We were surprised by the lack of restaurants in the Barossa Valley. Most of the wineries we visited did not have a cafe or restaurant attached instead they offer a picnic basket or cheese platter if you want to eat something. The cottage we stayed in Tanunda provided full breakfast provisions - eggs. bacon, muesli, cereal, orange juice etc.
On our 1st night @ Tanunda in the Barossa, we had dinner at 1918 Bistro and Grill restaurant. The restaurant is in a former mayor of Tanunda's home built after the Great War. It is a lovely sandstone cottage with indoor and outdoor settings. In the warmer months, it would be lovely to sit under the gum trees, probably not in the peak of summer when the temperature can get up to 52C. Imagine that! For entree, we shared the Seared Scallops served with Sweet corn and basil risotto and crispy pancetta, yum! For mains, I had the roasted duck breast, and Chris had the grilled lamb loin. The food was average, I thought the duck breast could have been cooked a minute or two longer. No complains with the dessert - honey and yoghurt panncotta. It was melt in the mouth delicious!
On the 2nd night, we went to Vintner's Bar and Grill near Angaston, which was about 10 minutes drive from the cottage. This restaurant is slightly more upmarket than 1918. I enjoyed my entree - extra large prawns (forgot the name!) and my main - pan-fried veal loin with potato celeriac, baby carrots and jus. Hubby enjoyed his main - sirloin (again I forgot the name!). I usually take a photo of the menu, but totally forgot about it. Hubby claimed it was one of the best beef dish he had.. I suspect he was quite hungry because the main meals took some time to be served :) We also had a bowl of chips as a side, and they were crunchy and delicious, seasoned with a spicy salt (restaurant's own blend), Note to Lynsey: we did not finish the whole bowl! We did not have dessert at Vintner's because we bought a lemon meringue tart and mocha cupcake at the Barossa Farmers Market that morning.
The prawns definitely look a winner and so delicious from the way your photo captured them, Charmaine. Interesting that although not near the ocean, Vintners came up with this delight. Ya, I also feel that the Barossa could look into providing more integrated facilities int he future instead of just relying on the vine yards.
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