Watervale Hotel in Clare Valley named best culinary experience in the world - Eat Out

Oct 12, 2023

And you'll never guess where it is.

Would you believe that just over an hour-and-a-half drive away from Adelaide is one of the world’s best restaurant of 2023?

Well, believe it, as the iconic Watervale Hotel in the Clare Valley wine region has just taken home the title.

The hotel were named ‘Best Culinary Experience’ in the world by LUXlife Magazine’s Travel and Tourism Awards 2023.

The magazine said the hotel “has already managed to define itself as a restaurant beyond deserving of its award-winning status.”

Watervale Hotel Source: Watervale Hotel

But the hotel is no stranger to awards.

Since reopening after renovations in 2020 it has collected over 20, most recently the 2022 Restaurant and Catering award for ‘Best Restaurant in a Pub or Club in Australia’ as well as the 2021 ‘Best Wine List in Australian Country Pub’ and the Tourism Industry Council of South Australia’s award for 2022 ‘Best Tourism Restaurant’.

Watervale Hotel Source: Watervale Hotel

Husband and wife team Warrick Duthy and Nicola Palmer own the hotel, and are committed to offering their visitors ethical epicurean experiences.

The food served at the hotel is produced locally from the owners’ own organic and biodynamic farm.

delicious. food expert, Simon Wilkinson said of the Watervale, “The thing that really sets it apart is just up the road of this little town at Penobscot Farm, a biodynamic market garden that now supplies most of the pub’s fresh produce.

It is the close link between the garden and the kitchen of Nicola Palmer that sets the Watervale apart… making the Watervale Hotel a true expression of its region.”

Mr Duthy, who spoke to The Advertiser in August, is more than happy to serve up “chips and a Coopers” in the front bar but he and Ms Palmer – the Restaurant and Catering SA reigning chef of the year – have plenty more to offer.

Watervale Hotel Source: Watervale Hotel