FOOD AND Dining

Dining and Gourmet Food

Award-winning breakfasts, a pint in a pub, lunch in a club, dinner over a glass of fine regional wine. There’s food for every mood in Albury Wodonga, from a picnic by the river to evening fine dining.

Your delicious directions to Albury Wodonga’s ‘eat streets’

Our ‘eat streets’ have it all... fine dining, historic pubs, busy clubs, stylish cafés and venues which feature a superb range of wine from the surrounding regions.

One of the grandest buildings in Albury is Adamshurst, built as a private residence in 1891 and now an elegant restaurant which also serves lunch in the beautiful heritage-listed garden. The Border Wine Room in Albury is known for its sophisticated food and wine, with an extensive range of regional wines. Elgin’s in Wodonga has two excellent dining options: the elegant Steak Pit Restaurant and the very family-friendly Elgin’s Bistro.

We’re also known for our busy, friendly and great value clubs: The Commercial Club in Albury has spacious lounges and four dining outlets including a courtyard, plus accommodation in its golf resort; the SS&A Club in Albury has three bars, bistro, café and courtyard; its sister club in Wodonga has a similar choice of venues plus golf packages.

The ‘best breakfast in town’

Albury Wodonga have a huge number of cafés, including the Green Zebra Fresh Pasta Café in Albury which The Age Good Food Guide said served the ‘best breakfast in town’. La Maison Café has an idyllic location on the banks of the Murray River in Wodonga and specialises in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean mezze platters.

“May your glass be ever full,” say the Irish, whose pubs always seem to welcome you with a certain charm and warmth. Albury Wodonga has two fine examples: Paddy’s Irish Bar in Albury, with a very popular bistro and alfresco dining area, and O’Maille’s Pub in Wodonga, which has been quenching the thirst of locals and visitors for more than 130 years. Beer gardens, alfresco dining and live entertainment make it another top spot.

Another historic pub is the 1890s Kinross Woolshed Hotel at Thurgoona near Albury, which was originally built as a shearing shed at Holbrook. About 100 years later it was transported to its present site, and if you listen very carefully you might just hear an echo of ‘Click Go the Shears’ in this sprawling old building.

Cartoon-inspired pub

Reputed to be one of Australia’s favourite pubs – and certainly one of the most photographed – the Ettamogah Pub was inspired by the drawings of cartoonist Ken Maynard and built just north of Albury in 1989. Its very comical design reveals a bar, restaurant, bottle shop, souvenir shop and lolly shop. The good food and wine story continues in the regions around Albury Wodonga, with the Rutherglen Wine Experience Centre the best place to start for information on Rutherglen’s many wineries. Tuileries Restaurant is located in an historic building in Rutherglen, and its Mediterranean courtyard makes the most of the warm and sunny climate.

Beechworth is also widely known for its food and wine, with the Beechworth Bakery famous for its traditional and contemporary pastries, cakes and pies. And continuing on this sweet theme is Beechworth Honey Experience, where you can take a tour, taste honey and meet the bees.

Vineyards and Breweries

To the west and south west of Albury Wodonga lie some of Australia’s prime vineyard areas. You’ll find the famous ‘big reds’ and fortified wines, newer cool climate vineyards and for beer buffs, a local brewery.

Cellar doors and celebrations

Less than half an hour’s drive west from Albury Wodonga is the Rutherglen and Wahgunyah wine region, which has long been famous for its full bodied red wines and its luscious fortified wines.

There are around 20 vineyards and cellar doors in this region and, if you’d like to enjoy a memorable fine wine experience, the Rutherglen Winery Walkabout on Queens Birthday Weekend in June gives you a brilliant snapshot of this region’s wineries.

During the rest of the year, just check out the map on page 2 of this guide then head west. Here’s a snapshot of what you’ll find:

Some of Australia’s oldest and most celebrated wine families established themselves in this district in the 19th century, and now have fifth or sixth generation family winemakers at the helm.

Morris Wines planted their first grapes in 1859 in Rutherglen, and fifth generation winemaker David Morris is now in charge of those celebrated fortified wines. Since 1993, he’s reputed to have won more awards than any other individual winemaker in Australia. The Chambers family is another with a long history of winemaking, and its sixth generation is now producing fortified wines that have been described as a ‘true Australian treasure’ by American wine critic Robert Parker Jnr. He awarded Chambers Rare Muscat and Rare Tokay 100 out of 100.

All Saints Estate was established in 1864, and is widely known for its richly fl avoured and regionally distinctive wines. It’s also known for its 1880s castle which is based on the Castle of May in Scotland, complete with turrets and tower. The Terrace Restaurant and Indigo Cheese Company are two other very good reasons to visit All Saints. Two beautiful wineries are right on the banks of our waterways: St Leonards Vineyard was established in 1860 on the banks of the Murray River, and is now owned by members of the Brown winemaking family. This is a very family-friendly winery, with a café serving casual Mediterranean food and a walking trail alongside the Murray River (watch out for Pierre, the resident pelican).

Pfeiffer Wines enjoys a tranquil bush setting on the banks of Sunday Creek, and the cellar door is the only venue where you can sample their wines. Order a picnic hamper and take a bottle of their sparkling, red, white or fortified wines to enjoy by the creek. Vintara is a vineyard with a difference – it has its own brewery and offers beer tastings alongside wine tastings. It also serves a sumptuous breakfast Thursday to Monday (try the eggs Benedict with smoked salmon or the house- made sausages with lashings of trimmings).

Another day, head south west to the vineyards of Beechworth, Milawa and the King Valley. Brown Brothers Milawa has long been a dominant force in winemaking and offers more than 40 wines in its cellar door. You can enjoy the BBQ facilities or enjoy seasonal dishes matched to wines in the Epicurean Centre. Continue on from Milawa and you’ll come to the King Valley, an emerging and exciting wine region. Gracebrook Vineyards produce excellent examples of the aromatic Riesling, spicy Sangiovese and other fruit-driven varietals that this cool climate region makes so well.

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