Top winery restaurants in the Hunter Valley

Hunter Valley wineries are so pretty that you’ll want to linger longer to enjoy the views (and tipples), so it’s a good thing that many vineyards come with onsite fine-dining restaurants. Here are six to get excited about.

Destination NSW

May 2023 -

min read

Restaurant Cuvee at Peterson House

Located within the sandstone walls of Peterson House, Restaurant Cuvee frames its vineyard with grand timber trusses and floor-to-ceiling windows. It’s a fitting setting for breakfast or lunch – the former meal is always accompanied by bubbles, but of course. Come back later in the day and head chef Chad Pridue serves up nuanced dishes like spatchcock with truffled pork salami and pesto, or garlicky prawns paired with asparagus and peas. Prepare to settle in for a meal you won’t forget in a hurry.

Restaurant Cuvee at Peterson House, Hunter Valley - Credit: Peterson House

Margan Wines & Restaurant

Margan Wines are estate-grown and estate-made. And they take home awards around the world. Once you’ve enjoyed a tasting at the cellar door, slide into the onsite restaurant that holds the same ethos. Hyper-local menus here are crafted around harvest from the kitchen garden and orchard, which is home to olive groves, free-range chickens, lambs and beehives. Your five-course culinary journey might include a crab bisque with parsnip, black garlic and cavolo nero, perhaps. Or barbecued Binnie Wagyu beef, sitting pretty on a plate of beetroot, radicchio and red cabbage. The menu is updated weekly, which means you’re treated to surprising bites every time you return.

Couple enjoying a glass of wine at Margan Wines, Hunter Valley

Margan Wines & Restaurant, Hunter Valley

Muse Restaurant at Hungerford Hill Winery

Hungerford Hill is a legend among Hunter Valley wineries producing drops since 1967. Its restaurant, Muse, is the perfect spot to sample its award-winning vintages. The five-course menu is seasonal, with a focus on Hunter Valley produce. Think Jerusalem artichokes enveloped in Binnorie brie cream, with the added crunch of Branxton pecans and brik pastry, with a drizzle of honey. Or grilled Paroo kangaroo atop buckwheat and pickled shiitake mushrooms. Chef and owner Troy Rhoades-Brown nurtures a close relationship with regional purveyors – you can read all about them on his menu while you wait for staff to deliver plates that are almost too pretty to eat. Almost…

Dish from Restaurant & Cafe, Hungerford Hill Wines, Pokolbin

Muse Restaurant & Cafe at Hungerford Hill Wines, Pokolbin

The Gates Restaurant at Leogate Estate Wines

While you can order à la carte at The Gates, we recommend leaving your meal in the hands of the chef – the five-course degustation comes paired with award-winning Leogate wines. This means you could sit down to manuka honey-glazed pork with a 2019 Creek Bed Reserve Chardonnay. A combination made in heaven. Or a confit duck leg and 2018 Gatecrasher Pinot Noir. The sustainable estate that the restaurant overlooks is postcard-worthy with vines that date back to the 1970s; they were planted by one of the founding fathers of the modern Australian wine industry, Len Evans AO OBE.

Dining at The Gates Restaurant, Hunter Valley

The Gates Restaurant at Leogate Estate Wines, Hunter Valley

Restaurant Botanica at Spicers Vineyards Estate

With its own private grounds of chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon and merlot grapes – which stretch almost all the way to the doorstep of the main guesthouse – Spicers Vineyards Estate is your one-stop-shop if you want to wine, dine and sleep among the vines. Sample the fruits of the estate with a bottle (or three) from the climate-controlled cellar’s 350-plus collection, try some vino-therapy at the luxe Spa Anise and dine on chef Matthew Bremerkamp’s farm-fresh fare at Restaurant Botanica – many of the ingredients are picked straight from the kitchen gardens, not to mention the resident pigs. Floor-to-ceiling windows offer serene views while you indulge in dishes like Moreton Bay bug tortellini with zucchini and tomato essence, or lamb rump with black garlic and root vegetable gratin.

Aerial view of the vineyards at Spicers Vineyard Estate, Hunter Valley

Spicers Vineyard Estate, Hunter Valley - Credit: Spicers Vineyard Estate

The Mill at Estate Tuscany

Situated on the grounds of Estate Tuscany – which overlooks 300 acres of vineyards – The Mill has built a reputation for itself as one of the destination diners in the upper Hunter Valley, thanks to winning a Chef’s Hat in 2020. Come for the magic mountain views of the surrounding Brokenback Ranges, stay for executive chef William Townsend’s outstanding seasonal menu. Think wood-fired prawns sprinkled with watermelon radish, pan-seared scallops served with chilli-celery-brown butter sauce or braised beef short ribs with a side of black garlic kasundi. All served with matching wines, of course.