Best Restaurants in the Adelaide Hills for The Ultimate Foodie Experience
From seven-course degustations to cosy, tucked away pubs - these are the best restaurants in the Adelaide Hills to book a table at.
The beauty of Adelaide Hills is that it provides some of the best dining experiences the region has to offer - with the added bonus of picturesque vineyard views.
In less than 20 minutes from Adelaide CBD you will be immersed in the rolling hills, spectacular scenery and a host of restaurants to indulge in. From gourmet multi-course degustations to rustic wood-fired pizzas, all within arm’s reach of a local cellar door.
Let’s not forget the luxurious accommodation offerings within the area, sometimes attached the charming pub restaurants with a roaring fireplace that you’ve booked for dinner.
Here are some of the best restaurants in the Adelaide Hills. Thank us later.
LVN at Bird in Hand
The recent unveiling of Bird in Hand's reimagined on-premises dining room, LVN Restaurant, has completely blown us away! Not only that, but until the end of February, guests are invited to experience the culinary splendours of Adelaide Hills at dusk. Because Saturdays are for indulging in a 10 course tasting menu and sipping fine wine alongside spectacular sunsets, world-class art and breathtaking terraced gardens.
The menu at LVN centres around fresh and high-quality seasonal ingredients, with much of the produce showcased plucked directly from the onsite kitchen garden. Or sourced, as it has been for generations by Indigenous communities, from the surrounding Adelaide Hills region, Finniss River on the lower lakes of South Australia and Seymour in Tasmania. How magical!
Twilight sittings every Saturday until end of February, from 6.00pm onwards; $195.00 per person
Book here
150 Pfeiffer Road, Woodside, South Australia
Pike & Joyce Wines
Pike & Joyce is a must-visit for those passionate about good food and great wine. The lovechild of two prominent South Australian winemaking families, the estate offers some of the truest expressions of the region's varieties as well as inspired dining. Spanning 25 hectares, the vineyards are some of the highest in the Adelaide Hills providing the perfect terrain to produce its renowned cool-climate drops. When lunchtime rolls around and you're looking for seasonal, locally focused dining, lunch at the restaurant led by Head Chef Matt Kinghorn is a crowd pleaser. With dishes like housemade pork dumplings with Taiwanese kimchi, fresh Coffin Bay oysters and charred lamb rump with green tomato and spinach, this a sure-fire winner for healthy and satisfying meals in a stunning setting.
730 Mawson Road, Lenswood
Howard Vineyard
Tucked inside the beautiful Howard Vineyard sits Clover + Stone, one of our top picks for the best restaurants in the Adelaide Hills. For a more relaxed and casual dining experience, Clover + Stone sits in a rustic stone barn and encourages customers to take an hour or two to slow down and enjoy a long lunch with friends and family. Executive Chef Chang Koog Lee, or 'Cookie', crafts a series of mouthwatering menus intended for sharing, and with special weekday Feed Me menus and HanSang - which translates from Korean to 'one table', you are not likely to leave feeling hungry. With everything from oysters and house baked sourdough, dumplings, confit duck salad and zucchini flowers on the menu, there is something for everyone, with the team willing and able to assist those with dietary requirements.
53 Bald Hills Road, Nairne
Uraidla Hotel
With exposed brick and beams, classy and comfortable furnishings, delightful lighting and occasionally mulled wine on the menu, you’ll be transported to another era at the famous Uraidla Hotel. With a strong focus on sustainability and community, the meals are made with ingredients from local and trusted suppliers, with some of the fruit and veg being grown and harvested on-site. With vegan and vegetarian options on the menu, this is the kind of place where everyone can enjoy a great meal and make new friends in a relaxed and welcoming space. Topped off with a cosy fireplace that keeps you toasty warm in winter and an expansive outdoor area for meals and drinks in the sunshine during summer, this local pub is the spot to be all year long.
1196 Greenhill Road, Uraidla
The Bridgewater Mill
For a foodie that enjoys the finer things, The Bridgewater Mill offers an extraordinary dining experience. The spectacular restaurant in the Adelaide Hills is set within an old mill, complete with an iconic water wheel. Their chefs are passionate about the quality of seasonal ingredients, with the very best products sourced to bring a “taste of South Australia and beyond” to your palate. Depending on the season, you can expect anything from fresh scallops and wagyu brisket served as ‘just a bite’, right up to market fish, smoked cauliflower and poussin as ‘something larger’. The interiors are something to behold, with wrap around balcony seating looking out across the grand hall main dining room, and an enchanting fern-filled conservatory room.
386 Mount Barker Road, Bridgewater
The Crafers Hotel
Situated in the heart of the Adelaide Hills, The Crafers Hotel is a classic and quaint countryside pub. It sits at just 20 minutes from the CBD and arm’s length to Mount Lofty Botanic Garden. The stone walls, wood bar top, roaring fireplaces and mood lighting will set the tone, welcoming diners on a warm sunny lunch times or in for a winter supper. A menu spanning from classic pub fare in their bar to a French inspired restaurant menu serves everything from scallops to duck breast, finishing with decadent desserts. Extend your experience with a night in one of their seven hotel rooms, each with AESOP toiletries and complimentary mini-bar, and some with a cosy gas fire and balcony.
8 Main Street, Crafers
Yuki in the Hills
An intimate restaurant priding itself on fresh seafood, Yuki in the Hills is the place to head for a fuss-free feed. This much-loved Japanese restaurant in Adelaide Hills is known for its friendly service and accommodating menu that is both vegetarian and vegan-friendly. There is pillowy pork and prawn gyoza, moreish soba and high-grade cuts to feed the hungriest of diners. The moreish menu continues with popcorn shrimp and tako kara-age combo as the perfect preamble to teriyaki chicken or the pan-grilled miso duck breast. Lots of Japanese drinks are also on offer, the perfect accompaniment to any traditional meal.
2 Strathalbyn Road, Aldgate
Mt Lofty Ranges Vineyard
Located on picturesque grounds and surrounded by breathtaking scenery, Mt Lofty Ranges Vineyard provides the perfect dining destination for your next trip to the Adelaide Hills. Led by Head Chef Jesse White and Restaurant Manager Chloe Rickaby, you can expect seasonal SA produce to take centre stage paired with the estate’s signature range of wines. Wide timber decks and views across the sweeping valleys welcomes diners for lunch time visit. On colder days, an open fireplace will set the tone throughout the culinary adventure. Join for monthly Friday Night Dinner for a lavish menu homage or select either two or three courses from the seasonal menu championing local farmers and flavours.
166 Harris Road, Lenswood
Penfolds Magill Estate Restaurant
Before you’ve even seen the menu, Penfolds Magill Estate's renowned restaurant will have you swooning. Sitting along the foothills of Mount Lofty Ranges in Adelaide Hills, you'll be greeted by bold wood interiors adorned with spectacular lighting overhead reminiscent of a galaxy. Offering decadent degustation experiences, chef Scott Huggins will take you on a culinary expedition across the region and beyond favouring fresh, contemporary dishes. A fine collection of Penfolds wines are available from their cellar door, which is handily located just next door. Considered the spiritual birthplace for some of the most famous Australian winemaking stories and dating back to 1844, this is a pairing like no other.
78 Penfold Road, Magill
Hardy's Verandah
Take a seat at heritage-listed Hardy’s Verandah and enjoy a culinary experience steeped in history. Their seasonal menu is plated up in four to seven-course degustations, paired with multi-award-winning wine, sake and creative cocktails. Expect an explosion of flavours from Head Chef Jin Choi, who takes the finest fish, meat, fruit and vegetables to craft inspiring dishes that you’ll remember for the rest of your life. Think raw wagyu rump with ponzu and salted egg emulsion, or chestnut mousse with rum raisin ice cream. Make a weekend of it and book an amorous stay in Mount Lofty House for a gourmet getaway like no other.
1 Mawson Drive, Crafers
Summertown Aristologist
Just 25 minutes up Greenhill Road, the Summertown Aristologist is a charming wine bar come restaurant. It boasts an unrivalled offering of natural drops alongside rustic, produce-driven plates designed around its own organic garden. With a focus on grazing plates designed to share, the menu features an exciting range of ever changing dishes. From homemade bread and butter and cellar-aged charcuterie, to a rack of hogget and leek, lentils and zucchini. All of their fresh and delicious menu can be enjoyed with a drop or two from their wine list, with bottles coming straight from the wine shop next door. This is grassroots dining at its finest.
1097 Greenhill Road, Summertown
Lost in a Forest
Hidden away inside an old church, Lost in a Forest is a quirky and unmissable restaurant in the Adelaide Hills. Their unbeatable charm can be found in every corner, from their wood oven serving up some of the best pizzas in the hills. Right to their stunning wine list, SA craft tins and extensive gin list. Complete with the original stained-glass windows from 1892, it's rustic, cosy and the perfect hideaway for two or a destination for many. Where the delicious pizzas are concerned, expect beautifully blistered bases topped with fresh, locally sourced ingredients.
1203 Greenhill Road, Uraidla
Windy Point Restaurant
Perched high atop beautiful Belair, Windy Point promises a one-of-kind sensory dining experience. Take a seat at your table and gaze out of the floor to ceiling windows that open out to the sweeping panoramic views from the Gulf of St Vincent to the CBD. Famed for the decadent five-course set tasting menu that changes with the seasons, there is usually something new to try on every visit. The team will whip up the freshest seasonal produce such as autumnal Boston Bay pork belly, roasted root vegetable soup and chai spice cake for dessert. Their commitment to complement an extraordinary view with exemplary food and service is clear to see!
Windy Point Lookout, 339 Belair Road, Belair
Inglewood Inn
Established in 1857, Inglewood Inn is a rustic tavern that mixes an old-fashioned flare with a modern twist. This Adelaide Hills restaurant provides for all across both its food and drink offering. Boasting a menu unlike any other ordinary 'pub', after you dine be sure to acquaint yourself with their wine and gin bar. Popular for a cosy meal for two, relaxed cocktail functions or a group dinner, you know that you are going to get great service, food and drink here. Although loved by locals and visitors in summer for its winning combo of alfresco dining and killer views across the Adelaide Hills, it's equally popular in the wintertime thanks to its many warming fireplaces.
1931 North East Road, Inglewood
Lot 100
Home to a collective of South Australia's best food and craft beverage producers, Lot 100 is an all-encompassing dining destination. Considered a Mecca for foodies, they embrace a paddock-to-plate ethos. Their modern Australian menu leans into the Mediterranean, with a refined focus on seasonality and locally sourced produce from neighbours and farmers. Dine on The Long Lunch for a shared experience, or the casual lunch for a shared lunch of small plates and Lot 100’s famed wood oven pizzas in the newly built courtyard. Their craft beverage selection is unmatched, setting itself apart from the many surrounding wineries with gin, cider, and beer reigning supreme. Pick a sunny day and sit outside to enjoy some fun and games while you drink.
68 Chambers Road, Hay Valley
Sidewood Estate
If you haven't already visited Sidewood Estate, we suggest adding this one to your must-visit list. Set amongst a stunning mix of eucalyptus and landscaped gardens, the opulent winery boasts one of the best restaurants in Adelaide Hills. Warm tones and natural materials ooze elegance while the Australasian menu pairs perfectly with its award-winning wines. Select from options including the luxurious 3-course lunch paired with some of Sidewood’s most renowned wines. A popular hang out in the warmer months, with their cellar door games and outdoor VIP cabanas a hit among crowds, or a cosy meet-up in the cooler months, perched indoors next to the fireplace.
6 River Road, Hahndorf
The Lane Vineyard
When it comes to assessing the best restaurants in Adelaide Hills, you’re looking for three essentials: great wine, South Australian flavours and glorious countryside vistas. The Lane will leave you in awe of the views of the vineyards from their wide, bifold windows and alfresco seating arrangements. Stretching right across Adelaide Hills, this is the perfect setting to sample one of their award-winning tasting experiences. Choose from a seven, five or three-course meal, with an exquisite offering of wine pairings for each course. Not in the mood to get too fancy? Book a vineyard picnic instead and make the most of the tranquil environment.
5 Ravenswood Lane, Hahndorf
Fallen in love with the Adelaide Hills and want to find out more? We’ve got you! From the area’s famed wineries to stop in for a tasting to the most dreamy accommodation to book into, why not make a weekend of it?
