When a region is famous for its fresh produce and spectacular wines, it’s going to attract exceptional chefs. It’s this combination that has made Orange one of the state’s most delicious dining destinations. Find out where to wine and dine below.
Hatted favourites
Printhie Wines opened a dedicated restaurant at the vineyard in early 2022, Printhie Dining, with chef Jack Brown (formerly of Berowra Waters Inn and NOMAD Sydney) at the helm. The innovative five-course set menu includes dishes like venison tartare, smoked quail with coconut and pear, or Murray cod with yabby dumplings. There’s also a tank of live oysters, perfect as a starter with a glass of their award-winning Swift Sparkling.
Printhie Wines Cellar Door, Orange
The village of Millthorpe, a 35-minute drive away, also has its own hatted dining destination, Tonic. Established in 2003 by Nicole and Tony Warland, the latter has worked beside renowned chefs Matt Moran, Michael Manners and Gordon Ramsay throughout his career. The five-course set menu changes every week, but you might be lucky enough to get the vichyssoise with Millthorpe truffle or the justifiably famous duck lasagne.
Tonic Restaurant, Millthorpe
New kids in town
There's always a delicious new restaurant or cool bar to try in Orange. The tiny Hey Rosey wine bar has quickly become a local favourite and was even awarded a chef's hat in its first year. Just three-metres wide and with seating for 20 people, it turns out share plates, charcuterie, pasta and a selection of international tinned seafood.
Hey Rosey, Orange
There's a bit more space at Summer St Wine Room, a 65-seat bar and restaurant that promises good wine and good times. The seasonal, produce-driven menu focuses on local growers and makers, and there are hundreds of wines from Orange and around the world on the list. As the name suggests, Ignite Bar & Grill is fuelled by fire with modern Australian cuisine cooked over an open flame.
Summer St Wine Room, Orange - Credit: Summer St Wine Room
Casual and cultural
It's always a fun night out at Mr Lim, a buzzy Chinese/Korean/Australian diner. Grab a seat at the long communal table to chat with the locals or grab the microphone for a round of karaoke, held every weekend. The Mr Lim team also run the excellent Mr Sushi King Japanese restaurant, just across the road. For more modern Asian cuisine, book a table at Raku Izakaya – go for the omakase menu, a chef's selection of the best dishes of the day.
Mr Lim, Orange - Credit: Mr Lim
The Schoolhouse Restaurant, inside the ever-popular Union Bank wine bar, has an extensive and interesting menu of share plates. There’s classics like chicken liver parfait and marinated kingfish alongside bone marrow with saffron or white anchovies on toast. Nab a seat in the sunny courtyard for a long lunch.
The Union Bank, Orange - Credit: The Union Bank
For Italian, head to Lucetta Dining, an intimate restaurant serving delicious pasta dishes made from local ingredients and paired with wines from Italy and NSW. They also do an Italian long lunch menu during the summer months. More authentic Italian awaits at Fiorini's Osteria Italiana, a cozy restaurant in a cottage past Lake Canobolas. Specialising in handmade pasta, it's the sister restaurant of Sydney's legendary Il Baretto.
Lucetta Dining - Credit: Steve Brown | Francesco Zarrella
Dine in the vines
A handful of wineries in the Orange wine region also operate very good restaurants. Sky Bar sits at the top of Borrodell Estate, overlooking the pinot noir vines, and serves a bar menu five days a week. During July and August, they also hold regular truffle hunts followed by a delicious truffle-themed lunch and the beloved Black Tie and Gumboot Truffle Hunt and Dinner. Ross Hill Wines hosts a fantastic Lunch @ The Pantry, a three-course meal cooked by local chefs with wine pairings, on selected Saturdays each month.
Borrodell Estate, Canobolas
At Rowlee Wines, Rowlee Dining and Bar offers beautiful share plates, featuring slow cooked meats, seasonal vegetables and delicious cheeses. Pair with a Rowlee wine and views of the vines.
Rowlee Dining & Bar, Nashdale - Credit: Rowlee Wines Pty Ltd
Foodie festivals
The annual Orange FOOD Week is Australia's longest-running regional food festival, running over 10 days every April. Showcasing local farmers and chefs, events range from markets, celebration dinners, workshops and visits to farms, orchards and kitchens. For those visiting in the winter months, local producers put on quite a show at the Orange Region Fire Festival, which is all about eating hearty meals beside crackling fire pits and sipping heart-warming red wine.
Orange FOOD Week, Orange
Stock up on supplies
Before heading home, make sure you stock up on the region’s gourmet goods. Drop into Red Chilli Deli to choose from a selection of cheeses, hams, small goods, jams, relishes, chutneys, sauces, tapenades, artisan breads, oils and chocolates. Housed in a semi-industrial, semi-agricultural strawbale-brick building, a number of local producers use the Agrestic Grocer as their cellar door and main retail outlet, including Badlands Brewery, The Second Mouse Cheese Co and Pig in The House Wines. Meanwhile, Ferment is a wine bar-meets-bottle shop selling drinks from smaller producers that don't have cellar doors themselves.
The Agrestic Grocer, Orange
