Your 2026 Guide to Clare Valley Dining

The Clare Valley’s food scene is shaped by the land around it, with fresh local produce and the region’s celebrated Riesling featuring heavily on the plate and in the glass. Dining here is about getting a real taste of the region, often with a view across the vineyards. Here’s your guide to eight Clare Valley dining experiences worth knowing about in 2026.

Exploring the Clare Valley Food Scene

Food is always good where there’s fresh produce, and the Clare Valley’s food scene is totally inseparable from the landscape that surrounds it. Best known for its cool-climate Riesling, the region has more than 40 wineries, many of which bring their own wines to the table alongside produce sourced from the farms, orchards and vineyards around them.

The result? A pretty awesome dining culture that feels distinctly regional. Visitors adore Clare for its potential for lunches overlooking vines, cellar doors serving local produce, and restaurants putting South Australian ingredients right at the centre of the plate.

At places such as Skillogalee, where the restaurant looks across its gardens and vineyards, and the Watervale Hotel, where dining is closely connected to the surrounding farming landscape, the eating experience extends well beyond simply eating and drinking!

Take a look at these eight Clare Valley dining experiences calling for your visit in 2026.

1. Clare Valley Country Club

At Conners Restaurant at Clare Valley Country Club, the menu follows the seasons, with fresh regional produce at its core and an all-Clare Valley wine list to match (of course!). Floor-to-ceiling windows and a balcony look across the resort gardens to Lake Inchiquin, with the current offerings including tasty dishes such as pork belly and King Henry pork rib eye. There’s also a three-course locals’ night for $55 if you count as one!

2. Sevenhill Hotel

A proper Clare Valley institution since 1863, the Sevenhill Hotel combines old-school country-pub character with a kitchen that puts regional produce first. The menu currently runs from house-made schnitzels and a Wagyu-and-chorizo burger to chargrilled lamb rump, duck breast and pork cutlet, while the hotel’s underground cellar holds hundreds of Clare Valley wines for diners to choose from. The kitchen team changes the menu seasonally and works with local suppliers wherever possible, with the pub’s warm timber interiors and open fires spaces adding to its distinctly country feel.

3. Slate

Since opening in 2018, Slate at Pikes Wines has earned a Chef Hat every year from 2020 to 2026, with Head Chef Louis Ritchie at the helm (so you know it’s good). The kitchen draws heavily on produce from its own garden, creating Modern Australian dishes designed to work with Pikes’ estate wines. And set among the Polish Hill River vineyards, the restaurant offers a five-course Chef’s Feed Me menu as well as à la carte dishes that change with the seasons. Never a bad choice!

4. Skillogallee Estate

Come here for hearty food made with incredible flavour and skill. Skillogalee’s restaurant puts its own kitchen garden and local producers right at the heart of a seasonal menu, and of course the estate’s own wines are naturally woven into the experience. Come for lunch, served in the Barrel House overlooking the vineyards, dam and Spring Gully hills, and enjoy dishes such as handmade pasta, local lamb and garden-grown vegetables which reflect the produce available at the time.

5. Bush DeVine

Bush deVine at Paulett Wines takes Australian native ingredients seriously, with Head Chef Thomas Erkelenz building seasonal dishes around foraged produce, local suppliers and the estate’s Indigenous bush food garden, which contains more than 40 native plant species. Expect flavours such as saltbush, bunya nut, native plum, finger lime and lemon myrtle, with options ranging from shared plates to a seven-course Chef’s Long Lunch, all matched with Paulett wines and served overlooking the Polish Hill River landscape. Extremely idyllic and one you won’t want to miss if you’re looking for something special and unqiue.

6. Antidote Kitchen

Forget your predictable Indian fare; Antidote Kitchen takes a more playful approach, with chef and co-owner Rupesh Agrawal putting his own spin on Indian street food and global flavours. Think chicken kathi rolls, Bombay sliders and palak paneer, served with local wines and a strong gin list inside a restored old chaff mill in Clare. Rupesh and business partner Sunny Mehrok opened Antidote after previously running Indii of Clare and it’s a great choice for something outside of the local Australian inspired food which dominates the region.

7. Watervale Hotel

The Watervale Hotel is where chef Nicola Palmer’s Penobscot Farm goes straight onto the plate, featuring organic, biodynamic produce. The pub’s casual dining includes shared plates and a Feed Me option, while the 10-seat Penobscot Restaurant takes things further with degustation served at the Chef’s Table, using produce picked from the farm and ethically sourced meat. Palmer was named South Australian Chef of the Year in 2022, and the hotel’s wine list is dedicated to showcasing the diversity of Clare Valley producers.

8. Pinto

If you’ve had your fill of pub meals and vineyard lunches, Pinto brings something different to the Clare Valley table. Chef-owner Tapat draws on Thai flavours and South Australian produce for modern Asian dishes such as confit duck red curry, Tom Kha barramundi and charred Port Lincoln tuna, with local wines, gins and cocktails alongside. The menu is built for sharing, with bold Thai flavours and plenty of South Australian produce running through the dishes.

Where to stay in the Clare Valley

Clare Country Club has 64 rooms, suites, studios and apartments beside the Clare Golf Course and Lake Inchiquin, around 2km from Clare town centre. Some rooms look across the lake, while on-site facilities include a swimming pool, spa, sauna, tennis court and gym.

The Riesling Trail runs nearby, and Conners Restaurant gives guests a place to dine on regional produce and Clare Valley wines without heading back into town.

Check out Clare Country Club here.