Australia’s trendiest food and drink experiences

In Tasmania, jump on board with Pennicott Wilderness Journeys for their Seafood Seduction Tour. You’ll shuck oysters straight from the sea and cheer on your guide as he dives for abalone and sea urchin. Back on board, you’ll enjoy an incredible seafood feast with the fruits of your morning gatherings. Rock lobster, abalone, sea urchin, mussels, oysters, sashimi, salmon - all paired with a gourmet spread of fresh local bread, salads and artisan cheeses, and matched with premium local wines.

In Coffin Bay, in South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula, Oyster Farm Tours will take you wading out into the crystal blue waters for a hands-on shucking lesson and taste of fresh Pacific and native Angasi oysters straight from the clear, rippling waters. 

Winter in Australia is truffle season and the climatic conditions near Canberra and in the Margaret River region are ideal for growing the prized black Perigord truffle. Be led by highly trained truffle dogs through a forest of trees in search of the “black diamonds”. After you find the perfect truffle, settle in for a delicious lunch that showcases the delicacy. Tours and degustations are available at the Truffle Farm in Canberra and the Truffle and Wine Co. in Manjimup from June to August.

You can still experience an immersive food foraging experience without leaving the city on an Aboriginal Bush Food Experience tour in Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens. You’ll learn about the plants growing in the garden and how they have been used by Aboriginal people for thousands of years. Use traditional methods to gather and prepare food, learn how to identify seasonal bush foods and taste bush food-inspired recipes.

Melbourne’s Starward led the way in Victoria with its approachable take on a modern Australian whisky, matured for three “Melbourne years” in Australian wine barrels; the result is distinctly Australian - whether served neat or in a cocktail. Little Lon Distilling Co., housed in Melbourne centre’s last remaining single-story house, makes small-batch gins that raise a tipple to the delightful deviants that once trod the lurid laneways of the city’s north-east corner. Brogan’s Way, in the suburb of Richmond, is proudly led by a female master distiller who got her start as a medical laboratory scientist. The gins created here heavily feature unique Australian botanicals and are designed to challenge the conventional ideas of what gin should be like. 

Adelaide may be best known for its surrounding wine regions, but that hasn’t stopped budding alchemists from experimenting with small-batch gins and rums. Prohibition Liquor Co. was inspired by the bootleggers of the prohibition era, but they’ve taken the artisan route to create a premium product. Twenty Third Street Distillery on Melbourne is a new outlet for the Renmark stalwart, allowing city dwellers to experience the craftsmanship behind the resurrected distillery (originally built in 1914) in the Murray River region.

In Perth, be sure to visit Whipper Snapper Distillery to taste their handcrafted range of premium whiskies. They use 100 per cent local grains, showcasing their commitment to provenance. The team started with the production of moonshine and have since expanded their range to include traditional moonshine, barrel-aged moonshine and a bourbon-style whisky.

Just an hour from Melbourne, in the picturesque wine country of the Yarra Valley, you’ll find Oakridge Restaurant, where Co-Executive Chef’s Matt Stone and Jo Barrett construct their seasonal menus based upon the thriving ingredients in the Oakridge Kitchen garden, as well as wild produce they discover on foraging and fishing excursions around the region. Taste wines at the cellar door before settling in for a delicious long lunch.

Set on an 80-acre farm in Byron Bay, the team behind Three Blue Ducks create every dish with a goal to nourish the community with ethical, authentic, quality food and hospitality. Many of their ingredients come from The Farm, while others are sourced locally, always with a preference for sustainable farming practices, organic and spray-free. The food is hearty and full of flavour and the venue is laid-back. Book a table in the restaurant or bring a picnic blanket and purchase a hamper filled with meats, cheeses, dips, bread and other goodies to enjoy in the gorgeous fields of The Farm.

Queensland’s Sunshine Coast has recently been thrust into the foodie spotlight with a range of exciting restaurants and craft breweries that have begun to pop up, many of which were showcased at the region’s inaugural food festival, The Curated Plate. Brouhaha Brewery, located in the rich produce hub of the hinterland, is focused on keeping their practices as sustainable as possible. After brewing, grain by-products are sent to feed Maleny Wagyu cows, which are then hand-selected for the Brouhaha kitchen (with offcuts even going to create a Brouhaha dog food). A local butcher also flavours Maleny Wagyu with Brouhaha Stout to make sausages. It’s a snout-to-tail mentality that means nothing goes to waste. The flavours that feature in the beer are even derived from local produce, such as raspberries, strawberries and citrus fruits and their unique coffee stout uses locally-brewed coffee.

If you’re in Sydney, book in for a degustation dinner at Ester where you can match their fantastic menu to one of up to 15 orange wines featured on their rotating list. 

Marion, in Melbourne’s Fitzroy, offers an extensive wine list, including some exciting Australian amber wines that pair up nicely with the venue’s ever-changing menu, while The Moon in Collingwood will require a sense of adventure, but the wine list and bar snacks promise to please.

In Adelaide, head to Leigh Street’s Pink Moon Saloon. With an exterior somewhat reminiscent of a Swedish sauna, the interior is just 3.6 metres (just under 12 feet) wide and divided into three spaces. Settle in at the front bar to experience what’s on offer from Australia’s winemakers, including a great selection of orange and amber wines.

Local brewers are also experimenting with nitro beer, which involves carbonating the beer with a 70/30 mix of Nitro/CO2 before it gets poured from the draught through a nitro line and special tip on the tap that slows down the pour and aerates the beer. It’s still in its infancy but you can find breweries like 4 Pines in Manly and Stone and Wood in Byron Bay experimenting with it.

Beer enthusiasts know there are four key ingredients that go into making beer - malt, hops, water and yeast. As none of these ingredients are animal-derived, it may not be clear why vegan beer is suddenly a thing. The trend is growing in response to some producers using certain additives for clarity and texture (such as fish-derived products and lactose). In Sydney, head to Yulli’s Brews for vegan beer paired with a vegetarian menu. Melbourne’s Moon Dog has a mostly-vegan range of craft beers best tasted from the comfort of their soft couches.

At Sanctuary by Sirromet you can stay amidst the grounds of Sirromet Winery just 30 minutes from Brisbane, while a three-hour drive south of Perth you’ll find the Margaret River region. This premium wine region offers more than its fair share of great cellar doors to visit, so opt for something a bit different with a stay amongst the olive groves at Olio Bello.