If you're looking for a mix of wine tasting, local produce, and expertly crafted dishes, then venturing to Hunter Valley is a great idea. Whether it's lunch or dinner, here you'll find a menu to suit your tastes.
Remember, Hunter Valley is well known for its excellent terroir that produces some of Australia's top award winning wines, and to pair with this excellent wine, we've found a handful of winery restaurants where you can enjoy a leisurely lunch and a few glasses of fine wine.
The best winery restaurants in Hunter Valley are:
- Tower Lodge Restaurant – Tower Estate Wines, Pokolbin
- Bistro Molines – Tallavera Grove Vineyard / Carillion Wines, Mount View
- Restaurant Cuvee – Peterson House, Pokolbin
- Esca Bimbadgen – Bimbadgen Estate, Pokolbin
- The Wood Restaurant – Brokenwood Wines, Pokolbin
- The Gates Restaurant – Leogate Estate, Pokolbin
- Restaurant Kawul – Calais Estate, Pokolbin
- The Deck Café – Gartelmann Wines, Lovedale
Tower Lodge Restaurant
Found in Pokolbin, New South Wales, the Tower Lodge Restaurant offers an amazing dining experience. It features high timber ceilings with an elegant but rustic design, along with views that stretch over the countryside as far as the eye can see.
It's open for lunch and dinner, seven days a week, and it's open to anyone who wants to experience some fine wine and dining.
The tower lodge restaurant is all about using local, fresh, and seasonal ingredients, with most of the produce coming from local growers and producers, including its own kitchen garden.
The beef is one of the menu highlights here, as black Angus cattle are raised on the property. With dishes such as slow braised Australian white lamb shoulder, porcini pappardelle, crab and prawn arancini, and more, your taste buds are going to dance. Don't forget to have a delicious dessert as well.
This restaurant has won the AGFG awards in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Some of the standout wines here include award-winning Tower Estate wines and Virgin Hills vintages dating back to the 1980s, along with a variety of Hunter Valley classics.
Bistro Molines
Located close to the peak of Mount View, Bistro Molines is found at the Tallavera Grove Vineyard, and it is a critically acclaimed restaurant that features rustic French inspired dining along with fine wines.
Robert Molines is at the helm of Bistro Molines, and he’s won numerous awards, including a Chef’s Hat from the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide every single year dating back to 2010.
At Bistro Molines, you can expect dishes such as house made pate, twice roasted duck with orange glaze, saffron seafood linguini, and slow cooked short ribs topped with cafe de Paris butter.
This location also has an excellent wine list, with a variety of wines from both Tallavera Grove and Carillion Wines, along with a selection of specialty French wines. This is where you go to get a little taste of Europe in Australia.
Restaurant Cuvee at Peterson House
If you're looking for authentic Australian flavours and a focus on sparkling wine, then you're in the right place if you are at Restaurant Cuvee at Peterson House.
Found inside of the sandstone walls of the Peterson house estate, this restaurant features large timber beams combined with views of their vineyard to complement your meal and dining experience.
Here, you'll find an amazing lunch menu that features dishes such as smoked duck breast with red wine reduction, crispy prosciutto prawns over Peach and quinoa, or rich lamb rump with whipped labna.
Head chef Chad Pridue uses only the freshest of local ingredients to produce these dishes. If you're hungry and interested in tasting some expert cooking, Restaurant Cuvee is the place to be.
What you also need to know about Peterson house is that it features a wide range of sparkling wines, which is its main focus. With so many different varieties of sparkling wines, and regular wines alike, there's no shortage of flavours to experience. This is one cellar door you don't want to miss, especially if you'd like to have a bit of bubbly with your breakfast!
Esca Bimbadgen
Esca Bimbadgen is one of the most renowned fine dining restaurants in hunter valley, combining excellent food with even better vineyard views. It’s found on the Bimbadgen Estate in Pokolbin, and over the years has won numerous awards, both for its wine and food.
Executive chef Rafael Martinez uses seasonal ingredients to produce contemporary dishes, such as saffron mussels with handmade tagliatelle, miso glazed blue-eyed cod, and braised beef short rib with mushroom sauce and pea puree.
Keep in mind, each of these dishes is designed to pair perfectly with the winery’s offerings, with its Shiraz, Chardonnay, and Semillon being at the forefront of its cellar door offerings.
Thanks to its selection of wines and extensive cellar door, it's been recognized as one of Australia’s top winery restaurants several times, and while you're there, you may as well admire the architectural design of the location.
It's a great place to spend an afternoon with friends and family alike, while enjoying the product of the vines and some warming sunshine.
The Wood Restaurant at Brokenwood Wines
Found right in the middle of Pokolbin, Hunter Valley, Brokenwood Wines is one of the most prestigious wineries in the area, and it's where you will find The Wood Restaurant, somewhere you go if fine dining is on your mind.
The executive chef, Sean Townsend, has created a menu driven by produce, where refined European technique meets modern Australian cuisine.
Upper hunter lamb shoulder with fennel and mint salad, hand rolled gnocchi with rosemary and Chardonnay cream, and barramundi with pumpkin and shiso are just some of the amazing flavours you'll get to taste here. There's also a range of fresh seafood available. The fact that there is the option to book a private dining room is another big reason to check out this location.
Brokenwood Wines also has an absolutely legendary wine list, including the famous Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz, which is officially the only Shiraz from the hunter valley region that has been rated as exceptional in Langston's Classification. This is just one of the many award-winning wines produced by broken wood.
The Gates Restaurant at Leogate Estate
With a majestic mountain range as the backdrop, The Gates Restaurant is where you go if you want to experience fine dining, regional flavours, and perfectly matched wines. This is all about being in the middle of wine country and having a sophisticated experience.
One of the standouts of this location is the five course degustation menu, which features dishes such as Hiramasa kingfish sashimi with ponzu and edamame, char grilled eye filet on truffled potato puree with heirloom vegetables, and more.
That's just the degustation menu, as there's an Ala carte menu with plenty of other options as well.
On that note, if you're looking for some of the best dry aged steaks in the country, this is the place to be, along with some of the best Shiraz and Semillon in all of Hunter Valley. It's been recognized as the best restaurant in a winery in NSW, and has also received an AGFG Chef Hat.
Restaurant Kawul at Calais Estate
Restaurant Kawul is all about using creative flair and Australian ingredients to create some of the most satisfying dishes out there. Local produce and bush flavours are used to tell the story of the Wonnarua people who are native to this land.
The menu is specifically designed to be shared, with options such as lemon Myrtle cauliflower bites, pepper berry prawn skewers, roasted lamb shoulder with Calais red wine jus, and grilled chimichurri ham cutlets with spinach mash. There are also vegetarian and vegan options.
Calais Estate is also known for its extensive wine and cocktail list, with everything present being designed to match perfectly with the delectable dishes found on the menu.
The Deck Café at Gartelmann Wines
Found in Lovedale, The Deck Café is a relaxed and warm space where the focus is on family and flavour. The menu here is crafted to be both comfortable and approachable, but also to feature fresh and local flavours.
It's an excellent location to have breakfast, although the cafes signature is its tapas menu, which is great for sharing.
Here you'll find options such as a wallaby tenderloin crested in juniper and thyme, Thai blue swimmer crab cakes, and baked Brie with cranberry pecan jam. Don't forget that there's amazing desserts here as well, including soft centered chocolate souffle and rhubarb almond tarts.
Most of the wines served at Gartelmann are named after members of the Gartelmann and Dillow families, and all reflect the unique terror of the area. Here, you'll also find food and wine tours, high tea, locals nights, and cooking classes alike.
