You’ll never go hungry in the Hunter Valley. From fine-dining hatted restaurants to buzzy lunch spots and breakfast with a side of bubbles, there’s a meal for every mood.
- 5 min read
Breakfast spots and casual eats
Restaurant Cuvee, Peterson House
It’s something of a Hunter Valley tradition to start the day with bubbles at Restaurant Cuvee. Serving breakfast, brunch and lunch, the modern Australian menu features local specialties like cheese from Hunter Belle, seafood from Port Stephens and honey from Denman. On a sunny day, get a table in the leafy courtyard and settle in for the perfect Wine Country morning.
Peterson House, Pokolbin
The Deck, Gartelmann Wines
As the name suggests, the best thing about this cafe and restaurant is the huge outdoor deck that looks over a dam and surrounding bushland. The Deck's breakfast menu has all the classics (including a ‘hangover roll’ if you’ve overdone the wine tasting), while lunch and dinner are tapas style.
Gartelmann Wines - Credit: Gartelmann Wines Cellar Door Pty Ltd
Cafe Enzo
Part of the pretty Peppers Creek Village, Cafe Enzo has been serving hungry valley visitors for more than 25 years. The sunny, Tuscan-inspired courtyard, complete with Italianate fountain, is the perfect place to linger over coffee, breakfast or lunch.
Cafe Enzo, Pokolbin
Chic and delicious
Hunters Quarter, Pooles Rock Vineyard
Chef and owner Brian Duncan spent much of his career at Michelin-starred restaurants. He’s now creating a relaxed, elegant menu at hatted Hunters Quarter, featuring exquisitely plated dishes like yellow fin tuna carpaccio and smoked duck with miso carrot and black pearl mushrooms. With a glass-walled dining room and an outdoor terrace overlooking the vines, the views outside are almost as pretty as those on the plate.
Hunters Quarter, Pokolbin - Credit: Hunters Quarter
Yellow Billy, Piggs Peake Winery
According to local legend, Yellow Billy was a gentleman bushranger who roamed the villages of the Hunter Valley in the 1860s. His way of life is the inspiration behind this eponymous restaurant, where chefs will forage for fresh ingredients and most dishes are cooked directly over the fire. At Yellow Billy expect things like pit-fired lamb shoulder, grilled whole Murray cod and kangaroo tartare.
Piggs Peake Winery - Credit: Gez Xavier Mansfield Photography | Piggs Peake Winery
Amanda’s on the Edge
Amanda Patton always dreamed of owning a restaurant that felt like a country home and that’s exactly what Amanda’s on the Edge has achieved. Different dining spaces are spread throughout a sprawling weatherboard house, with views over the garden and vineyard, and a wood fire in winter. The menu has European and Asian influences, and is paired with wines from the surrounding wineries.
Amanda’s on the Edge, Rothbury - Credit: Amanda’s on the Edge
Wine and fine dining
Margan, Margan Wines
A pioneer of the ‘farm to fork’ movement, one-hat Margan has been crafting their menu around what they can grow, pick or produce on the estate for more than 15 years. That means free-range chickens, pasture-raised lambs, honey from beehives, and fresh vegetables, fruit and herbs from the kitchen garden and orchard. The five-course set menu changes weekly and there are excellent vegetarian, plant-based and pescetarian options all year round.
Kitchen garden, Margan - Credit: Dom Cherry
Bistro Molines
A little slice of Provence on a Hunter hillside, Bistro Molines serves up a traditional European/French menu in a pretty, paved courtyard overlooking the vines. Chef Robert Molines and wife Sally have been cooking in the Hunter Valley since 1973, and his rustic Provençal dishes have never gone out of style. The service at Bistro Molines is also legendary, so expect a flawless meal from start to finish.
Bistro Molines, Mount View
Muse Restaurant, Hungerford Hill Winery
The first restaurant in the Hunter Valley to have been awarded two chef’s hats, Muse Restaurant is the effortlessly stylish older sibling of Muse Kitchen. Technique, quality and innovation are key, making for true special occasion dining. The five-course contemporary Australian menu changes frequently, but always highlights the best Hunter produce.
Muse Restaurant & Cafe at Hungerford Hill Wines, Pokolbin
EXP. Restaurant
One of the few fine dining restaurants in the Hunter Valley that’s not on a vineyard, EXP. is part of the tiny row of shops that make up Pokolbin village. That means the focus is all on the plate as part of a dining experience that’s entertaining and interactive as it is delicious – no wonder it was awarded two hats. The tasting menu has more than a dozen courses, ranging from perfect single bites to more substantial mains. Get a set at the kitchen counter to watch the chefs in action.
EXP. Restaurant, Pokolbin
éRemo, Spicers Guesthouse
At the stylish éRemo, they know not to mess with the classics. Fried zucchini flowers stuffed with ricotta, buffalo mozzarella with autumn tomatoes, potato gnocchi with gorgonzola, and tiramisu all feature on the menu of this contemporary hatted Italian restaurant, set within Spicers Guesthouse. If you can’t decide what to order, choose the Avido menu and let the chefs feed you with their favourites.
éRemo Restaurant, Pokolbin - Credit: éRemo Restaurant
Restaurant Botanica, Spicers Vineyards Estate
Another hatted high-achiever from the Spicers family, Restaurant Botanica is part of Spicers Vineyards Estate. Promising comfort food that’s both warm and exciting, it serves a French bistro-style menu with splashes of English charm and Australian technique. Coq a vin, white bean cassoulet and chicken ballotine sit alongside quirky dishes like sourdough ice cream with Vegemite caramel.
Restaurant Botanica - Credit: Spicers Retreat
Esca, Bimbadgen
Esca is a Hunter Valley institution, but after a recent revamp of both the interiors and the menu, it’s feeling decidedly fresh. The menu is divided into four sections – from the garden, from the sea, from the land, and cheese and dessert – and you can pick and choose to build your perfect three-, four- or five-course meal. Esca also has one of the best views in the valley, perched on a hilltop overlooking rolling vines. For a budget-friendly option, enjoy a pizza at Bimbadgen Wood Fire Pizzeria, which is co-located at Bimbadgen Estate. Hear live music every Friday and Saturday afternoon in its Tuscan-inspired courtyard, shaded by a beautiful vine-covered pergola.
Esca Bimbadgen Restaurant - Credit: Time Out
Cézan Trattoria & Bar, Krinklewood Biodynamic Winery
Cézan Trattoria & Bar is serving up a little piece of the Mediterranean in the Hunter. Think delicate kingfish crudo, creamy hummus and rustic flatbreads. Their menu of seasonal dishes is thoughtfully paired with Krinklewood’s organic wines creating a seamless journey from plate to glass.
Cézan Trattoria & Bar + Catering, Broke - Credit: Cézan Trattoria & Bar + Catering | David Griffen Photography
Sebastian
After a recent $6 million revamp of the famed hotel Tower Lodge, new restaurant Sebastian opened its doors. Named after the Spanish city of San Sebastian, every dish pays homage to the home of Basque cuisine and Europe’s highest concentration of Michelin-starred restaurant. The chefs present the meals at the table, taking time to explain their intricacies.
Sebastian, Pokolbin - Credit: Tower Lodge
