A great weekend away in the Hunter Valley calls for excellent places to drink and dine.

The best restaurants in the Hunter Valley offer a combination of fine wines, gastronomy and picturesque countryside. These days, the region has become a meeting point for millennials as well as a much-loved destination for seasoned oenophiles. Here is our definitive guide to the best restaurants in the Hunter Valley.

The shortlist

Great for long lunches: Bistro Molines
Great for special occasions: EXP. Restaurant
Hottest new opening: Iron Gate Kitchen
Best outdoor dining: Cézan Trattoria & Bar

1. Iron Gate Kitchen

Expect to see a who’s who of Sydney food obsessives dining at Iron Gate Kitchen at Iron Gate Estate, helmed by chef Lara Hagan.

Iron Gate Kitchen brings ‘a taste of Iberia’ to the Hunter, serving rustic yet elevated Mediterranean bites. Located in the iconic Iron Gate Estate, the restaurant embodies a refined interpretation of minimal Spanish design with an earthy palette and clean lines. The menu is designed for long, shared lunches. Begin with gildas and salt cod croquettes before moving onto the lamb shoulder with salsa verde. Finish with a burnt Basque cheesecake served with a citrus-infused crema Catalana.

Cuisine: Modern Italian

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Romantic

Location: 78 Oakey Creek Road, Pokolbin

2. EXP. Restaurant

Expect a bit of theatre when you’re sitting at the bar watching chef and restaurateur Frank Fawkner plate up at the pass. Walking into the intimate EXP.  feels like going to a friend’s house for dinner. If that friend is a two-hatted chef and the dining room is filled with handcrafted furniture and local art. Pace yourself for the EXP.erience with seasonal dishes such as smoked and flaked Murray Cod wing or Paroo kangaroo served in charcoal wafer topped with black garlic emulsion, radish and native thyme.   The decadent wattleseed parfait with macadamia praline, caramelised white chocolate coating with roasted macadamia is designed to build a dream on.

Cuisine: Contemporary Australian

Average price: $$$$

Atmosphere: Warm and intimate

Location: 2188 Broke Rd, Pokolbin

3. Cézan Trattoria & Bar

Cézan Trattoria & Bar simplifies the dilemma of where to eat, play, stay and dine when visiting the Hunter Valley. In addition to the cellar door, there are now two eco cabins onsite designed to keep you at Krinklewood. Created by entrepreneur and sustainability advocate Oscar Martin (co-founder of Pedestrian.tv and Dimensions X) in partnership with local hospo group Fennel & Co., the restaurant spills into a leafy courtyard surrounded by Provençal-style gardens. Order creamy hummus with wood-fired flatbreads and cold cuts designed to be shared and paired with Krinklewood’s organic and biodynamic wines.

Cuisine: French

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Provençal-style farmhouse

Location: 712 Wollombi Road, Broke

4. Margan Restaurant

Margan Restaurant is regarded as one of the best Hunter Valley winery restaurants for a multitude of reasons. For starters, it’s renowned for its pioneering approach to agri-dining. The rammed-earth restaurant is also the place to enjoy the farm-to-fork tasting menu of your dreams and feel good about supporting a family-run business that is so committed to sustainability. Don’t just book a table; book the Ultimate Margan Experience, which includes a guided tour of the abundant kitchen garden followed by a five-course degustation lunch. Check the What’s On page on the website to see who the Margan team are going to partner with next for a rolling series of bespoke dinners and events.

Cuisine: Modern European

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Modern farmhouse

Location: 1238 Milbrodale Rd, Broke

5. Pescara

Pescara is a coastal city in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It’s also the name of the new restaurant at Hermitage Lodge in the Hunter Valley. It’s only right the dining room looks out over the rolling vine-clad hills of the Hunter Valley where the wines that pair so well with food are produced. In Abruzzo, the panarda is a celebratory feast that goes on for days. Honour this ritual of excess in this elegant dining room over vitello tonnato, prawns in a pot of oil, chilli, garlic and napolitana sauce and spaghettini with angel hair pasta and blue swimmer crab meat. This restaurant led by chef Kelvin Foster is the Hunter Valley’s best-kept secret.

Cuisine: Italian with a seafood focus

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Elegant, chic winery restaurant.

Location: 609 McDonald St, Pokolbin

6. Salumi Bar at Usher Tinkler Wines

Thirsty, hungry travellers road-tripping to the Hunter should factor in a visit to Usher Tinkler Wines to enjoy a platter of salumi alongside local varietals from this next-gen winemaker’s cellar. Usher Tinkler Wines is not a cafe or a restaurant. But the Cellar Door & Salumi Bar is regarded as one of the most convivial Hunter Valley wineries to enjoy a wine tasting. Moreover, multiple platter options are designed to cater for different groups. But the focus here is on the wine tasting. Sit in the cellar door, housed in the original Pokolbin Church, to enjoy light streaming through the stained-glass windows and thank the heavens you’re in the Hunter. Platter options include a wine tasting.

Cuisine: Charcuterie platters

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Romantic

Location: 97 McDonalds Rd, Pokolbin

7. Myrtle & Stone

Myrtle & Stone in the village of Wollombi, in the thick of NSW’s Wine Country, morphs into a tapas and gin bar by night. The charming eatery is housed in an old stone and wood cottage built in 1932 that has a rich history of serving food along the Hunter River. Stay overnight at the beautifully renovated Myrtle Cottage next door so you can enjoy dinner and then slink back into your luxury boutique accommodation. Adjust your waistband to better enjoy a leisurely vego brekkie with spinach, avocado, roast tomato, garlic mushrooms and crispy chats. Keep your eye on the venue’s socials to get updates on its Thursday night dinners where local trivia teams converge to compete.

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Charming

Location: 2877 Wollombi Rd, Wollombi

8. Oak & Vine Restaurant

The meandering road toward Oaks Cypress Lakes Resort stretches past the lacquered green lawns of the surrounding golf course. It’s one of the best places to stay in the Hunter Valley. Onsite restaurant, Oak & Vine , has given visitors another reason to linger. The restaurant has been reimagined by Sri Lankan-born chef Vinura de Silva to celebrate South Asian cuisine. Vinura’s food sings with fresh coriander, garlic, ginger and freshly ground spices and is bolstered by the best seasonal produce. Chef Vinura learned his craft in Sri Lanka and the Maldives and further honed his skills at Rick Stein at Bannisters in Port Stephens. Dine al fresco by the pool. Or head inside to enjoy dishes such as coconut roti and chilli onion sambal overlooking Cypress Lakes.

Cuisine: Sri Lankan

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Elegant

Location: 15 Thompsons Road, Pokolbin

9. Estancia Adina

The Hunter Valley is known for its rich agricultural traditions. And one of the best ways to taste the terroir is to head to one of the region’s lauded vineyard restaurants. Led by Estancia Adina chef and owner James Orlowski, the restaurant makes prodigious use of local seasonal produce. The restaurant is located at Adina Vineyard & Olive Grove. The ever-changing menu is made up of Mediterranean, northern Italian and South American influences, so dishes such as Japanese wagyu or Pukara Estate lamb rack cooked over the wood-fired grill are recommended.

Cuisine: Italian and South American

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Modern farmhouse

Location: Lovedale Rd, Lovedale

10. Circa 1876

Much of the menu designed by Circa 1876 executive chef Anthony Fullerton is built around seasonal produce sourced from the restaurant’s kitchen garden. There’s the garden greens which pair well with the Aquna Murray Cod. The cauliflower and chimichurri served with the slow-cooked lamb shoulder. And the local beetroot adding layers of flavour to the duck confit. It’s a timely reminder that the best restaurants in the Hunter Valley can wow you simply by celebrating the best seasonal ingredients.  Circa 1876 is a dining room attached to an ironbark cottage built on the property in 1876. The restaurant, on the grounds of The Convent Hunter Valley, pairs heritage charm with contemporary dining; it’s the ultimate destination diner.

Cuisine: Contemporary French

Average price: $$$$

Atmosphere: Romantic

Location: 88 Halls Road, Pokolbin

11. The Wood Restaurant & Terrace

The architect-designed cellar door and restaurant complex at Brokenwood is a destination in its own right. For starters, the shaded Terrace Wine Bar with its potted magnolias and surrounding greenery is one of the best watering holes in the Hunter Valley. Head inside to the Wood Restaurant to build your own banquet with a mix of small plates (market fish crudo with fresh yuzu, green apple, cultured crème) and large plates (Rangers Valley Black Market sirloin). Here, executive chef Sean Townsend delivers a seasonal ingredients-led menu, as visitors to the Hunter Valley have come to expect. Join the Wine Club so you can receive updates about the Brokenwood lunches and dinners and mark your calendar accordingly.

Cuisine: Contemporary Australian

Average price: $$$$

Atmosphere: Refined

Location: Brokenwood Wines, 401-427 McDonalds Rd, Pokolbin

12. Restaurant Botanica

Adam Frey is the head chef at Restaurant Botanica , conveniently located near Spicers Vineyards Estate overlooking the beautiful bony ridge of the Broken Back Mountain range. Frey pays strict attention to local produce and seasonality with the menu inspired by the restaurant’s expansive kitchen garden. Botanica is worth the detour down the pretty country lane for the Little Hill farm chicken with confit potato, kalamata olives and tomatoes alone. The location is dreamy, but it’s the epicurean experience that is the real draw. Restaurant Botanica is one of the hidden gems of the Hunter Valley with all the feels of a country retreat.

Cuisine: Modern French

Average price: $$$$

Atmosphere: Refined

Location: 555 Hermitage Rd, Pokolbin

13. Bistro Molines

Ask Hunter Valley locals what the most romantic restaurant in the Hunter Valley is and they will likely steer you towards Bistro Molines . The restaurant overlooking a terraced hillside of rose-lined vines belonging to Tallavera Grove Vineyard is run by Robert Molines, a much-loved French transplant who moved here in 1973 and his wife, Sally. Together, the pair also have Little Orchard Cottage, a stylish side hustle. Working alongside Molines is head chef Gareth Robbs, whose efforts in the kitchen have helped the restaurant retain its five-star status.

Cuisine: Modern French

Average price: $$$$

Atmosphere: Refined

Location: 555 Hermitage Rd, Pokolbin

14. The Wine Room & Kitchen

The menu at The Wine Room & Kitchen is a haven for foodies visiting the Hunter Valley. The Lovedale locale is a fine example of a restaurant with rooms, situated on the expansive Wandin Valley Estate, offering accommodation options that overlook the vineyards. Everything, from the buttermilk fried chicken wings to the crab spaghettini aglio e olio (with chilli, tomato, lemon and parsley and bottarga) is elevated to outstanding thanks to chef Tim Richardson’s attention to detail. Enjoy the bucolic country setting for lunch on Thursdays, breakfast, lunch and dinner on Fridays and Saturdays and Sundays for breakfast and lunch.

Cuisine: Italian-leaning

Average price: $$$$

Atmosphere: Country farmhouse

Location: 12 Wilderness Rd, Lovedale

15. Muse

Make the most of a trip to NSW Wine Country with dinner at Muse Restaurant , the two-hatted fine diner that is one of the Hunter Valley’s best restaurants. It’s easy to fall under executive chef Troy Rhoades-Brown’s spell in the elegant dining room, where savvy wait staff pirouette around the tables and the music is taken to an ambient extreme. Rhoades-Brown marries French technique with local ingredients to deliver innovative dishes with wow factor. Depending on the season, the set menu may include dishes such as Redgate farm duck, wild rice and duck leg ragu, parsnip cream, quince and pepperberry. Or the seared wallaby, zucchini, saltbush, wild onion capers and wild phlox flowers. Don’t peak before the spiced ginger cake.

Cuisine: Contemporary Australian

Average price: $$$$$

Atmosphere: Warm and intimate

Location: 2450 Broke Rd, Pokolbin

16. Esca

There is a sunny energy to the experience of dining on the balcony at Esca where you are as likely to see a wedding party as a wedding proposal. While the restaurant’s interiors present a pared-back palette, the balcony pops given its proximity to the surrounding patches of green. Order a bottle of wine – perhaps a Bimbadgen Signature 2014 Palmers Lane Semillon – with an entrée of whipped cod roe with pickled cucumber and line-caught fish of the day served with a herbed garlic velouté, piquillo peppers and chimichurri. Exit stage left like James Bond via helicopter.

Cuisine: Contemporary Australian

Average price: $$$$

Atmosphere: Convivial

Location: 790 McDonalds Rd, Pokolbin

17. Hunters Quarter

Hunters Quarter has been a hotspot since opening in 2017 as word of the head chef’s Brian Duncan’s credentials grew from a whisper to a roar. Duncan has worked for the Dorchester Hotel (three Michelin stars) and Claridge’s Hotel (one Michelin star) in London. Duncan was also executive chef at Level 41 and The Establishment in Sydney. Try the Paroo kangaroo tartare with pico de gallo, smoked sour cream, Manchego and puffed polenta or the parmesan and rosemary crusted Berkshire pork cotoletta with sugarloaf cabbage and duck-fat roasted potatoes. Exquisite. The Pooles Rock Vineyard restaurant looks out over the landscape.

Cuisine: Contemporary Australian

Average price: $$$$

Atmosphere: Modern

Location: 576 De Beyers Rd, Pokolbin

18. Tower Lodge

Tower Lodge restaurant is a celebration of the Hunter Valley’s food and wine scene. Sit in the grand dining room, with its rustic furnishings and exposed wooden beams, and you will feel as if you’ve been transported to a 19th-century farmhouse in Spain.  Expect a ‘farm-to-table’ approach to dining, with the kitchen team utilising the estate’s own garden and Angus cattle farm. The chefs also source produce from the local community of producers and growers. Settle in for an entrée of seared tiger prawns, confit garlic, fermented chilli, cream and lemon oil. And then follow it up with a 750g dry-aged striploin to share. Save room for burnt cheesecake.

Cuisine: Contemporary Australian

Average price: $$$$$

Atmosphere: Farmhouse chic

Location: 6 Halls Rd, Pokolbin

19. Boydell’s

Boydell’s Cellar Door & Restaurant in the main street of Morpeth has made a visit to Maitland a must. The restaurant is housed in a landmark 1820s slab hut that has been home to a blacksmith, pie man and clairvoyant at different times over the past 200 years. Expect a memorable meal at Boydell’s with head chef Michael Ross at the helm. Dinner here is also an exploration of the wines produced at Daniel and Jane Maroulis’s East Gresford vineyard, first established by Charles Boydell in 1826. Chef Paula Rengger is renowned for her innovative style, using locally sourced seasonal produce to create artful compositions on the plate. One current standout on the menu is ricotta gnocchi with green pea sauce, crispy jamon and cheese crisps and a parmesan-and sage-crumbed pork cutlet.

Cuisine: Contemporary Australian

Average price: $$$$

Atmosphere: Moody

Location: 2 Green St, Morpeth

20. The Mill

The Mill on the grounds of Estate Tuscany is one of the destination diners in the upper Hunter Valley. Although the restaurant offers magic mountain views, it’s chef Jeffrey Brantley’s contemporary take on comfort food that really turns heads. Order the Napoletana ragu and you will feel, deeply, the chef’s devotion to his craft. The rich and bittersweet chocolate budino is also a thing of beauty. The offerings at the restaurant are augmented by the vineyards that lend a bucolic feel to the entire operation. Stay onsite in the Olive Grove Rooms where you will have kangaroos grazing at your front door.

Cuisine: Contemporary Australian

Average price: $$$$

Atmosphere: Warm and relaxed

Location:  28 Mistletoe Ln, Pokolbin

21. The Gates Restaurant

It’s an open-and-shut case: The Gates gives off everything from ‘girls’ weekend away’ to well-heeled wine lovers’ energy. Forget piling onto a party bus. The setting here is way too sophisticated for such shenanigans. Leogate Estate was shortlisted for Winery of the Year by Halliday Wine Companion. And the go-to at The Gates is grain-fed scotch fillet that is dry-aged in-house served with stir-fried kunkung with garlic and potato puree with a glass of the Black Cluster HV Shiraz.  Enjoy an al fresco lunch or intimate degustation, where each dish builds on the previous one. Book a Grape to Glass Winery Tour and stay onsite in one of Leogate’s 20 luxury villas.

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Average price: $$$$

Atmosphere: Rural villa

Location:  1693 Broke Rd, Pokolbin

22. Vines Restaurant at Hollydene Estate

It’s not a huge commitment to road trip to the Hunter Valley from Sydney. And the fact that you can be dining at Vines Restaurant after just a couple of hours behind the wheel makes it a notable destination for wining and dining. This Upper Hunter Valley restaurant, which has a lovely outlook over Wollomi National Park, won Best Restaurant in a Winery at the 2025 Restaurant and Catering Awards for Excellence. Inside, it’s all polished concrete floors and rustic wooden beams softened by powder blue hues and timber tones. Start with an antipasto platter to share. You’ll find the Hollydene Estate Cabernet Sauvignon matches well with the steak frites. And the crispy skin salmon with salsa brava and smashed chat potatoes a dish you will want to keep all to yourself. Finish with a macadamia affogato.

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Rural villa

Location: 3483 Golden Hwy, Jerrys Plains

23. Gather

Gather is hidden in plain sight in the Hunter. The steakhouse within Rydges Resort Hunter Valley is relaxed and family-friendly with options for ‘little gatherers’ too. It’s also well known for supporting local producers and being consistent with its focus on seasonality. Gather is well suited for relaxed business dinners and private dining options. It’s also popular with locals and caters to a wide range of dietary needs. Most of the produce is sourced locally: go the whole hog with the butcher board or opt for something a little lighter like house-smoked rainbow trout.

Cuisine: Contemporary Australian

Average price: $$

Atmosphere: Modern bistro

Location: 430 Wine Country Drive, Lovedale

24. Harkham Wine Bar

Winemaker Richie Harkham has delivered on his plan to transform his Pokolbin vineyard overlooking the Brokenback Range into a destination. Harkham Restaurant, Bar & Cellar Door is the result. Some of the most exciting wines to emerge from the Hunter Valley hail from the boutique winery, which produces just 20,000-odd bottles a year. The fact many of these minimal-intervention wines feature at restaurants such as Margaret and Brae makes Harkham a top spot for a languid lunch in the Hunter Valley. Head chef Shaun Nash (ex-Cutler & Co) is at the helm and the culinary offering here skews Italian with antipasti, pasta and pizza dishes designed for sharing. Expect to see a who’s who of Sydney food obsessives.

Cuisine: Modern Italian

Average price: $$$$

Atmosphere: Romantic

Location: 266 De Beyers Rd, Pokolbin

25. Mezze

When you think of a grape escape in Wine Country, you might imagine spending the entire time knocking on cellar doors. But there are plenty more things to do in the Hunter Valley besides. Wining and dining is one of them. By day, Mezze serves up ambitious breakfast fare like Belgium waffles and shakshuka baked eggs.  Order a range of dishes served in the centre of the table to share such as the slow-cooked lamb shoulder, pork and veal meatballs and a classic Greek salad. This Mediterranean-inspired winery also has adjacent  sister venue, Nineteen , known for its crowd-pleasing woodfired pizzas. Both eateries are on the grounds of The Vintage Estate.

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Warm and relaxed

Location: 1 Claret Ash Drive, Pokolbin

26. éRemo Restaurant

Take in the views of the undulating hills in the distance at éRemo at Spicer’s Guesthouse. The modern Italian restaurant is run by head chef Jayden Casinelli whose menu will suit those in the mood for modern Italian cuisine with a twist. Options include gnocchi with gorgonzola and walnut and pretty-in-pink beetroot and pancetta risotto. The restaurant is conveniently located just a short walk away. Enjoy a bottle of local wine on the side.

Cuisine: Contemporary Italian

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Romantic

Location: 57 Ekerts Rd, Pokolbin