Hunter Valley Food and Wine, NSW Australia

One of Australia’s best places to eat, the Hunter Valley is bursting with restaurants serving up delicious local produce paired with the region’s best wines. From high-end fine dining to classic country steakhouses and buzzing cafes, you’ll never go hungry in the Hunter.

Cafes & casual dining

A bubbly breakfast at Restaurant Cuvee in Peterson House is a Hunter Valley tradition and a great way to start your day. Fawk Foods Kitchen & Bakery serves up housemade delights for breakfast and lunch, while Cafe Enzo specialises in indulgent breakfasts and serves a modern European menu throughout the day.

If you like to dine with vineyard views, head for Amanda’s on the Edge within Windsor’s Edge Vineyard or Emerson’s Restaurant in Adina Vineyard. Dedicated carnivores will want to try the steaks at the Blaxland Inn. Or wander around the stylish Roche Estate to choose from pizzas at Goldfish and Japanese at Oishii.

Dining at Bistro Mollines in the Hunter Valley

Restaurants & fine dining

Two-hatted Muse sets the standard for fine dining in the Hunter Valley with a four-course menu of the best seasonal, local produce. Muse Kitchen is its more relaxed younger sibling, a one-hat European bistro on the grounds of Keith Tulloch Winery. At one-hat Bistro Molines, you’ll feel like you’re dining in the south of France

There’s a strong focus on farm to table dining in the Hunter Valley. One-hat Margan Restaurant grows a lot of what you see on the menu, and the picturesque Circa 1876 uses produce from the organic kitchen garden and eggs from its own Japanese quails. Esca Bimbagen also has extensive gardens providing fresh fruit and vegetables.

New kids on the culinary block include Yellow Billy, named after a local bushranger and focused on cooking over fire; the relaxed and elegant Hunters Quarter; and Eremo, a modern Italian restaurant at Spicers Guesthouse. At EXP. Restaurant, settle in for a five- or eight-course tasting menu that’s innovative and unexpected.