Eat & Drink
Wine, Dine, Celebrate
The best eat & drink in McLaren Vale
Everything edible on the Fleurieu - wineries, restaurants, cafés, breweries, distilleries, markets and makers.
The Fleurieu Peninsula is a genuine paddock-to-plate region, and eating your way around it is half the reason to visit. This is one of South Australia's most productive corners — vineyards and olive groves, market gardens and orchards, almond and citrus, cheese makers and small-batch producers all within an easy drive of one another.
It shows up everywhere. Spend a morning at the famous Saturday farmers market in Willunga, graze your way through farm gates and cellar-door kitchens around McLaren Vale, or pick up fresh fish, local cheese, olive oil and just-baked bread to take to the beach. The region's restaurants and cafés lean hard on what's grown nearby, and many of the best meals are had at winery and brewery tables looking out over the vines.
From long vineyard lunches and seaside fish and chips to country bakeries and good coffee in almost every town, there's something for every appetite and budget. If you're planning a trip around food, aim for a weekend so you can catch the markets, and book ahead for the popular winery restaurants — they fill quickly, especially in spring and over the summer holidays.
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123 places
Alluca Vineyards
A mother-daughter boutique cellar door on the old-vine sand of Blewitt Springs, with platters and a relaxed garden setting.
Alpha Box & Dice
$$The Alphabet of Wine
Experimental small-batch winery exploring an alphabet of unusual grape varietals and blends, with a quirky reservation-only tasting room.
Angove McLaren Vale
$$Warboys Vineyard & Vineyard Kitchen
Fifth-generation Angove family winery with a cellar door set amongst the certified organic Warboys Vineyard and the Vineyard Kitchen restaurant.
Aphelion Wine Co
$$Grenache specialists
Small-batch family winery specialising in old-vine McLaren Vale Grenache and Chenin Blanc, with a relaxed cellar door on Kays Road.
Battle of Bosworth
$$Organic single-vineyard on Gaffney Road
Family-owned certified organic estate at Edgehill Vineyard in Willunga, making the celebrated Battle of Bosworth Shiraz and Spring Seed Wines range.
Beach Road Wines
$$Wine, wood-fired pizza and restaurant
Family-owned McLaren Vale winery and restaurant on Seaview Road, known for handcrafted wines, wood-fired pizzas and casual vineyard dining.
Bekkers Wine
$$$$Cult Syrah & Grenache by Emmanuelle Bekkers
Small, top-end producer by French-born winemaker Emmanuelle Bekkers, crafting some of McLaren Vale's most sought-after Syrah and Grenache.
Beresford Estate
$$Blewitt Springs single-vineyard estate
Single-estate Blewitt Springs winery with a modern cellar door, restaurant and accommodation in the elevated sandy-soiled sub-region of McLaren Vale.
Big Easy Radio
$$Wine, music and a heritage stone cottage
A wine, music and lifestyle destination built around an 1875 stone cottage on Malpas Road, combining craft McLaren Vale wines with live music.
Blessed Cheese
$$Cheesemonger, deli and cafe on Main Road
Beloved Main Road cafe, deli and cheesemonger in McLaren Vale - stocking great cheeses, preserves and cured meats, with counter meals and fantastic coffee.
Blewitt Springs Wine Co
An organic and biodynamic small-batch Grenache and Shiraz producer with Saturday winemaker-led tastings on the Blewitt Springs sand.
Bondar Wines
Small-batch shiraz and grenache on McMurtrie Road
A small family producer on McMurtrie Road best known for the Higher Springs Shiraz and site-expressive grenache, tasting from a shared cellar door with Lino Ramble and Sherrah.
Bracegirdle's House of Fine Chocolate
A licensed chocolatier and cafe in a heritage McLaren Vale cottage - hand-made chocolates, rich hot chocolate and a full all-day menu.
Brash Higgins
$$$Experimental amphora winemaking by appointment
Cult small-batch winery by former New York sommelier Brad Hickey, specialising in amphora-aged Nero d'Avola and minimal-intervention wines.
Brick Kiln Cellar Door
A small-batch Shiraz specialist housed in a restored barn cellar door on Main Road, McLaren Vale - 'The Barn' on McMurtrie Road precinct.
Chalk Hill Wines
$$The Chalk Hill Collective on Field Street
Wilson family winery anchoring the Chalk Hill Collective on Field Street - a destination site shared with Never Never Distilling and Alpha Crucis Lounge.
Chapel Hill Wine
$$Certified organic in a historic chapel
Certified organic winery housed in a restored 1860s hilltop chapel, known for flagship Shiraz and Cabernet and expansive McLaren Vale views.
Coriole Vineyards
$$Italian varietals & estate lunch
Family-owned estate famous for pioneering Sangiovese in Australia, Fiano, Nebbiolo and a celebrated garden restaurant overlooking the McLaren Vale hills.
Cradle of Hills
A high-perched boutique producer above Sellicks
A small boutique winery on Rogers Road high above Sellicks Hill, with sweeping views across the Gulf St Vincent and a by-appointment cellar door.
Curtis Family Vineyards
A three-sibling Italian-heritage family winery established in 1973, with guided tasting flights and a generous purchase rebate.
Dandelion Vineyards
$$The Wonder Room on Chaffeys Road
Family winery by Elena and Zar Brooks with a new Wonder Room tasting experience on Chaffeys Road - family-friendly, design-forward, and open 7 days.
Dennis of McLaren Vale
One of McLaren Vale's original family wineries, established in 1970, with a weekday cellar door on the corner of Kangarilla and Park Roads.
Dodgy Brothers Wines
Wes Pearson's cult small-batch Grenache and Mataro project, pouring at a shared cellar door on Foggo Road.
DogRidge Vineyards
$$Hidden-gem Blewitt Springs estate by Pedler Creek
A relaxed family-run cellar door tucked away in McLaren Flat, pouring estate-grown shiraz, grenache and whites with genuine hospitality.