A guide to eating well in the Clare Valley, from winery restaurants to revived country pubs.
Eat your way through the valley
The Clare Valley's food scene is unpretentious and deeply tied to the land — paddock-to-plate is less a marketing line here than a description of the drive to the kitchen door.
Winery restaurants
For a long lunch among the vines, Skillogalee is the classic choice: book ahead and settle in on the verandah. Paulett's Bush DeVine cafe pairs valley views with native-garden surrounds, while several cellar doors offer share plates designed to flatter their wines.
Country pubs reborn
The valley's historic hotels have had a renaissance. The Watervale Hotel runs a celebrated kitchen garden and a paddock-to-plate menu, while the Rising Sun at Auburn and the Sevenhill Hotel serve hearty, generous country cooking — the latter a favourite refuel for Riesling Trail cyclists.
In town
In Clare, Mr Mick offers a relaxed cellar-door kitchen with tapas-style plates, and the main street's cafes, bakeries and providores are perfect for assembling a vineyard picnic. Wherever you eat, pour a local Riesling alongside — it's what the whole valley was built to drink.
