Around you

Where we’d send you to eat.

We have no kitchen and no room service, and McLaren Vale has a wonderful choice of places to eat within ten minutes or so. The places marked Our favourite are the ones we go back to ourselves.

Please check first, and book.

Hours change with the seasons and plenty of kitchens close early in the week, so please check current opening hours directly with each place before you go. The popular tables fill up well ahead, especially on weekends and in high season.

$ easy on the wallet $$ a proper meal out $$$ an occasion. Minutes are by car from Inkwell.

Breakfast and coffee

Direct bookings already have a continental breakfast waiting in the suite. These are for mornings when you want people around you.

  • NeighboursOur favourite (McLaren Vale, about 7 min, $). Sourdough crumpets fermented for three days, cakes and pastries baked in house, and serious coffee. Angelle and Daniel opened it in Paris in 2017 and brought it home. Monday to Friday 8 am to 2.30 pm, Saturday to 2 pm. Walk in, no bookings.

  • Bracegirdle’s McLaren Vale (McLaren Vale, about 7 min, $). The café of the South Australian handmade-chocolate house, now at 145 Main Road: coffee, breakfast and, of course, chocolate. While its new kitchen settles in, the menu is shorter. Every day, 8 am to 3 pm.

  • Pearl kiosk (Aldinga Beach, about 15 min, $). Breakfast by the sea from the kiosk beside Pearl: a breakfast sandwich, a local fish sandwich or shakshuka, to eat on the lawn or the sand. Thursday to Sunday, breakfast 9 to 11.30 am.

  • Wild Flour Willunga (Willunga, about 10 min, $). A family café and bar in Willunga’s old bakery on High Street: good coffee, smoked salmon and poached eggs on rye, and cocktails later in the day. Wednesday to Sunday from 7 am.

  • Serendipity Brew (Willunga, about 10 min, $). A new café at the bottom of High Street with Dawn Patrol coffee and a brunch menu that runs from eggs Benedict and shakshuka to Filipino dishes like champorado, a chocolate rice porridge. Every day but Tuesday, 7.30 am to 3 pm.

  • Manna (McLaren Vale, about 7 min, $). A warm café on the main street, with seasonal breakfasts from Fleurieu produce, local coffee and cakes made in house. Every day, 7 am to 3 pm.

  • Willunga Farmers Market (Willunga, about 10 min, $). South Australia’s first farmers market, since 2002: growers and makers selling straight to you, and breakfast cooked on the spot. Every Saturday, 8 am to noon, rain, hail or shine.

  • The Golden Fleece (Willunga, about 10 min, $). A cosy café that fills with the Saturday market crowd. Check before you go.

  • The Tin Shed (McLaren Vale, about 7 min, $). Breakfast from 8 am every day, then pizza made from scratch and Tex-Mex, with dinner on Friday and Saturday.

  • Port Willy Kiosk (Port Willunga, about 10 min, $). The kiosk beside the Star of Greece on the clifftop: coffee and breakfast in the morning, fish and chips later. Every day from 8 am.

  • Aldinga Hotel, Sunday buffet (Aldinga, about 10 min, $). All you can eat in the Cellar Bistro: bacon, eggs, hash browns and fresh coffee. Sundays, 9 to 11 am.

Lunch

Long lunches among the vines and by the sea, and a quick bite on the run.

  • The Salopian InnOur favourite (McLaren Vale, about 7 min, $$). A historic inn, more than 170 years old, where chef Karena Armstrong cooks seasonal plates to share from the kitchen garden around the building, with mostly local wines and their own Salopian Gin. Lunch every day, dinner Thursday to Saturday.

  • Pik A PieOur quick-bite favourite (McLaren Vale, about 7 min, $). The drive-through family bakery on Main Road, baking since 1999: pies, pasties, sausage rolls, cakes and coffee. Weekdays from 8 am; check before you go.

  • Coriole (McLaren Vale, about 10 min, $$). Long lunches in a courtyard between two stone buildings from the 1850s, cooked from Coriole’s own kitchen garden and local growers, with their current and museum wines. Lunch Thursday to Monday; book ahead.

  • The Currant Shed (McLaren Flat, about 15 min, $$$). A shed built in 1916 to dry currants, now a lunch room among the vines with views to the ranges: two courses or more from the menu, or a six-course tasting menu. Lunch Wednesday to Sunday.

  • Harry’s Deli (Wirra Wirra, about 10 min, $$). Seasonal food inside the historic Wirra Wirra winery, with vegetables and herbs from the estate. Sit by the wood fire, in the courtyard or out in Harry’s Garden. Monday to Saturday 10 am to 4 pm, Sunday from 11.

  • Star of Greece (Port Willunga, about 10 min, $$). An old seaman’s cottage on the cliff above Port Willunga beach, named after a ship that sank just offshore in 1888. Kangaroo Island whiting and squid, and no dress code. Lunch Wednesday to Sunday, dinner Wednesday to Saturday, and every day from 26 December to 26 January.

  • Pearl (Aldinga Beach, about 15 min, $$). On the sand at Aldinga Beach, under a roof shaped like a shell opening to the sea: fresh South Australian seafood and vegetables from their own garden, with a kiosk beside it. Restaurant lunch Thursday to Sunday, dinner Friday and Saturday; kiosk Thursday to Sunday from 9 am.

Dinner

An occasion first, then the easy nights.

  • Maxwell Restaurant (McLaren Vale, about 10 min, $$$). One tasting menu, on the limestone ridge of the Maxwell estate, led by chef Fabian Lehmann. Allow up to four hours. Lunch Friday to Sunday, dinner on Saturday.

  • Joe’sOur favourite (McLaren Vale, about 7 min, $). Mexico City food on Main Road, generous drinks, and a taco window, Taco José, in the courtyard. Wednesday is locals’ pasta night from 5 pm; the full menu runs Thursday to Sunday.

  • Vasarelli’s (McLaren Vale, about 7 min, $$). Traditional Italian food with the family’s own wines, inside or out on Main Road. Lunch Wednesday to Sunday, dinner Wednesday to Saturday.

  • The Little Rickshaw (Aldinga, about 10 min, $$$). A modern South-East Asian kitchen in a tiny old tin shed, with a heated courtyard. One banquet for the whole table, changed every week: relaxed, generous, and no menu to choose from. Dinner Thursday to Saturday, lunch Saturday and Sunday.

  • Fall From Grace (Aldinga, about 10 min, $$). A neighbourhood wine bar with seasonal share plates made for wine, and pizza only on Fridays. Thursday to Saturday into the evening; Sunday 12 to 6 pm, with the kitchen open until 3.

Pubs with seriously good food

Country pubs with kitchens worth the drive. The McLaren Vale Hotel, the Victory and the Aldinga Hotel cook every night of the week.

  • McLaren Vale Hotel (McLaren Vale, about 7 min, $$). The town’s pub on Main Road, with a menu built on named local suppliers: Ellis Butchers beef, Clappis bread, Coffin Bay octopus, a 12-hour braised lamb shank and the house smash burger. Lunch and dinner every day.

  • Victory Hotel (Sellicks Hill, about 10 min, $$). A restored pub from 1858 above Sellicks Beach, where head chef Glenn Worrall cooks a seasonal menu from local suppliers, a Sellicks Beach fisherman and Kangaroo Island abalone among them, with a big McLaren Vale wine cellar. Lunch and dinner every day; book by phone on 8556 3083.

  • Aldinga Hotel (Aldinga, about 10 min, $). A family-owned country pub since 1851, with hearty bistro food in the old cellar: schnitzels, the roast of the day, Black Angus scotch fillet, and wood-fired pizza Wednesday to Sunday. Lunch and dinner every day.

  • Old Bush Inn (Willunga, about 10 min, $$). Willunga’s historic “top pub”, at the top of High Street: pasta made in house, like prawn and n’duja spaghetti, O’Connor and Bindaree steaks from the grill, and a snapper fish pie with confit leek and truffle. Open every day from 11 am; book online.

Pizza and staying in

Russell’s and Francesca’s are the best pizza we know. Very few places deliver out here, so check before you get settled.

  • Russell’s Pizza (Willunga, about 10 min, $). Wood-oven pizza in an 1800s miner’s cottage with a courtyard and lawn, since Russell Jeavons lit the oven in 1992. Friday and Saturday from 5.30 pm. Book by phone on (08) 8556 2571.

  • Francesca’s Pizza (Christies Beach, about 20 min, $). Neapolitan and Sicilian pizza from dough proofed for 48 hours, and sandwiches on focaccia baked each morning. A bit of a drive and super casual, but worth it. Every day from 11 am.

  • Pizzateca (McLaren Vale, about 10 min, $). Neapolitan pizza from a wood oven built in Naples, the Mitolo family’s lamb skewers grilled over charcoal, and gelato next door. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday; book online.

  • Vale’s Pizza (Delivers from McLaren Vale, $). Pizza from Main Road that delivers to the suites, and our guests order it often. Order on its website or ring (08) 8323 8525. Our tip: ask for the thin crust.

  • Madame Banh Mi (Old Noarlunga, about 10 min, $). Vietnamese takeaway, with crunchy banh mi and cold rolls made to order. Hours vary, so check before you go.

  • Uber Eats (Enter 377 California Road). Worth a look, but being listed doesn’t mean a place delivers here. Francesca’s is on it and won’t come this far. Check the app when you want to order.

Sunday to Tuesday nights

Most kitchens here rest early in the week. The McLaren Vale Hotel, the Victory and the Aldinga Hotel cook every night, Vale’s Pizza delivers to the suites, and Francesca’s is open every day if you don’t mind the drive. From 26 December to 26 January, Star of Greece is open every night too.