Heifer Station, OrangeCredit: Destination NSW
Couple enjoying a tailored picnic package at Heifer Station, Orange.
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Famed for its local produce, award-winning wine and seasonal food ethos, Orange has become one of NSW’s most delicious dining destinations. Here’s our guide to the region’s best restaurants, cafes, wineries and unforgettable eating experiences – just a 3.5-hour drive from Sydney.
Meet passionate producers
Stock up on some of Orange’s finest goods at The Agrestic Grocer, a dedicated food and wine hub including a restaurant, grocery store and cellar door for Badlands Brewery and Pig in the House organic wines. You can also find local condiments, artisan breads, small goods and more at Red Chilli Deli, and pick up drinks at Ferment, a wine bar-meets-bottle-shop selling drinks from smaller producers that don't have cellar doors themselves.
If you happen to be in Orange on the second Saturday of the month, don’t miss the Orange Farmers Market at Northcourt, behind the Orange Regional Gallery. This is where you can meet the growers, providores, community gardeners and independent primary producers that keep the wheels of local restaurants and cafes turning. Sample everything from deli items, meats, preserves, olive oil and nuts to some of the region’s award-winning wines, beers and ciders.
Brunch at the best
Cafe life is vibrant in Orange. Bills Beans has been the go-to for local coffee lovers since 2007, having grown from a shop-front roastery to one of Australia’s largest regional coffee roasters. Take the taste test at that original shopfront, known as Bills Beans East Orange, or try their blend at Groundstone, a contemporary cafe on Byng Street with a deliciously simple menu. It’s conveniently located within the Orange Regional Gallery and Orange Regional Museum precinct, so you won’t go hungry while wandering through these impressive exhibition spaces.
Breads and pastries are coveted in Orange, find them baked in house at Byng Street Local Store or head to Racine Bakery for organic sourdough, pies, sausage rolls, pastries and cakes. At Anything Grows you’ll find a cafe, boutique nursery and gift shop under one roof.
The Agrestic Grocer, Orange Credit: Destination NSW
Diners enjoying a meal at The Agrestic Grocer, Orange.
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The Agrestic Grocer, Orange Credit: Destination NSW
Diners enjoying a meal at The Agrestic Grocer, Orange.
Byng Street Cafe, Orange. Credit: Destination NSW
Byng Street Local Store, Orange.
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Byng Street Cafe, Orange. Credit: Destination NSW
Byng Street Local Store, Orange.
Dine in style
You can find plenty of restaurants that put Orange’s produce to good use. At Mr Lim, local and native Australian ingredients are found in a menu of modern Korean and Chinese cuisine, with a setting just as colourful as the food. The Schoolhouse Restaurant, inside the ever-popular Union Bank wine bar, has an extensive and interesting menu of share plates. Nab a seat in the sunny courtyard for a long lunch.
And Birdie Noshery & Drinking Est. features a shareable menu of tapas, oysters and more substantial offerings. Drinks are fun and eclectic, including fine regional wines, colourful cocktails, craft beers and plenty of alcohol-free options.
After dinner, Spilt Milk Bar is everyone’s favourite gelato stop, with every flavour made from scratch using the freshest local ingredients. For something stronger, head to Hey Rosey, Orange’s intimate 20-seater wine bar that focuses on unexpected flavours and local producers.
Wine time
With a wide variety of vineyards planted at different altitudes, wineries in Orange produce everything from light and bubbly sparkling wines to bone-dry rosé, complex pinot noir and exotic viognier. There are more than 30 cellar doors to visit, and many of them offer delicious dining experiences alongside wine tastings.
Try Philip Shaw Wines’ consistently applauded pinot noir alongside a locally made cheese plate. Head to Borrodell to find one of Australia’s highest vineyards, set atop a steep hillside overlooking the Towac Valley, and stay for a meal at acclaimed restaurant Sister’s Rock. Try the many different varietals at Rowlee Wines, order a picnic hamper to enjoy on the grounds, then stay the weekend in the private, luxury guesthouse.
And book in to one of Printhie Wines’ incredible experiences, from a sparkling masterclass to a helicopter winery tour; both come with a five-course lunch. Printhie’s cellar door even has an oyster tank filled with water shipped from the Clyde River so guests can have freshly shucked oysters with their sparkling.
Heifer Station is a kid-friendly winery – there’s a petting zoo with alpacas, highland cows, chickens and a Shetland pony named Tilly – and offers private picnic experiences with their tastings.
Foodie festivals
Every year the town gets together to celebrate its producers. The annual Orange F.O.O.D Week is Australia's longest-running regional food festival, running across 10 days every April. Showcasing local farmers and chefs, events range from markets, celebration dinners, workshops and visits to farms, orchards and kitchens.
For those visiting in the winter months, local producers put on quite a show at the Orange Winter Fire Festival, which is all about eating comforting meals beside crackling fire pits and sipping heart-warming red wine.
Orange Wine Region Highlight Selects Credit: Destination NSW
Enjoy local food and wine in Orange.
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Orange Wine Region Highlight Selects Credit: Destination NSW
Enjoy local food and wine in Orange.
Printhie Wines Cellar Door, Orange Credit: Destination NSW
Owned by the Swift family. Printhie Wines is a member of the Ultimate Winery Experiences Group and is a 5-star Halliday rated winery for 12 years located in the cool climate region of Orange, NSW.
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Printhie Wines Cellar Door, Orange Credit: Destination NSW
Owned by the Swift family. Printhie Wines is a member of the Ultimate Winery Experiences Group and is a 5-star Halliday rated winery for 12 years located in the cool climate region of Orange, NSW.
Rowlee Wines, Nashdale Credit: Destination NSW
Couple enjoying a scenic walk through the vineyards at Rowlee Wines, Nashdale.
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Rowlee Wines, Nashdale Credit: Destination NSW
Couple enjoying a scenic walk through the vineyards at Rowlee Wines, Nashdale.
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Corowa Whisky & Chocolate, CorowaCredit: Destination NSW
Couple enjoying a visit to Corowa Whisky & Chocolate, Corowa.
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Feast on the riches of one of Australia’s most important food bowls on a road trip through the Murray, named after the mighty river that flows through this southwest area of New South Wales. Float down the river on a historic paddlesteamer wine cruise, stop by farm gates to sample incredible fresh produce, and dine at chic restaurants and bars in this unique culinary playground.
Take the back roads for gourmet treats
Head off the beaten path along The Backroads Trail, a 250km driving route that passes through the small pastoral towns of Barham, Moama, Mathoura and Deniliquin on the upper reaches of the Murray River. Sink your teeth into fresh olives, avocados, free-range pork, honey and citrus fruit from farm gates along its loops and trails, and taste the region’s wines at vineyards such as Restdown Wines. While you’re at this winery, venture out along the Restdown Wetland Walk to encounter Aboriginal cooking hearths and an old sheep camp.
Cruise along to The Old School Winery & Meadery in Womboota to pick up wine, pottery and honey mead. Or seek out Ivy Joyce in Barham to indulge in a warm space, offering local produce from farms for a truly paddock to plate experience in the heart of Murray River country. For more snacks and meaty fare such as British-style pork pies and sausages, head to Pacdon Park’s factory shop in Moama.
You can work up an appetite as you build your own itinerary on the theme of food, paddocks and produce, and find suggested routes and maps to Murray River farm gates, at the Echuca Moama Visitor Centre.
Wine and dine along the river
Embark on a wine tour by water in Moama, where the first steamboats made their way up the Murray in 1853. Take a Murray River Paddlesteamers Wharf to Winery Cruise from the town to Morrisons Riverview Winery for a leisurely lunch. Or drive along the river, stopping in at Three Black Sheep for risotto and woodfired pizzas, and tasting crisp dry whites and full-flavoured reds at St Anne’s Vineyards, where you can nibble on a cheese platter overlooking a scenic lake.
Head east along the riverside roads to rest and recharge in the town of Tocumwal, known for its riverside beaches, golf courses, glider flying and iconic Big Murray Cod statue. Start the following day with a solid foundation of breakfast pizza (topped with bacon, eggs and a hash brown) at The Old Bank and indulge in a scoop of ice-cream or sorbet from Tocumwal Ice Creamery – flavours include rocky road, green apple or macadamia. If you’re in town on a Saturday, pick up honey, fruit, vegetables, olive oil, dressings and other condiments made by local producers at the Tocumwal Foreshore Markets.
Continue your odyssey along the river to Corowa, the birthplace of Australian Federation. Immerse in the town’s rich turn-of-the-20th-century colonial heritage as you make your way to the former 1920s flour mill housing Corowa Distilling Co. Here you can book a whisky tasting and behind-the-scenes tour and buy locally made chocolates and sweets from sister shop Junee Licorice and Chocolate Factory. Work off an indulgent afternoon with a walk along the river before settling into the stylish Circa 1936 hotel, which is housed in an Art Deco former bank on the main street of Corowa.
Celebrate regional ingredients in Albury
From Corowa, follow the Riverina Highway eastward to the city of Albury, a food, wine and culture hub. Taste how seasonality and locality are expressed at The Proprietor, a former butcher shop turned cafe offering brunch treats such as fruit toast with Beechworth honey and whipped ricotta, and banana waffles with Gundowring vanilla ice-cream. Or try the all-day breakfast offering at Mr Benedict, from cheesy bacon waffle with popcorn chicken to one of its signature eggs benedicts, including one with cider-braised ham hock.
At The River Deck restaurant, local ingredients are celebrated alongside stunning river views, and dishes may include chicken Caesar salad with Milawa eggs or beef brisket braised in coffee by Albury roaster The Brothers Cup. At tiny and elegant Bistro Selle, complement warm Gooramadda olives with a buttery Australian chardonnay and fresh market fish. Yardbird offers a bold-flavoured menu featuring dishes like scorched Albacore tuna, along with meats grilled in a Spanish woodfired oven.
In between meals, stroll along the Yindyamarra Sculpture Walk and take in the contemporary artworks by Aboriginal artists that line the Wagirra Trail. Meander through the Murray Art Museum Albury’s contemporary photographic collection, Aboriginal art and works by renowned Australian artist Sir Russell Drysdale. Afterwards, order lunch or dinner at the museum’s excellent Canvas Eatery – try the saltbush lamb rump or one of their Neapolitan-style pizzas.
The Old School Winery & Meadery, Womboota Credit: Destination NSW
Couple taste tasting mead at The Old School Winery & Meadery, Womboota
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The Old School Winery & Meadery, Womboota Credit: Destination NSW
Couple taste tasting mead at The Old School Winery & Meadery, Womboota
Morrison's Riverview Winery and Restaurant, Moama Credit: Destination NSW
Food and wine available from Morrison's Riverview Winery and Restaurant, Moama.
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Morrison's Riverview Winery and Restaurant, Moama Credit: Destination NSW
Food and wine available from Morrison's Riverview Winery and Restaurant, Moama.
Corowa Whisky & Chocolate, Corowa Credit: Destination NSW
Corowa Whisky & Chocolate located in a 1920âs old flour mill in Corowa.
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Corowa Whisky & Chocolate, Corowa Credit: Destination NSW
Corowa Whisky & Chocolate located in a 1920âs old flour mill in Corowa.
Canvas Eatery, Albury Credit: Destination NSW
Food and wine available at Canvas Eatery in Albury.
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Canvas Eatery, Albury Credit: Destination NSW
Food and wine available at Canvas Eatery in Albury.