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Dine Among the Vines: Victoria’s Best Winery Restaurants
Allow yourself to sip and savour every drop of wine and tasty morsel at some of the best winery restaurants in Victoria
Victoria doesn’t just make wine — it lives it. Across rolling hills and sea-breezed valleys, cellar doors double as dining rooms, and long lunches stretch lazily into golden afternoons. Today’s wineries aren’t content with tastings alone; they’re full-blown culinary destinations where chefs and winemakers speak the same language — seasonal, local, and unapologetically indulgent.
From the Yarra Valley to the Mornington Peninsula and beyond, these winery restaurants pour the best of Victoria — food, wine and atmosphere — in perfect measure.
Crittenden Estate
Crittenden Restaurant has returned, not as a revival, but as a confident new chapter for one of the Peninsula’s most storied families. After two decades, the Crittenden’s have reclaimed the keys and rebuilt the experience from the ground up: a design-led dining room anchored by a fireplace, a sunlit deck overlooking the vines, and a lakeside terrace made for languid afternoons.
Head Chef Brunno Melo leans into coastal produce and Mediterranean brightness, with Josper-fired signatures — a dry-aged tomahawk pork chop and a half-barrel swordfish — giving the menu its heartbeat.
Open now for lunch daily and dinner on Friday and Saturday, it’s a polished, heartfelt return to form for one of the Peninsula’s most admired names.
25 Harrisons Road, Dromana
Rare Hare
Rare Hare at Jackalope is where the Mornington Peninsula’s bounty takes centre stage. Equal parts wine bar, restaurant and produce store, it’s a space that feels as generous as the food itself. The menu celebrates the estate’s gardens and nearby growers — produce-led dishes made to share over long tables and even longer afternoons. At the cellar door, explore LL Vineyard’s single-vineyard wines or take a tour through the vines before lunch. Overlooking rolling rows of grapes and shimmering hills, Rare Hare makes eating and drinking feel effortlessly luxurious.
166 Balnarring Road, Merricks North
La Vetta at Marnong Estate
Marnong Estate, just outside Melbourne in Mickleham, captures that rare balance of serenity and spectacle. From your seat at La Vetta, the estate’s signature restaurant, the view stretches across rolling paddocks as the sun sets and camels graze in the distance — a tableau of quiet elegance. Dinner moves at an unhurried pace; the bistecca alla Fiorentina is its centrepiece, perfectly charred and deeply Tuscan in spirit. Paired with a glass of Italian red and the soft glow of dusk beyond the windows, it’s a meal that defines slow, beautiful living.
2235 Mickleham Road, Mickleham
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Laura at Pt. Leo Estate
Laura is a benchmark when it comes to Victoria’s winery dining scene. As the most refined of Pt. Leo Estate’s three dining experiences, Laura offers a distinctly elevated long-lunch affair, while Pt. Leo Restaurant and Wine Terrace deliver more relaxed, equally delicious alternatives.
Guests can choose from three menus: the Table d’Hôte, the Seasonal Menu, and the Signature Menu, each designed to showcase exceptional produce, considered technique and the kitchen’s most compelling ideas.
An added pleasure of dining at Laura is complimentary access to Pt. Leo Estate’s expansive outdoor Sculpture Park. After lunch, take an unhurried walk among large-scale works scattered across the rolling landscape, where art and vineyard views meet in quietly spectacular fashion.
3649 Frankston-Flinders Road, Merricks
TarraWarra Estate
Framed by vines and sculpted earth, TarraWarra Estate’s hatted restaurant is a Yarra Valley landmark of flavour and finesse. Led by head chef Maxwell Parlas, the menu celebrates seasonal produce from the estate’s kitchen garden and local growers, transforming provenance into artful modern Australian cuisine. Open Wednesday to Sunday, guests can choose between a three-course estate menu or a four-course tasting experience. Elegant, warm, and anchored by sweeping vineyard views, it’s dining that captures the rhythm and beauty of its landscape.
311 Healesville-Yarra Glen Road, Yarra Glen
Re’em
Re’em earns top marks across every measure — food, hospitality, setting, and, naturally, wine. Set within Helen & Joey Estate, this refined winery restaurant pays elegant homage to the estate’s Chinese heritage, reimagining traditional flavours through a modern lens. Dishes like chilli crab on silky egg custard and mantou toast, or slow-braised beef short rib, are intricate yet effortless. Each course arrives harmoniously paired with premium estate wines, poured with quiet precision. The result is a dining experience that’s polished yet warm — generous in spirit, unmistakably Yarra Valley.
12-14 Spring Lane, Gruyere
Polperro
Whether you’re taking in the views on the sun-drenched deck or choosing a chic dining room for a romantic candlelit dinner, Polperro Winery is one to pencil in ASAP. This winery restaurant in Victoria is all about a holistic experience. The certified organic, biodynamic and regenerative Polperro Farm lies a mere kilometre away, where seasonal fare for the kitchen is grown on a small scale. The result? Divine food that lets you savour the true freshness of every ingredient.
150 Red Hill Road, Red Hill
Ten Minutes by Tractor
Ten Minutes by Tractor is less a restaurant than a pure expression of the Mornington Peninsula. Born from the union of three vineyards—each a ten-minute tractor ride apart — it captures the region’s rhythm in every glass and on every plate. Under chef Hayden Ellis (ex-The Fat Duck), the menu is a study in quiet confidence: foraged herbs, estate-grown produce, lamb and seafood guided by precision and restraint. Seasonal dishes trace the contours of the land, paired with cool-climate pinot noir and chardonnay, while floor-to-ceiling windows frame the vines like living art.
1333 Mornington-Flinders Road, Main Ridge
Zonzo Estate
Zonzo Estate is a Yarra Valley icon, and lunching in its sunlit dining room feels like stepping into a postcard. Rolling hills, rows of vines and that unmistakable hum of weekend contentment set the tone for a long, lazy afternoon with friends.
The ‘Festa’ sharing menu keeps things simple and generous — think mixed antipasto, wood-fired pizza, slow-roasted lamb shoulder, and perfectly crisp potatoes. There are no frills or fuss, just food that makes people happy. Start with a Zoncello Spritz, end with a ricotta cannoli that’s all cream and air, and call it the best decision you’ve made all week.
957 Healesville-Yarra Glen Road, Yarra Glen
Heathcote Winery
With roots tracing back to the gold rush, Heathcote Winery is a true treasure trove of quality wines. Brimming with rustic charm, the red-brick dining room offers a warm, welcoming setting for hearty, elevated Australian fare — including a standout duck pizza where bold flavours shine. Prefer to graze while you sip? The cellar door serves up local cheeses, fig jam and house-made feta that pair beautifully with their signature shiraz.
183-185 High Street, Heathcote
Hogget Kitchen
At Hogget Kitchen in Warragul, the only thing richer than the soil is the menu. Chef-owner Trevor Perkins turns Gippsland’s rolling farmland into plate poetry — nose-to-tail, root-to-stem, and always straight from the source. Each dish celebrates the region’s ingredients in their purest form, best enjoyed with a glass of local wine and the kind of vineyard view that could convince anyone to move to the country.
6 Farrington Close, Warragul
Enjoyed reading about the best winery restaurants in Victoria? Keep exploring our state’s magical wine regions and hit up the best wineries in the Yarra Valley, or drive down the coast to dine at our favourite Mornington Peninsula restaurants.
