South Australia is a true all-rounder: unparalleled produce, endless wineries over quaint valleys, tear-jerkingly great sunsets. The wine-smitten state also has some of the best restaurants and bars in the country right now, which isn’t surprising considering the calibre of hospitality and the world-class produce they have at their doorstep. The landscape and climate is quite different from the other states (it’s really flat and dry) that it feels equally familiar and unfamiliar in a good I’m away on holiday kind of way.

During this four-day trip, my partner and I explored the Barossa Valley and Adelaide Hills via car before settling down in Adelaide. As Food People (he’s a restauranteur), most of our itinerary involved eating and drinking in one format or another. We started in the Barossa – visited a handful of restaurants and wineries and stayed in a lovely Tiny House (complete with woodfire and a sky full of stars) before leaving for Adelaide. We drove to the Adelaide Hills the next day before returning for Tasting Australia festival events in town. On the final day, we took a short flight to the Murray River for hikes, lunch on the riverbank and quince canapes in a quince orchard.
After four glorious days of consumption, I have honed a newfound love for the vine-laden country. This is my semi-comprehensive list of where to eat and drink in South Australia.

Barossa Valley

Fino Seppeltsfield

A long lunch at a legacy estate is a thing of dreams. Bread and cultured butter to start, followed by charred squid with cabbage and XO and a duck nicoise – all with perfectly matched wines. Finish with their iconic crèma catalana and an espresso martawny, a riff on the classic with tawny port instead of vodka. After lunch, stroll through the 170-year-old estate and take in the architecture – all of it is historical and beautiful (quote, “You could be anywhere!”) and retained well. Do a tasting at the cellar door and then window shop (or actually shop) the craft and design studio Jam Factory – there is an excellent selection of ceramics and glassware, as well as jewellery and leather goods from local craftspeople.

Vintners

The Country Club-esque restaurant with its dark wood, white tablecloths and quiet fireplace is ideal for a slow dinner after a busy day. The venue also has a well-kept lawn area for alfresco, terrace lunching (think olives, fries, a glass of pinot gris). I often think about Vintner’s fried pig’s ears in that tangy barbecue sauce – textural heaven and wonderful with a dry martini. Other dishes of note include the scallops with saucisson and a pecorino emulsion, and the char-grilled scotch fillet with shoyu. They have an extensive list of local drops and a classic cocktail offering, as well as the option to BYOB.

Tscharke

Tscharke (shark-ah) is my idea of the perfect place: a cottage with breathtaking stained-glass windows, a subterranean cellar and a vineyard garden with a stone fountain and lawn chairs. All of this combined with superb drops of red and white grenache makes for an unmatched afternoon. Get a vino and sit in the garden under dappled light or in the art deco champagne room, or have a tasting inside with the warm, knowledgeable staff.

Casa Carboni

On a little Angaston street is a homely family-operated Italian pasta bar, cooking school and deli of sorts. Matteo and Fiona Carboni’s 12-year-old year venue is a jack of all trades, except unlike the saying, they are masters of all. They serve coffee and Matteo’s baked goods in the morning – pastries and bomboloni – and simple, comforting Italian share plates for lunch: fried mortadella and salsa verde on toasted sourdough, brothy chickpeas with crispy guanciale and herb oil and a delicate veal ragu with linguine. There’s also an ample selection of boutique pantry staples, ceramics and kitchenware to shop and add to your own kitchen.

Maggie Beer’s Farm Shop

You can’t be the queen of verjuice and Australia’s national treasure without your very own farm shop. It’s a quiet spot for wine and cheese or a coffee for that post-long-lunch slump. Any place is improved with a body of water – what else do you need if you have a cheese board and some ducks on the lake to watch? There’s also plenty of Maggie Beer’s products for stocking up and over weighing the hand luggage – I like the verjuice and the quince paste.

Alkina

Alkina Estate, tucked away in Greenock in the Barossa Valley, is one of those rare places where history and cutting-edge winemaking meet. Founded in 2015, it’s organic, biodynamic and deeply focused on terroir, with the standout Polygon Project mapping tiny vineyard parcels to showcase the unique character of each. The wines – mostly Grenache, Shiraz, Mataro and Semillon – are complex, expressive and unlike anything else in the region. Tastings take place in a beautifully restored 1850s wool shed, and if you’re keen to linger, there’s luxury accommodation on-site too (complete with a kitchen garden to forage from!). It’s a thoughtful, grounded and quietly luxurious experience for serious wine-lovers.

Adelaide Hills

Thelma

One of my favourite restaurant genres of all time is the light-filled, pale timbered wine bar (extra points if there’s outdoor seating and vinyls) – the Public Wine Room, Bar Copains, Templo type. Thelma is an excellent contender for the category: the food does local produce immense justice – roasted Jerusalem artichokes with a bright kefir curd; green beans with strips of calamari and pig’s ears on a bed of cashew cream; and roasted pumpkin in a mussel sauce. The wine list is adventurous and pairs superbly with food, or for something non-alc, the TINA sparkling oolong is a treat.

Bottle Shock by Unico Zelo

If you have any interest in wine, you’ve had a glass of Unico Zelo. Their wines are distinctively fleshy, textural and natural-wine-adjacent, from fuller Italian grapes to amber blends of zibibbo and gewurztraminer, there’s plenty of off-kilter drops to remind us how fun wine can be. In their recent collaboration with Applewood Distillery, Unico Zelo have opened Bottle Shock, an upbeat wine bar with blind tastings, wine games and make-your-own platters for a “cellar door” experience that’s both recreational and educational.

Ondeen

Tucked away in Verdun in the Adelaide Hills, Ondeen is a sun-soaked acreage with a kitchen, wine room and distillery embodies quiet luxury. Housed in a beautifully restored 1851 homestead, it’s all about seasonal, sustainable food by renowned chef Kane Pollard, whose local produce and foraged native ingredients are the star of the menu. In winter, you can dine near the fireplace and in summer, out on the terrace overlooking the lake. On the way out, stop by the cellar door for wines from small-batch makers Artis, Jericho, Silver Lining and Turon.

The Lane Vineyard

For a more stately and manicured tasting experience, The Lane Vineyard has perfected the matrimony between wine and food. In their tasting room, we did the “gathering experience” – where five wines are paired with five snacks, like comte tarts and smoky lamb skewers. For aid of digestion, take a walk around the idyllic grounds, where green stretches as far as the eye can see.

Adelaide city

Africola

Africola’s most iconic dish should tell you enough about the venue: a snappy piece of golden chicken skin is wedged crustless Wonder White and served with the drippings from their (also very famous) woodfired peri-peri chicken. All the other dishes are just as vibrant, delicious and not-too-serious, like the briny Goolwa pipis with loads of fermented chilli and butter broth or the Flintstone-sized lamb cutlets brushed with toum and eaten slathered with labne. For drinks, Africola’s classics are upbeat and left-of-field – I rarely see a Gimlet next to a Dead Ringer on a restaurant menu. If you want exquisite people watching, sit at the bar. And visit hungry, the portions are generous.

Osteria Oggi

Possibly the most recommended restaurant in Adelaide, Osteria Oggi certainly deserves the laud. The warmly lit dining room is the perfect backdrop for indulgent, contemporary pasta – like the pappardelle with chicken hearts and livers, vincotto and radicchio; the duck- and prosciutto-filled agnolotti; or the spaghetti vongole with pangrattato and cherry tomatoes. You could also go for an aperitivo and snack – highlights include the beef carpaccio black garlic aioli and Jerusalem artichoke chips and the grilled squid with nduja. Oggi’s beverage program balances rich food with thoughtfully designed cocktails, new and old world Italian drops and a generous amari offering.

Peel St

Peel St is a mainstay of the Adelaide dining scene, known for its vibrant share plates and seasonal menu. The open kitchen and airy, industrial-style space set the tone – relaxed but bustling, with big portions designed to be passed around. Pickled octopus toast with taramasalata and whole rainbow trout baked in vine leaf are quintessential examples of textural, maximalist Peel St dishes. Much of the menu uses Middle Eastern, South-East Asian and Mediterranean flavours, bringing unexpected opportunities for wine and cocktail pairings to the table.

Arkhe

If you’re to book one fine dining experience in Adelaide, it should be Arkhe. It’s dark, it’s chic, it’s polished grunge. Take their version of an oyster kilpatrick: chicken wing garum, barbecue sauce butter and rendered bacon – rich, salty, an excellent way to lead into the cured kingfish gilda (cue enthusiastic nodding) and golden scallop toast topped with sashimi scallop and black Kaviari caviar. For mains, anything from Arkhe’s dry-aged cabinet should fare well but if you’re feeling the extra oomph, opt for the smoked-chocolate-wagyu-fat-peated-whisky-aged tomahawk.

Maybe Mae

In a world where subterranean, “hidden” bars are a real hit or miss, Maybe Mae is a definitive hit. Tucked beneath Peel Street, it’s the kind of dimly lit, wood-panelled hideaway that doesn’t feel like an obnoxiously secret. The cocktails incorporate crowd pleasing yet interesting ingredients – like the strawberry daiquiri made with pandan-infused rum, strawberry whey cordial and coconut cream, or the Space Jam – a hops, passionfruit and riesling syrup, Meletti and apricot number. The staff are knowledgeable without all the speakeasy noise.

Bar Peripheral

If, however, you do want to geek out on fat-washing, shocking and reverse spherification, Bar Peripheral is a 12-seat, no-menu cocktail bar in Adelaide that offers a tailored, low-key experience focused on precision and hospitality. Run by Vini Wang, it blends Japanese craftsmanship, Korean efficiency and Australian warmth – starting with a hot towel and a cup of chicken broth. It’s not for everyone (no standing and no big groups), but if you’re after a thoughtful, curated drink in an intimate setting, this is the perfect place to end a night.