12 Top Kangaroo Island Restaurants - Australian Traveller

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)

Located just an hour north-west of Melbourne, the largely undiscovered Macedon Ranges quietly pours some of Australia’s finest cool-climate wines and serves up some of Victoria’s best food.

Mention the Macedon Ranges and most people will think of day spas and mineral springs around Daylesford, cosy weekends away in the countryside or the famous Hanging Rock (of enigmatic picnic fame). Or they won’t have heard of the Macedon Ranges at all.

But this cool-climate destination has been inconspicuously building a profile as a high-quality food and wine region and is beginning to draw serious attention from oenophiles and epicureans alike.

The rise of Macedon Ranges wine

liquid gold barrels at Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery — Barrels of liquid gold at Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

With elevations ranging from 300 to 800 metres, Macedon Ranges vineyards are among the highest in the country. This altitude, combined with significant day/night temperature swings, makes for a slow ripening season, in turn nurturing wines that embody elegance and structure. Think crisp chardonnays, subtle yet complex pinot noirs and delicate sparkling wines, along with niche varietals, such as gamay and nebbiolo.

Despite the region’s natural advantages – which vary from estate to estate, as each site embodies unique terroir depending on its position in relation to the Great Dividing Range, soil make-up and altitude – the Macedon Ranges has remained something of an insider’s secret. Unlike Victoria’s Yarra Valley or Mornington Peninsula, you won’t find large tour buses here and there’s no mass marketing drawing crowds.

Many of the 40-odd wineries are family-run operations with modest yields, meaning the wineries maintain a personal touch (if you visit a cellar door, you’ll likely chat to the owner or winemaker themselves) and a tight sales circle that often doesn’t go far beyond said cellar door. And that’s part of the charm.

Though wines from the Macedon Ranges are just starting to gain more widespread recognition in Australia, the first vines were planted in the 1860s, with a handful of operators then setting up business in the 1970s and ’80s. The industry surged again in the 1990s and early 2000s with the entry of wineries, such as Mount Towrong, which has an Italian slant in both its wine and food offering, and Curly Flat , now one of the largest estates.

Meet the new generation of local winemakers

the Clydesdale barn at Paramoor. — The Clydesdale barn at Paramoor. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Then, within the last 15 years, a new crop of vignerons like Andrew Wood at Kyneton Ridge Estate , whose vineyard in 2024 was the first in the Macedon Ranges to be certified by Sustainable Winegrowing Australia; Geoff Plahn and Samantha Reid at Paramoor , who have an impressive cellar door with a roaring fire and studded leather couches in an old Clydesdale barn; and Ollie Rapson and Renata Morello at Lyons Will , who rapidly expanded a small vineyard to focus on top-shelf riesling, gamay, pinot noir and chardonnay, have taken ownership of local estates.

Going back to the early days, Llew Knight’s family was one of the pioneers of the 1970s, replacing sheep with vines at Granite Hills when the wool industry dwindled. Knight is proud of the fact that all their wines are made with grapes from their estate, including a light, peppery shiraz (some Macedon wineries purchase fruit from nearby warmer areas, such as Heathcote, particularly to make shiraz) and a European-style grüner veltliner. And, as many other wineries in the region do, he relies on natural acid for balance, rather than an additive, which is often required in warmer regions. “It’s all about understanding and respecting your climate to get the best out of your wines,” he says.

farm animals atKyneton Ridge Estate — Curious residents at Kyneton Ridge Estate. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Throughout the Macedon Ranges, there’s a growing focus on sustainability and natural and low-intervention wines, with producers, such as Brian Martin at Hunter Gatherer making waves in regenerative viticulture. Martin previously worked in senior roles at Australia’s largest sparkling winemaking facility, and now applies that expertise and his own nous to natural, hands‑off, wild-fermented wines, including pét‑nat, riesling and pinot noir. “Wild fermentation brings more complexity,” he says. “Instead of introducing one species of yeast, you can have thousands and they add different characteristics to the wine.”

the vineyard at Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery — The estate’s vineyard, where cool-climate grapes are grown. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Most producers also focus on nurturing their grapes in-field and prune and pick by hand, thus avoiding the introduction of impurities and the need to meddle too much in the winery. “The better the quality of the fruit, the less you have to interfere with the natural winemaking process,” says Wood.

Given the small yields, there’s also little room for error, meaning producers place immense focus on quality. “You’re never going to compete in the middle [in a small region] – you’ve got to aim for the top,” says Curly Flat owner Jeni Kolkka. “Big wineries try to do things as fast as possible, but we’re in no rush,” adds Troy Walsh, owner and winemaker at Attwoods . “We don’t use commercial yeasts; everything is hand-harvested and everything is bottled here, so we bottle only when we’re ready, not when a big truck arrives.” That’s why, when you do see a Macedon Ranges product on a restaurant wine list, it’s usually towards the pointy end.

Come for the wine, stay for the food

pouring sauce onto a dish at Lake HouseDaylesford — Dining at Lake House Daylesford is a treat. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

If wine is the quiet achiever of the Macedon Ranges, then food is its not-so-secret weapon. In fact, the area has more hatted restaurants than any other region in Victoria. A pioneer of the area’s gourmet food movement is region cheerleader Alla Wolf-Tasker, culinary icon and founder of Daylesford’s Lake House.

For more than three decades, Wolf-Tasker has championed local producers and helped define what regional fine dining can look like in Australia. Her influence is palpable, not just in the two-hatted Lake House kitchen, but in the broader ethos of the region’s dining scene, as a wave of high-quality restaurants have followed her lead to become true destination diners.

the Midnight Starling restaurant in Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery — The hatted Midnight Starling restaurant is located in Kyneton. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

It’s easy to eat well, whether at other hatted restaurants, such as Midnight Starling in the quaint town of Kyneton, or at the wineries themselves, like Le Bouchon at Attwoods, where Walsh is inspired by his time working in France in both his food offering and winemaking.

The beauty of dining and wine touring in the Macedon Ranges is that it feels intimate and unhurried. You’re likely to meet the winemaker, hear about the trials of the latest vintage firsthand, and taste wines that never make it to city shelves. And that’s worth getting out of the city for – even if it is just an hour down the road.

Delicate dishes on the menu at Midnight Starling. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

A traveller’s checklist

Staying there

the accommodation at Cleveland Estate, Macedon Ranges — Stay at the Cleveland Estate. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Soak up vineyard views from Cleveland Estate near Lancefield , embrace retro charm at Kyneton Springs Motel or indulge in lakeside luxury at the Lake House .

Eating there

Enjoy a four-course menu at the one-hatted Surly Goat in Hepburn Springs, Japanese-inspired fare at Kuzu in Woodend or unpretentious fine dining at Mount Monument , which also has a sculpture park.

Drinking there

wine tasting at PassingClouds Winery, Macedon Ranges — A tasting at Passing Clouds Winery. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Settle in for a tasting at Boomtown in Castlemaine, sample local drops at the cosy Woodend Cellar & Bar or wine-hop around the many cellar doors, such as Passing Clouds .

the Boomtown Winery and Cellar Bar signage — Boomtown Winery and Cellar Bar. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Playing there

a scenic river in Castlemaine — Idyllic scenes at Castlemaine. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Wander through the seasonal splendour of Forest Glade Gardens , hike to the summit of Hanging Rock, or stroll around the tranquil Sanatorium Lake.

purple flowers hanging from a tree — Purple flowers hanging from a tree. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

11 top places to eat and drink on Kangaroo Island