The Hunter Valley is home to some of the state’s most renowned restaurants, from top-tier hatted restaurants to hidden gems.

To make your food journey throughout the valley as good as it can be, we’ve compiled a list of the best spots to dine for breakfast, lunch, and dinner across the Hunter Valley.

Breakfast

Café Enzo

Since 1996 this enchanting sandstone building has been delivering the goods – think classic breakfast eats with plenty of homemade additions, like tomato chutney and blood orange jam.
Where: Broke Rd & Ekerts Rd, Pokolbin

Fawk Foods Kitchen & Bakery

Situated within Pokolbin Village in the heart of Wine Country, Fawk Foods Kitchen & Bakery is easy to drop into while on your wine tasting travels. Collect all of your sourdough, pastry, coffee, and garlic essentials or sit down for an early brunch.
Where: 2188 Broke Rd, Pokolbin

Kawul Restaurant

Calling Calais Estate in Pokolbin home, Kawul Restaurant has created an inviting space complete with a menu full of native ingredients and interesting twists on breakfast classics, like the Kawul Buddha Bowl that features smoked chickpeas and cashew sour cream.
Where: 151 Palmers Ln, Rothbury

Restaurant Cuvee at Peterson House

Head to Peterson House for Restaurant Cuvee's famous Bubbly Breakfast – a big cooked breakfast with a glass of Peterson House's Pink Blush, Cuvee or Prosecco.
Where: Broke Rd, Pokolbin

Lunch

Amanda’s on the Edge

This unique property has been offering an incredible dining experience to both locals and visitors alike for over 21 years. Join the team for a special set menu at $110 per person, including a bottle of wine to share between two.
Where: 1039 McDonalds Rd, Pokolbin

Bistro Molines

A dining experience at Bistro Molines is unlike any other, featuring sophisticated yet rustic French provincial dining with expansive views across the valley.
Where: 749 Mount View Rd, Mount View

Emerson’s

Brought to us by Chef Emerson Rodriguez, Emerson’s offers a relaxed dining experience in a welcoming setting. Want to try it all? Get the five course banquet for $80 per person.
Where: 492 Lovedale Rd, Lovedale

Esca at Bimbadgen

As you enter Esca at Bimbadgen, you can see that the restaurant has taken full advantage of its hilltop views. Enjoy a seasonal menu with dishes like Kingfish Crudo with mandarin, grapes, finger lime and pink peppercorn. Better yet, match your meal with Bimbagen Estate wines.
Where: 790 McDonalds Rd, Pokolbin

Leaves & Fishes

Leaves and Fishes in Lovedale is home to a selection of casual seafood eats with an Asian twist. It's all served in takeaway containers, meaning you can eat on the deck or take your feast out onto the grounds for a picnic.
Where: 737 Lovedale Rd, Lovedale

Legend’s Restaurant

Situated on-site at Château Élan, Legends Restaurant is set within a glass house-style space that offers a menu full of global flavours and seasonal, local ingredients.
Where: Vintage Rd, Rothbury

Margan Restaurant

Margan Restaurant menus have been crafted around the harvest from their onsite one-hectare kitchen garden. The property also has its own olive trees, free-range chickens, and beehives, and raises all of its own lambs – all of which are incorporated into their menus.
Where: 1238 Milbrodale Rd, Broke

Muse Kitchen Hunter Valley

Located in the picturesque Keith Tullock Wines courtyard, Muse Kitchen offers a relaxed yet sophisticated dining experience that continues to wow locals and visitors year after year.
Where: Cnr Hermitage & Deasys Rd, Pokolbin

Restaurant Botanica

Experience nothing short of warm, approachable, and regional dining at Restaurant Botanica at Spicer’s Retreats. With Head Chef Chris Rhoney at the helm, Restaurant Botanica has been broadening the appeal of its dining experience to casual diners who are keen to discover delectable cuisine, a superb wine list, and impeccable service.
Where: 555 Hermitage Rd, Pokolbin

The Deck Café

This picture-perfect café overlooking the dam at Gartelmann Wines is perfect for either a long breakfast or tapas lunch, with a range of European and Asian flavour influences.
Where: 701 Lovedale Rd, Rothbury

Yellow Billy

This hot venture in the Hunter Valley comes complete with a custom-built fire pit used daily to cook up the protein and vegetables, and even to add smoky flavour to the fruit that might end up on your plate.
Where: 697 Hermitage Rd, Pokolbin

Dinner

Boydell’s Cellar Door & Restaurant

Tucked along Green St, Boydell’s is the newest venture of Daniel and Jan Maroulis, the incredibly hard-working couple who we first met back in 2018. Dining at Boydell’s offers a relaxed yet sophisticated experience with the interiors flowing seamlessly from cellar door to dining space.
Where: 2 Green St, Morpeth

Circa 1876

Before you even set foot into the cottage that is Circa 1876, you get the feeling that you're in for something a little bit special. Awarded One Chefs Hat for 2022 by the Australian Good Food Guide, Circa 1876 is the perfect example of the farm-to-fork ethos, with its menu featuring fresh local seasonal produce, most of which is from their onsite organic kitchen garden.
Where: 64 Halls Rd, Pokolbin

EXP. Restaurant

This Hunter Valley restaurant is bringing something a little different to the table. EXP. Restaurant has introduced us to a new way of dining that is experimental and we can't get enough. Preferring to steer away from the typical entrée, main, and dessert formula, EXP. offers a Tasting Menu, allowing guests to experience a wide range of stunning flavours all in one sitting.  
Where: 2188 Broke Rd, Pokolbin

Hunters Quarter

Elegant and sophisticated, the food, service, and views are spectacular at Hunters Quarter. Having won the 2022 Australia Prestige Award for Contemporary Restaurant of the Year, you know you’re in for a treat.
Where: 576 De Beyers Rd, Pokolbin

Muse Restaurant

For a truly exquisite one-of-a-kind dining experience, you must book a table at Muse Restaurant in the Hunter Valley. The brainchild of the ever-so-humble kitchen mastermind, Troy Rhoades-Brown, this iconic dining institution has been the go-to for special occasions for both locals and visitors alike since its inception in 2009.
Where: 2450 Broke Rd, Pokolbin

The Gates Restaurant

Take a seat at one of the Hunter Valley’s most spectacular dining experiences – The Gates Restaurant at Leogate Estate. The a-la-carte and 5-course degustation menus offer a fine display of locally sourced ingredients and quality produce.
Where: 1693 Broke Rd, Pokolbin

Twine Restaurant

Discover the ultimate combination of breathtaking views and delicious food at Twine Restaurant. Sitting atop a picturesque valley, the view at Twine Restaurant is breathtaking. The vistas paired with a mouth-watering modern Australian menu makes for a delightful dining experience.
Where: 310 Oakey Creek Rd, Pokolbin