9 places to eat & drink in the Hunter Valley
Australia has some of the best wineries in the world, and it’s crazy to think how many are within driving distance of Sydney.
Just 2.5 hours north and a little inland is the beautiful Hunter Valley; home of Scarborough Wine Co., Bimbadgen Estate, Keith Tulloch, and many more well-known (and must-try) wineries. But it’s not just the wineries that you should go for; Aussie wine regions like the Hunter are also raising the stakes for delish eating experiences.
LOVE a good drive holiday!
Read on for my list of places to eat and drink in the Hunter:
E A T
Bistro Molines
Just outside Pokolbin in Mount View, Bistro Molines is a provincial French restaurant run by husband and wife duo, Robert and Sally Molines.
The menu is a commitment to locally sourced, seasonal produce, and is paired with a long list of wines from the Hunter, greater Australia, France and Italy. Some wines are so local they come straight from the Tallavera Grove vineyard on site!
Overlooking the surrounding hills, you’ll be forgiven for getting lost in the incredible view like Blog Editor Nicole did on her visit.
Goldfish Bar & Kitchen
Nestled in the Roche Estate complex (formerly Tempus Two), Goldfish Bar and Kitchen is an understated and award-winning small bar.
Roche Estate
Rivalling some of Sydney’s top bars, Goldfish is the perfect place to collapse after a long day of wine swilling. And with a menu of tapas-style dishes, it’s also a welcome change if like us, your trip involves non-stop eating.
We order a bottle of Glandore Estate red and choose a few share plates to graze on. Each dish is fresh and full of flavour, and leaving us wanting more… so we order a cheeky affogato for the road 😉
Pasta-making class at Sandalyn Wilderness Estate
Want to do something that doesn’t involve wine tasting? Well actually, that’s a big fat lie because on our 11am arrival to Sandalyn Wilderness Estate a glass of wine is shoved into our hands (although don’t be mistaken, it was absolutely voluntary!) The point is however, that you can go here and do something a little bit different.
Over the course of 4 hours, we learn about olive oil (Sandalyn also produces their own olive oil), learn how to make pasta, taste some wines from the vineyard on site, and at the end we feast on a beautiful meal of our home-made agnolotti and fettuccini. Belissimo!
Book your own pasta-making course here.
EXP Restaurant
Now, you’ll have to excuse me for drooling while I reminisce about EXP Restaurant. Although I’m sure this is the natural reaction because it was incredibly good – a 10/10 for sure.
The attention to detail is there; it’s in the service, the beautiful hand-crafted crockery, and of course every dish that hits our table. We embark on an eight course journey that kicks off with fresh herbs from the garden that have been frozen in liquid nitrogen. We’re invited to crush the herbs with a small pestle, to then mix through some local butter, before spreading on our freshly-baked flat bread.
Each dish outdoes the previous, and at the end of the night we struggle to pick a favourite because they are all so damn tasty. Here are a few standouts to get your mouth watering:
- House-made Haloumi with eggplant, parsley and lemon
- Fraser Island Spanner Crab with corn, potato gnocchi, nettle and chilli
- Rice pudding with buttermilk, persimmon and wild rice
Café Enzo
Nicole said it’s all about the breakfast at Café Enzo. Well I think the lunch menu is pretty special too!
Reading through the menu, we want one of everything but like responsible adults, we opt for one dish each… plus some sides for good measure.
We order the free-range butter and tarragon poached chicken breast with pan fried parmesan polenta and lemon butter sauce, and the crispy skinned Tasmanian salmon with beetroot puree and goats cheese dumplings. And it would be rude not to order a glass of wine…
D R I N K
Mount View Estate
We have time to kill before our lunch at Bistro Molines so we pop into Mount View Estate, which is conveniently located just around the corner.
Mount View Estate has been producing some of the most awarded wines in the Hunter Valley for 45 years. Continuing the tradition set by Harry Tulloch (of Tulloch wines), the winery is family owned and operated, and this tightknit family vibe shows in the great service we receive.
We taste some fabulous wines – my favourite is the 2014 Reserve Shiraz – but the standout is definitely the view! Sitting outside, sipping wines while looking over the vineyards is an experience not to be missed.
Keith Tulloch
This is our second time visiting Keith Tulloch Wine, but our first experiencing it from the Members’ Lounge.
We are well looked after by Cameron, who takes us through the wine list and explains the history of the vineyard. Keith Tulloch wines is one of the younger and smaller-producing vineyards in the region, but the team’s meticulous care in producing the wines means a great reputation and a slightly lighter wallet for me at the end of the experience! I take home a bottle of Gairn Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Keith Tulloch Member’s Lounge
The stunning vineyard estate is thanks to Keith’s wife Amanda, who’s an interior designer, and it’s worth a trip alone to check out the beautiful architecture and styling. On the site, the cellar door is accompanied by chocolate store Cocoa Nib and award-winning Muse Kitchen, which I visited on my last trip.
Muse Kitchen
David Hook
Being an always-on-time person has its benefits because we have time to kill (again!) before lunch at Café Enzo, and so we pop into David Hook wines for a cheeky tasting.
We sit at the bar and make our way through five of the wines on the list. We easily choose two bottles of Old Vines wine to take away and then meander right on time to our lunch booking. There’s definitely something to be said for arriving early.
Scarborough wine co.
There are two Scarborough Wine Co. sites in the Hunter Valley region. We’ve visited the newer Hermitage site before so we decide to check out the original cottage location on Gillards Road.
It’s a cold morning so we don’t stay long… just long enough to take a few snaps and take home a magnum of Yellow Label Chardonnay.
Two Fat Blokes / De Iuliis
Two Fat Blokes run one of the best known gourmet tours in the Hunter. While we don’t go on a full tour, we joined a tour group for the hour-long cheese and wine tasting experience.
We sample eight local cheeses, including neighbouring Binnorie Dairy, paired with eight De Iuliis wines. The cheeses and wines are really well matched, with each wine bringing out the unique flavours of the cheese and vice versa. The Blokes even created their own match for the Manchego Sheep’s Cheese: a Moscato Granita. Yum!
At the end of the tour we pop into De Iuliis to grab a few bottles of wine to take home with us. Our wine collection hasn’t been this healthy in a long time!
De Iuliis Cellar Door
So there you have it – my tips on where to eat and drink in the Hunter Valley.
Did I miss anything? Let us know in the comments below.
Shauna experienced the Hunter Valley on behalf of Destination NSW.
Dear Shauna,
I was wondering if there is any hunter valley tour or driver that you can recommend that brings us to both Bistro Molines and Keith Tulloch? appreciate your advice. We will be staying at Novotel at darling harbor and the end point will be our hotel as well. planning to go on the 5th Aug , Friday.
Thank you 🙂
Cheers,
Linda Chew