11 top places to eat and drink on Kangaroo Island

Carla GrossettiBy Carla Grossetti
hero media
Base your itinerary on where best to celebrate local seafood, artisan produce and wine with our guide to Kangaroo Island’s best restaurants, pubs and cafes.

It’s a strategic move to plot out a plan when it comes to where to eat and drink around Kangaroo Island before you arrive at the South Australian outpost so that you can make the most of its incredible bounty. Here are the best restaurants and watering holes.

The best cafes on Kangaroo Island

1. Millie Mae’s Pantry

The original owner of Millie Mae’s Pantry Jan Ordway grew up on Kangaroo Island. And this charming café-slash-grocer was named in honour of Jan’s grandma (whose middle name was Mae) and great-grandmother (Millicent), who also called Kangaroo Island home. Now owned by James and Kate Meredith, the café has been cobbled together using upcycled doors, corrugated iron and timber rescued from old sheds and farms and is a one-stop-shop for coffee and artisan island produce.

Millie Mae's Pantry, Kangaroo Island, SA, Australia
Millie Mae’s Pantry is a one-stop-shop for coffee and artisan island produce. (Image: Meaghan Coles)

2. Emu Bay Lavender Farm

Lavender has long been known as a calmative herb. What better way to inspire a relaxed road trip than by visiting Emu Bay Lavender Farm , located over the hill from Emu Bay. The farm is surrounded by lavender fields and there is an on-site cafe serving lavender scones with lavender jelly and pots of lavender tea.

Lavender farm, Emu Bay, Kangaroo Island, SA, Australia
Inspire a relaxed road trip by visiting Emu Bay Lavender Farm. (Image: South Australian Tourism Commission)

3. Deck Cafe

Don your fanciest flanno so you look the part when you head to the rustic Deck Café for breakfast. Enjoy a nip of coffee in the sunny courtyard where old oak barrels have been rolled out to accommodate towering stacks of pancakes. Start sweet and then move on to savoury seconds such as eggs Florentine with smoked salmon and spinach. BYO binoculars to spot rare birds coming in to land on the American River.

Food platter, Deck Cafe on the Wharf, Kangaroo Island, SA, Australia
Head to the rustic Deck Café for breakfast. (Image: Deck Cafe on the Wharf )

The best places for a seafood lunch on Kangaroo Island

4. The Rockpool Cafe

Enjoy a pre-prandial dip in the waters off Stokes Bay before heading back to The Rockpool Café for coffee and a mid-morning bakery treat. The Rockpool Café is only open in the warmer months, from September to May, and the presence of local ocean swimmers in various stages of undress will confirm you’re in the right place. Parents will appreciate the covered kids’ area replete with mud kitchen while they sit (as Maggie Beer did on a recent visit) enjoying fresh calamari and chips.

Interiors, The Rockpool Cafe, Kangaroo Island, SA, Australia
Head back to The Rockpool Café for coffee and a mid-morning bakery treat. (Image: The Rockpool Cafe )

5. Vivonne Bay General Store

The No. 1 reason to stop at Vivonne Bay General Store in Vivonne Bay is for the famed Kangaroo Island whiting burger, which is impeccably sourced and captures the essence and simplicity of island life. Kangaroo Island’s fisher folk are a brand unto themselves, and you’ll find them here picking up bait and fishing gear. Stock up on bread, milk and fuel before you set off into Flinders Chase National Park .

The best places for dinner on Kangaroo Island

6. Reflections

Reflections occupies an important place on the local food landscape, serving some of the local produce that has put the South Australian island on the map. Order a dish that gives you a sense of place and yields comfort such as the Kangaroo Island lamb shoulder served with preserved lemon, labna, honey-glazed carrots and pomegranate. And you can’t go wrong with a classic tiramisu whipped together with Kangaroo Island Honey.

7. Gastronomo

Let Gastronomo surprise and delight you during a magical dining experience under the creaking canopy of a colossal fig tree. The private pop-up feast under the enchanted tree is one of the most memorable on Kangaroo Island. Impress your foodie following by documenting the wilderness dining experience on Insta and make a vow to return to sample The Feast , Gastronomo’s progressive epicurean adventure near Snellings Beach.

Gastronomo, Kangaroo Island, Australia
Let Gastronomo surprise and delight you. (Image: South Australian Tourism Commission)

8. Cactus

Cactus has moved down Dauncey Street to larger premises to better accommodate its growing customer base. After time spent manning the pans at Southern Ocean Lodge, chef Louis Lark (whose family had Kangaroo Island Spirits) is in charge here and you won’t go wrong ordering the quesadilla stuffed with pulled pork and black bean salsa. The beef ramen noodle soup is another cult Cactus favourite.

Food at Cactus, Kangaroo Island, SA, Australia
You can’t go wrong with Cactus cult classics. (Image: Meaghan Coles)

The best pub meals on Kangaroo Island

9. The Penneshaw Hotel

‘The Penny’, aka The Penneshaw Hotel , has been killing it since it renovated its al fresco area with glass walls to protect it from the blustery winds roaring in from the Backstairs Package. The pub overlooks the passage, which features on the Kangaroo Island Shipwreck Trail, and it’s a short walk from here to the ferry wharf and waterfront. Pub food is the main event here, but the magic also lies in the wine list, which bounces between wineries on Kangaroo Island, and in SA and NZ.

10. The Zone Restaurant & Bar

Arrive at The Zone Restaurant & Bar inside the Aurora Ozone Hotel as the pink light of dusk starts to paint the roiling water in pretty, pearlescent hues. Located on the waterfront in Kingscote, the restaurant has a relaxed vibe thanks to those stunning views over Nepean Bay. Watch the sky until it becomes like a faded blue sheet and then hustle to the bar so you can be first in the queue to order a serve of battered King George whiting and chips.

Ozone Hotel Kangaroo Island SA Australia
the restaurant has a relaxed vibe thanks to those stunning views over Nepean Bay. (Image: Ozone Hotel Kangaroo Island )

11. The Kangaroo Island Brewery

From old-school to new school. The Kangaroo Island Brewery is an off-grid brewery located a few clicks out of Kingscote that is successfully stealing the limelight from some of the island’s wineries. Housed in a rustic shed cobbled together with recycled materials, you can enjoy a creative pour in this picturesque spot which specialises in hoppy IPAs and a stout made with charred local she oak. Cruise to the brewhouse on Friday and Sundays for pizza paired with amber ales.

Kangaroo Island Brewery, KI, SA, Australia
The Kangaroo Island Brewery is an off-grid brewery located a few clicks out of Kingscote. (Image: Josie Withers)
Carla Grossetti
Carla Grossetti avoided accruing a HECS debt by accepting a cadetship with News Corp. at the age of 18. After completing her cadetship at The Cairns Post Carla moved south to accept a position at The Canberra Times before heading off on a jaunt around Canada, the US, Mexico and Central America. During her career as a journalist, Carla has successfully combined her two loves – of writing and travel – and has more than two decades experience switch-footing between digital and print media. Carla’s CV also includes stints at delicious., The Sydney Morning Herald, and The Australian, where she specialises in food and travel. Carla also based herself in the UK where she worked at Conde Nast Traveller, and The Sunday Times’ Travel section before accepting a fulltime role as part of the pioneering digital team at The Guardian UK. Carla and has been freelancing for Australian Traveller for more than a decade, where she works as both a writer and a sub editor.
See all articles
The SA island named one of Australia’s top under-the-radar spots
Kangaroo Island

The SA island named one of Australia’s top under-the-radar spots

Remote, rugged and on the rise – this is one of the country’s top hidden gems, as voted by you.

Read more
An esky in the back of a vehicle by the beach on tour with Kangaroo Island Touring Company.
Kangaroo Island

15 must-try Kangaroo Island tours

When exploring an island that is four times the size of Singapore, it pays to book a tour with locals to see all the sights.

Read more
24 things to do on Kangaroo Island
Kangaroo Island

24 things to do on Kangaroo Island

From spending the night in luxury digs to touring the island on a foodie adventure and some of the best wildlife experiences you'll find anywhere, there's no end of things to see and do on this magical South Australian island.

Read more
An aerial shot of Southern Ocean Lodge on Kangaroo Island
Kangaroo Island

A Kangaroo Island accommodation go-to guide

Romance, nature, seclusion or a home away from home – there is an accommodation to suit all types of holidaymakers on Kangaroo Island.

Read more

How a $1 deal saved Bendigo’s historic tramways

    Megan ArkinstallBy Megan Arkinstall
    Continue
    The passionate community that saved Bendigo Tramways has kept the story of this city alive for generations.

    It was an absolute steal: a fleet of 23 trams for just $1. But such a fortunate purchase didn’t happen easily. It was 1972 when the Bendigo Trust handed over a single buck for the city’s historic collection of battery, steam and electric trams, which had transported locals since 1890.

    inside the historic Bendigo Tram
    Bendigo Tramways is a historic transport line turned tourist service. (Image: Bendigo Heritage)

    The city’s tram network had been declared defunct since 1970 due to post-war shortages in materials to upkeep the trams and declining passenger numbers as motor vehicles were increasing. However, determined locals would not hear of their beloved trams being sold off around the world.

    The Bendigo Trust was enlisted to preserve this heritage, by converting the trams into a tourist service. The Victorian government approved a trial, however news spread that the Australian Electric Tramways Museum in Adelaide had acquired one of the streetcars for its collection.

    a tram heading to Quarry Hill in 1957
    A tram on its way to Quarry Hill in 1957. (Image: Bendigo Heritage)

    An impassioned group rallied together to make this physically impossible. Breaking into the tram sheds, they welded iron pipes to the rails, removed carbon brushes from the motors, and formed a blockade at the depot. The community response was extraordinary, and a $1 deal was sealed.

    A new chapter for the city’s fleet

    the old Tramways Depot and Workshop
    The old Tramways Depot and Workshop is one of the stops on the hop-on, hop-off service. (Image: Tourism Australia)

    Today, Bendigo Tramways welcomes some 40,000 passengers annually, operating as a hop-on, hop-off touring service aboard the restored trams. Fifteen of the now 45-strong fleet are dubbed ‘Talking Trams’ because of the taped commentary that is played along the route. The trams loop between Central Deborah Gold Mine and the Bendigo Joss House Temple, which has been a place of Chinese worship since 1871, via other sites including the old Tramways Depot and Workshop.

    a Gold Mine Bendigo Tram
    The fleet comprises 45 trams that have been restored. (Image: Visit Victoria/Robert Blackburn)

    Keeping things interesting, throughout the year visitors can step aboard different themed trams. Tram No. 302 becomes the Yarn Bomb Tram, decorated both inside and out with colourful crochet by an anonymous group of locals.

    During the festive season, Tram No. 15 operates as a tinsel-festooned Santa Tram, and the big man himself hides out somewhere along the route for excited children to find. And on selected dates, the adults-only Groove Tram runs nighttime tours of the city, accompanied by local musicians playing live tunes and a pop-up bar.

    the historic post office turned visitor centre in Bendigo
    Visitors can hop on and off to see the city’s sites such as the historic post office turned visitor centre. (Image: Tourism Australia)

    As well as preserving the city’s history, however, the continuation of the tram service has kept the skills of tram building and craftsmanship alive in a practical sense. Bendigo’s Heritage Rail Workshop is world-renowned for restoring heritage trams and repurposing vehicles in creative ways.

    Locally, for example, Tram No. 918 was transformed into the Dja Dja Wurrung Tram with original Aboriginal artworks by emerging artist Natasha Carter, with special commentary and music that shares the stories and traditions of Bendigo’s first people. You can’t put a price on preserving history. Nonetheless, it was a dollar very well spent.