13 Excellent Mudgee Restaurants To Try Now

Mudgee over-delivers on everything from fine dining to sophisticated wine bars and cosy cellar doors.

With about 40 cellar doors, a distillery, breweries and countless restaurants and cafes, it’s little wonder that Mudgee has become a household name among Australian foodies. Most restaurants here would be perfectly at home in the fine-dining streets of Sydney or Melbourne, without any pretence. It might be down to a regional focus on local produce, or perhaps innovative chefs perfecting their flavours.

Explore the wining and dining scene with our pick of the best places to dine and wine when visiting Mudgee and its surrounds.

The shortlist

Best For Large Groups: Pipeclay Pumphouse
Best farm-to-table: The Zin House
Best casual eats: Mudgee Brewing Co.

Pipeclay Pumphouse

The rustic Pipeclay Pumphouse  restaurant at Robert Stein Vineyard takes its paddock-to-plate philosophy seriously. Most of the veggies and herbs are grown on site; the cattle, chicken and sheep are farmed here; and they make their own prosciutto and cured meats.

Main meals include the likes of Sweet potato with burrata, orzo, walnut and sage, and apple cider pork shoulder, rosemary. But it would be a mistake not to start with the Panko crumbed haloumi, dressed with honey, lime and pistachio.

While the restaurant is well known for its dinner sittings, you needn’t overlook its impressive six-course degustation long lunch offering. Add matching Robert Stein wines for a truly delicious experience.

Cuisine: Flavours of the Mediterranean and Middle East
Average price: $$$$
Atmosphere: Friendly and elevated
Location: Pipeclay Lane, Budgee Budgee

The Zin House

Serving as the cellar door restaurant at Lowe Wines & Co., The Zin House’s extensive orchard and zinfandel paddock supply most of the restaurant’s organic produce, which is then prepared from scratch using classic techniques. What they don’t grow themselves, they source from local producers to provide a truly local experience.

Long lunch sittings are popular, so be sure to book in advance. The optional wine pairing is highly recommended, featuring a mix of regional and estate-produced wines.

Cuisine: Elevated modern Australia
Average price: $$$$
Atmosphere: Relaxed and open-plan
Location: 327 Tinja Lane, Mudgee

Mudgee Brewing Co.

Food at a brewery can go one of two ways: lacklustre pub grub or upscale regional fare. Thank goodness Mudgee Brewing Co. delivers the latter.

Gary Leonard left the coal mining industry to open Mudgee’s only microbrewery in 2007. The 100-year-old former wool store has served as one of the town’s favourite watering holes ever since, with eight taps pouring the latest onsite craft brews.

Find an extensive food menu featuring beer snacks, pizzas and a variety of mains; confit duck, prawn pasta and mussels will satiate sophisticated appetites, while the fish and chips, schnitzel burgers and wings are for those who don’t mind getting their hands dirty. Live music adds to the ambience and, unlike most breweries, this one goes the extra mile with table service.

Cuisine: Pub grub
Average price: $$
Atmosphere: Casual
Location: 4 Church Street, Mudgee

Roth’s Wine Bar

The oldest wine bar in the country, Roth’s Wine Bar hits all the right notes for an incredible local wine menu, perfect bites to share and local stories full of flavour.

Robert Roth originally opened the space as a general store, serving a sneaky tipple to thirsty farmers on occasion before licensing the premises as a wine bar in 1923. Today, local characters keep their weekly bookings to drink, dine and dance (there is live music on Fridays).

There are now over 100 premium Roth wines on offer, along with an increasing number of local drops. Don’t be shy to order a cocktail or two, either – friendly bar staff will pour them with expertise and local liquor. Aside from wine, cocktails and craft beers, the bar serves a perfect selection of bites, like a wood-fired pizza menu and share plates like lemon pepper squid.

Cuisine: Modern Australian
Average price: $$
Atmosphere: Casual for a night out
Location: 30 Market Street, Mudgee

Jumbucks at the Woolpack Hotel

Not your stock-standard pub grub, the Woolpack Hotel sidesteps expectations with its casual Asian-fusion eatery, Jumbucks . You can get everything here from garlic prawns to san choy bow, gyoza and a range of stir-fries and omelettes. But this is still an Aussie country pub, so be comforted with an additional classics menu that doesn’t leave anyone out.

Cuisine: Chinese-fusion
Average price: $
Atmosphere: Casual
Location: 67 Market St, Mudgee

29 Nine 99

Artist-turned-tea-house-owner, Na Lan, has been steaming handmade dumplings at 29 Nine 99 in a quaint sandstone building in Rylstone since 2008.

Find a spot amid the eclectic artworks and gifts, then settle in for rounds of tea and pillowy-soft dumplings. While Na Lan never trained as a chef, you’d never know it. She says she likes to “spoil her taste buds", which leads to deliciously crafted dim sum. This diminutive restaurant is hugely popular, so book ahead on weekends.

Cuisine: Yum cha
Average price: $
Atmosphere: Eclectic
Location: 28 Louee Street, Rylstone

Smokin Bro & Co

What could go better with craft brews than Texan BBQ? Find Smokin Bro & Co inside Three Tails Brewery, offering slow-cooked BBQ, cooked with fire and smoke.

Tuck into everything from brisket burgers to a kransky taco and opt in for a stack of sides, such as cornbread, sweet potato casserole and bacon mac. The barbecue is stoked from Wednesday to Thursday nights and seasons the Mudgee air with curls of smoke over lunch on Friday and Saturday.

Cuisine: Texan BBQ
Average price: $
Atmosphere: Casual
Location: 13A Lewis Street, Mudgee

The Oriental Hotel

Known colloquially as ‘The Ori’ , one of Mudgee’s classic pubs has enjoyed a glow in the last year or two to include various indoor and outdoor dining options. There’s something for everyone on the menu, from pizzas to Bangladeshi to a more elevated modern Australian section. As for drinks, find ice-cold brews on tap, as well as a dedicated gin bar for tasty cocktails.

Cuisine: Pub grub
Average price: $$
Atmosphere: Warm & welcoming
Location: 6 Lewis St, Mudgee

The Barn at Blue Wren Farm

Taking simple, seasonal ingredients and finessing them to become the best versions of themselves, the fare at the Barn on the idyllic Blue Wren Farm is sustainable, elegant and wholly delicious. Take a seat outdoors and enjoy a procession of plates that pair well with the accompanying wine list.

From prosciutto with persimmon and pickled chilli to larger plates of chargrilled lamb backstrap skewers with lentils and yoghurt and a chicken cotaletta with fried capers, the Italian-leaning menu is long lunch perfection, but you can also dine in the evenings from Thursday to Saturday.

Groups of 10 or more will need to book in for a set menu experience, which is an entirely agreeable way to spend a few hours – just be sure to book a taxi back to your accommodation.

Cuisine: Italian
Average price: $$$
Atmosphere: Relaxed
Location: 433 Ulan Road, Mudgee

Elton’s Bar + Bites

Once the original 1896 Elton’s Pharmacy building, this now modern hangout with a menu that delivers on its namesake – expect to do lots of eating and drinking at Eltons. While the all-day menu features salads, schnitzels and burgers, it’s the breakfast offerings that really shine. Take a seat in the main bar, the open-air courtyard or on the sunny footpath out front.

Cuisine: Modern Australian
Average price: $$
Atmosphere: Casual
Location: 81 Market Street, Mudgee

Isabella’s Trattoria

You’ll know you’ve arrived at Isabella’s Trattoria when you spot the sign that says you have found the “food you’ve been looking for". This place ups the ante when it comes to upscale Italian fare.

Maroon awnings feature a cursive decal out the front, transporting customers to an Italian side street from the get-go. An open-plan kitchen allows customers to see the masters at work, manoeuvring around the kitchen with beautiful European finesse. Match the risotto, garlic prawns and seafood pasta with a drop from the lengthy wine list. For dessert, the tiramisu is the sweet pick-me-up your evening needs.

Cuisine: Traditional Italian
Average price: $$$
Atmosphere: Welcoming
Location: 52 Market St, Mudgee

Warakirri Dining Experience by Indigiearth

Operated by Indigiearth founder Sharon Winsor, a Ngemba Weilwan woman from Western NSW, this intimate dining experience shared by only 30 guests per night unravels native bush tucker and botanicals across five courses.

A deep love and respect for Indigenous food, dovetailing with her culinary mastery, enables Sharon to take diners on an immersive gastronomic journey into ancient skills and flavours. Over four hours, share incredible dishes paired with beverages, while enjoying cultural entertainment such as music and storytelling.

2026 dates will be announced soon.

Cuisine: Australian
Average price: $$$
Atmosphere: Casual
Location: Huntington Estate, 641 Ulan Road, Buckaroo

Paragon Hotel

This 1857 gold rush-era hotel has Aussie pub ambience down to a fine art. The pub’s Bushman eatery isn’t reinventing the wheel, and nor does it have to when classic grub comes this well-finished. Tuck into your usual suspects, should you feel like fish and chips, steak or a chicken schnitty, but there are also nouveau pub classics, such as a warm cauliflower salad, grilled fish tacos and pan-fried salmon. The wine list is curated with local-leaning, as expected.

Cuisine: Pub grub
Average price: $$
Atmosphere: Casual
Location: 38 Perry Street, Mudgee

Between eats, follow our guide for the 21 of the very best things to do in Mudgee.

The ultimate road trip begins and ends on NSW’s stunning Grand Pacific Drive.

Whales, charming villages, fine wine and stunning natural vistas: there’s a lot to love about a road trip along the Grand Pacific Drive in New South Wales. Winding from the Royal National Park through Wollongong, Shellharbour, Kiama and Shoalhaven before heading inland to the Southern Highlands, this scenic drive makes for an unforgettable road trip.

But like all great road trips, it’s not just about the drive but the stops made along the way. From incredible farm-to-plate (and grape-to-glass) dining options to unbeatable natural vistas and quaint towns with beautiful accommodation, there’s plenty to explore en route.

Where to eat

What is a road trip without incredible food? Whether you’re after fresh seafood, slow-cooked paddock-to-plate feasts or delicious wines, you’ll find something around every bend along Grand Pacific Drive.

Restaurant Santino is a local Wollongong secret we can’t keep quiet any longer. With a fresh take on Italian cuisine, servings are hearty and flavours are comforting. The chitarra with blue swimmer crab, garlic, chilli, parsley and crustacean oil is a crowd favourite.

Keep it local in Shellharbour with a menu all about fresh local produce at Relish on Addison . From South Coast oysters and blue swimmer crab linguine to crispy pork belly, surf and turf takes on an elevated meaning here.

Kiama’s neighbourhood wine and cocktail bar, Little Betty’s , is just as good for a tasty share plate as it is for creative cocktails. The signature Grilled Octopus with burnt honey, garlic confit and sautéed Asian greens is worth a trip on its own.

Only the best will do in Shoalhaven, where multi-award-winning Bangalay Dining uses native Australian ingredients to bring its dishes to life. Start with the Smoked trout croquette before moving on to the sautéed potato gnocchi. Don’t forget the white chocolate mousse for dessert.

Meanwhile, the Southern Highlands are full of culinary highlights. From dining on incredibly fresh, local fare (we’re talking ingredients plucked from the team’s on-site kitchen garden or sourced through local producers) at Eschalot Restaurant in Berrima to creating gin blends at Millsheds Distillery .

bangalay dining shoalhaven — Taste native flavours at Bangalay Dining.

Exploring nature

Scenery is everything when hitting the road, and Grand Pacific Drive serves it up in spades. Drivers don’t even have to leave the car to enjoy the iconic ocean views from Seacliff Bridge (but several lookouts make it easy to stop).

Seaside Kiama boasts stunning beaches and famous blowholes. But travellers can also swap ocean for rainforest when taking the Minnamurra Rainforest walk, culminating in a picturesque waterfall. Or soar overhead at Illawarra Fly Treetop Adventures .

The scenic coastal drive along Sea Cliff Bridge, Clifton. — Cruise along the stunning Grand Pacific Drive.

Between May and November, 30,000 whales make their way passed the South Coast between May and November. Spot them from the coastal shores or join a whale-watching cruise from Shellharbour Marina or Jervis Bay. Dive in with Woebegone Freedive .

Shellharbour’s Killalea Regional Park is home to a traditional bush tucker and medicine walk with Aboriginal tour group, Gumaraa . Learn Indigenous healing practices and gain a deeper appreciation for the rich heritage and wisdom of the land’s Traditional Owners.

Wollongong is the perfect place for hikers, with the 6.5-kilometre Wodi Wodi track serving up views, settler history and a variety of landscapes in one loop. If you prefer, skip the walk and pull up at Bald Hill Lookout for expansive views south towards Wollongong (and a hang-glider or two).

For something truly unique, join the Highland Cow experience at The Swallow’s Nest in the Southern Highlands. In a brand-new offering, get a taste of farm life and help groom and feed these gorgeous creatures.

kiama coast walk people with dog — Wander the Kiama Coast Walk.

Unique experiences

No need to choose between an adrenaline rush or a culture fix, Grand Pacific Drive serves up both.

Soar into aviation history at Shellharbour’s HARS Aviation Museum . Tour the museum, then join a guided walk onto the wing of the record-breaking Qantas Boeing 747 and see the significant historic aircraft up close.

If ever there was a place to skydive, it’s in Wollongong. Dive from 15,000 feet (tandem, of course) with Sky Dive Wollongong and see the coastal beauty of this region from above.

Shoalhaven’s Bundanon Art Museum has to be one of the most unique offerings in the country. The legacy of artist Arthur Boyd and more than just a gallery, find eco-accommodation, fine dining, award-winning architecture and community here.

Kiama’s Crooked River Estate is about more than just delicious wine. Grab a picnic blanket and enjoy casual food and drinks with live music at Kick Back Fridays , every week.

Between June and August, the Southern Highlands’ Robertson attracts novice truffle hunters. Join the hunt at family-owned and operated Robertson Truffles (alternatively, you can order truffle treats online, if your sense of adventure isn’t up for it).

Freshly dug truffles at Terra Preta Truffles, Braidwood. — Discover hidden gems beneath the soil in the Southern Highlands. (Image: Destination NSW)

Where to stay

Road trips are the ultimate promotion for slow travel, encouraging visitors to take their time, enjoy the journey and stop along the way to really immerse themselves in local towns.

Find history and elegance at Berida Hotel in the Southern Highlands. Intimately set amongst gardens, but still close to the main street of Bowral, this 1920s private residence turned boutique hotel is the perfect stay.

Stay in one of Barranca’s private villas with views of rolling farmland overlooking the dramatic escarpment at Kangaroo Valley or be surrounded by native bushland (a short walk from the beach) in Jervis Bay.

Speaking of beachside escapes, Headlands Hotel Austinmer Beach delivers unrivalled access to Wollongong’s beaches. These serviced apartments enjoy coastal views from spacious balconies.

For something completely different again, check in at Cicada Luxury Camping . Stay in safari-style or large bell tents, each with a private fire pit and top-notch kitchen facilities. Outside, enjoy spectacular countryside views.

Discover more and plan your ultimate road trip along the Grand Pacific Drive and beyond at grandpacificdrive.com.au/grand.

13 of the best Mudgee restaurants to try now