh and local ingredients to create wonderful dishes such as Willunga beetroot truffle pasta with caramelised onion, olive salsa, Hindmarsh Valley goats curd and salted macadamia. So tasty.
W: They serve up delicious platters for $38. You can choose from the Ploughman’s or Wine Tasters platters. If we had to pick a fave it’d have to be the Ploughmans crammed with paté, vintage cheddar, Beerenberg pickled onions, pickled cucumbers, olives, Moroccan jam, mixed fresh greens with fresh tomatoes, olive oil, candied balsamic vinegar, dukkah and lavosh. Holy yum! These are available daily 11am – 3pm.
W: So cute and quaint, almost like you’re stepping into someone’s home. The restaurant itself has a simple cafe style dining feel, but the food is lovely. It’s perfect if you’re after something tasty, light and on the lower range of the price scale for the region. Their platters have a brilliant and filling selection but we really love the famous Oxenbury grapple pie with ‘grapple’ cider, chicken and chorizo. Amazing.
W: Open on weekends this little kitchen serves up massive amounts of flavour. Great pizzas, sliders and charcuterie style food all made with rustic seasonal flavours. We love the wood oven pizza with roasted beets, goats chèvre and rocket pesto.
W: Aka the home of Vale Ale. The staff here are all about having a fun time but you can combine the experience with great food. They even have a ping pong table! and beautiful views. Lunch comes in the form or light nibbles (pate, cheese plates and smallgoods) or full main mains. You can also grab some sweet treats if your palate desires.
W: The beautifully picturesque grounds offer the perfect lush lawns to throw down a picnic rug and enjoy one of their platters full of local cheese. Because everybody knows that when you have wine, you must have cheese!
W: We’re always a fan of putting the chefs in control. The Coriole ‘Let us feed you’ menu for just $59 gives you more delicious food than you think you can handle. Alternatively you can pick from the menu as you choose. The 24hr braised beef cheek is hearty and pairs perfect with red. Lunches are Thursday-Monday from 12- 2.30pm.
W: Now this place is on the higher end of the price scale, but simply stunning. If you’re trying to impress or indulge in McLaren Vale, this is your destination. We always recommend the degustation, as it’s so perfectly paired with their amazing wines. However there is an a la carte menu option too. The chocolate and chilli braised kangaroo tail and seared kangaroo saddle with mint labne, date, preserved lemon and parsley mograbieh is out of this world, if you’re a little more on the adventurous side.
W: Now this is fine dining. Incredible food and first class service all while you soak in the beauty of the rolling McLaren Vale hills abundant with vines. A stand out dish for us is the onion and bacon tart with goats cheese ice cream for $21. Twists on classics that you’ll never forget. Lunch is Thursday-Monday from 12pm. Bookings advised.
W: Still more restaurant style dining but you can choose from fine dining, alfresco or a la carte. Boasting a wonderful ‘Eat Local SA’ menu that highlights regional, local, fresh and seasonal ingredients. The Tournedos Rossini on the menu is listed as “The World’s Best Beef Dish” and we can see why. Chaetuebriend, pancetta wrapped eye fillet on brioche with foie gras, porcini, truffles and madeira jus. To. Die. For.
W: Serving up a full 3 course fine dining lunch Thursday to Sunday 12:00-2:30pm. This is another coveted McLaren Vale dining experience. Head Chef Thomas Doerre has travelled the world with his career working in places such as Park Hyatt London and Park Hyatt Paris. Luckily for us he has landed here in SA and has brought the big guns when it comes to serving up absolutely stunning food!
W: Rustic style food in a restaurant style setting. Delightfully innovative food, served on wooden boards to match the rustic charm of McLaren Vale. If you have people who are a little traditional in their dining style, this would be a great spot. We love the pork cutlet, gorgonzola, sherry-soaked prune, apple and endive salad for $34. Lunch 7 days. Yippee.
W: This place is unassuming but delightful. It’s often pinned as a stunning wedding venue, but many don’t realise they also serve meals. An inspired menu using only the best produce. They have 2 courses for $55, or 3 courses for $70. We love the slow cooked pork jowl, pickled vegetable, miso mustard and greens.
W: High end dining in a historical setting. The Coterie was built in between the gum trees in 1988 and highlights the wonderful surrounding Australian landscape. Local and ethically sourced ingredients come together for fine dining style dishes. You can still grab a share platter or nibbles, but you should really try the full foodie experience. You would only regret it if you didn’t. Friday Night Wood Fired Pizzas from 6.30pm – 10pm – Bookings essential
W: The young and funky winery. They’re ready to tell you about length and palate, if you so require but also ready to tone it down and meet you on an approachable level if you aren’t an expert. With funky tunes playing in a cool setting this is a fun place to grab pates, cheese, olives and lavosh. Great for that mid morning or late arvo nibbles stop.
W: Held every Saturday 8am – 12.30pm in the Willunga Town Square, more than 80 farmers and artisan food producers from the region sell their fresh produce; rain, hail or shine.
W: Andy Clappis is well-known for the organic bread he supplies to local restaurants and providores, as well as his stall at the Willunga market. But sitting down for one of the lunches he puts on each Sunday at his family property atop Willunga Hill is what most excites Richard Angove. “He feeds you like you are part of his family. It is northern Italian inspired deliciousness,” Richard says.
W: There’s a whole lot of love from the locals for the Salopian as it continues its great tradition of hospitality tracing back to its days as a rest point for weary travellers and their horses. Mentions seem evenly divided between the cooking of Karena Armstrong — an absolute guru, says Andre Bondar — and husband Michael’s enormous collection of gins. “The absolute must-order item is the pork buns,” advises Andre, “steamed and filled with fresh pork, coriander, and who knows what other goodness, with a chilli sauce that will put some hairs on your chest.”
W: “This little shack which hugs the Port Willunga cliffs boasts one of the most ethereal views in the world,” says Wirra Wirra’s Paul Smith, one of many to have fallen for its charms. Selina Kelly from Yangarra has this advice: “Get your loved one and pull up a seat out on the deck. Order a bottle of French champagne and a plate (or two) of the salt and pepper squid which has been caught out in that very bay, and watch the sun settle down into the sea to end its day. Simple, beautiful, pleasure.” Coriole chef Tom Reid shows his English heritage by recommending fish and chips from the takeaway kiosk down on the beach.
W: The Aldinga Bay Surf Life Saving Club turns into a Thai cafe on Friday nights, with home-style cooking by Simon Hartley. It’s recommended by Kate and Kym Davey, at Shingleback, who say to watch out for the dessert maker who has trained with Adrian Zumbo.
W: The story could be filled with accolades for this bakery with outlets at Aldinga and McLaren Flat which seem to feed and make coffee for most of the region’s winemaking fraternity. As well as tributes to their pies (look out for the pie of the month such as “hog and hops”), the croissants and sourdough fruit loaf come in for special mention from the Shingleback team. Wirra Wirra’s Kelly Wellington loves the coffee layer cake. “It’s as good as tiramisu, much easier to transport and makes you by far the best guest if you take it to Sunday lunch,” she says. Coriole staff survive on the almond croissants and Portuguese tarts. The coffee, roasted next door by locally owned Villere Coffee, is the best around, says Andre Bondar.
W: The go-to destination for healthy eating options, Maxwell’s is part fruit and veg store, part cafe. Winemaker Stephen Pannell says he survives vintage on the store’s beetroot and ginger juice and Bircher muesli, while Chalk Hill’s Tom Harvey indulges in the Wakefield Grange beef burger “chased down with a coffee from Tom the master barista”. “It is on the way to Port Willunga beach so we love to swing by on a hot morning, pick up our coffees and head down to the beach and watch our kiddies splash away,” says Coriole’s Lizzie Sherrah.
W: A favourite for its coffee, cheeses and wide selection of produce, Willunga’s Three Monkeys also benefits from the symbiotic relationship with near-neighbours who share a common courtyard. “Hither & Yon is right next door and is a cosy little cellar door with a merry pot belly stove to defrost the toes and nose,” says Jo Reschke at d’Arrys Verandah. “If you visit on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, you can have a tasting and stay for a bite courtesy of Pizza Kneads which is tucked in behind.”
W: For Sea & Vines Sunday, Elbow Room chef brings his party specialty to the grounds with his famous spit-roasted, rolled lamb, pork and chicken “beast” with heaps of roasted winter vegies.Now for a bit of winery history at this heritage-listed cellar door right in the middle of town surrounded by a leafy and spacious garden perfect for wandering and relaxing. The wine selection is traditional with a range of tastings on offer including the option of masterclasses.
W: A popular choice for a knock-off-time beer. “It’s usually filled with local laughing larrikins, covered in mud and/or wine,” says Wirra Wirra’s Erin Stacey. “Sit inside by the fire drinking stout or outside under the hops drinking pilsner.” “Jeff and Mary Goodieson are the loveliest of folk and make real beer, hands on, with love,” adds Jo Reschke. “The Brown Ale leaves you with a warm autumnal glow and the coffee and toffee notes of the stout will melt the severest of chills.”
W: A popular choice for a knock-off-time beer. “It’s usually filled with local laughing larrikins, covered in mud and/or wine,” says Wirra Wirra’s Erin Stacey. “Sit inside by the fire drinking stout or outside under the hops drinking pilsner.” “Jeff and Mary Goodieson are the loveliest of folk and make real beer, hands on, with love,” adds Jo Reschke. “The Brown Ale leaves you with a warm autumnal glow and the coffee and toffee notes of the stout will melt the severest of chills.”
W: Well-known for its never-ending hospitality, awesome wine list and great weekend lunches with a view, this time of year is even more special, says winemaker Charlie Seppelt because oysters are in their prime and publican “Lord” Doug Govan has an impeccable source. “A dozen natural with a current vintage riesling from Clare or latest release Chablis, and Dougie always seems to have a bottle in the ‘back fridge’ — it happens more than it should,” he says.
