Australia’s Best Hotels for Food and Wine Lovers

Capella Sydney (New South Wales)

Australian produce shines brightly at the signature restaurant of this unique hotel fusing heritage with modern luxury, just a short stroll from Circular Quay, in the heart of Sydney. The two-hatted Brasserie 1930, named after the year the original building—once home to the Department of Agriculture— reached completion, spins local flavours and native ingredients on their head to create a dining experience, centred around a wood-fired grill, honouring both innovation and tradition. Tuck into dishes like grilled lamb rump with macadamia and saltbush, with Australian wines, here or head to the indoor garden of Aperture, fusing nature with cuisine and art, for all-day menus highlighting fine Australian ingredients like Sydney rock oysters.

Jackalope, Mornington Peninsula (Victoria)

About an hour’s drive south of Melbourne, amid the rolling vineyards of this cool-climate wine region, Jackalope Hotel brings together the best of culinary excellence, art and design. Awarded two Michelin Keys and celebrated for its gastronomy, the striking black timber-clad property is home to two acclaimed restaurants: the fine dining restaurant exploring Asian cultures and Australian produce, Doot Doot Doot, and the more casual Rare Hare presenting the best of this region’s produce with breathtaking vineyard views. Dine on signature dishes like Moreton Bay Bug with truffled mornay beneath the fine dining restaurant’s stunning 10,000-globe chandelier.

The Louise, Barossa (South Australia)

At this Barossa Valley luxury retreat, an hour northeast of Adelaide, where vineyards stretch to the horizon, dining is an expression of the land itself. Seasonal, fresh and locally grown produce defines the culinary concept of Appellation, the hotel’s award-winning gastronomic go-to putting out creative tasting menus, in which each dish is paired with a local wine from the walk-in cellar, championing the produce of Barossa farmers and growers along with the ingredients harvested from the hotel’s own kitchen garden. Savour dishes like abalone with charred rice and wakame here before getting to know more of Barossa’s food scene on curated days of tastings and local tours.

Saffire Freycinet (Tasmania)

An island home to passionate producers of cheeses, smoked meats and fruits, whisky, wines and saffron, with a natural abundance of seafood too, Tasmania ranks highly as a destination for foodies. Situated on the east coast at the water’s edge of Freycinet National Park, Saffire Freycinet encapsulates this island’s one-of-a-kind food scene by showcasing the best Tasmania has to offer. The hotel’s restaurant Palate highlights the crayfish, scallops and deep-sea fish caught on local fishing boats, along with the oysters and mussels of Great Oyster Bay, Tasmania’s grass-fed beef and lamb, fresh herbs, spices and seasonal fruits in daily changing degustation menus matched with outstanding local wines.

Spicers Peak Lodge (Queensland)

Tucked into Queensland’s High Country, amid the national parks and World Heritage rainforest of the Scenic Rim yet only 90 minutes’ drive southwest of Brisbane, this lodge overlooking the Great Dividing Range draws food lovers in with its revered restaurant elevating the region’s finest produce. The Peak restaurant promises the best of Australian flavours, produce, creativity and technique in contemporary culinary creations paying tribute to this region and its producers. Dishes like red gum lamb rack immerse you in the gastronomically rich surroundings. The playful and intoxicating desserts, like native pepper and white chocolate ganache, are no less representative of the pride this hotel takes in Australian flavours.

COMO The Treasury (Western Australia)

In Perth City / Boorloo, COMO The Treasury stands out among the top dining spots defining both this city’s thriving food and beverage scene and Aboriginal culture, showcasing the wealth of produce grown here in Western Australia. Sample farmer- and forager-driven menus of the rooftop restaurant Wildflower where dishes revolve around the six seasons of the Aboriginal Noongar calendar. Guided by the natural ebb and flow of Western Australia’s environment, the restaurant designs its menus around fresh native ingredients of each season, such as lemon myrtle, resulting in memorable dishes that tell a story of the surroundings. Seasonal ingredients also appear in the contemporary Italian dishes of Post, another of the COMO hotel’s restaurants, while afternoon tea comes with local flavour in the Cape Arid Rooms.

Longitude 131˚ (Northern Territory)

At the spiritual heart of Australia, Longitude 131˚ places you on a sand dune overlooking Uluru in the country’s Red Centre. On top of affording exploration of the World Heritage listed Uluru-Kata Tjuta wilderness, this luxury lodge enhances the outback experience with the creative, contemporary Australian menus of its restaurant combining bush ingredients with produce from across Australia. Dine in Dune House, with a view of Uluru on the lodge’s terrace, or under a blanket of stars at the dune-top Table 131°, to sample some of the nation’s finest produce in dishes aligned with the local Anangu seasons. Try plates like kangaroo tartare with saltbush baked beetroot, smoked egg yolk and Davidson plum, paired with Australian wines.