Photo: Courtesy of Visit Victoria
Winery Merricks
Pt. Leo Estate
3649 Frankston-Flinders Rd, Merricks VIC 3916
A sculpture park walk followed by a long bay-view lunch in the glass-walled restaurant.
Eat & Drink Best Restaurants
The Best Restaurants on the Mornington Peninsula
The Mornington Peninsula runs on the Sunday long lunch. From the ridge-top dining rooms of Red Hill to the fisherman's-wharf-adjacent tables of Mornington, the dining options are deep, opinionated, and worth the drive. This list is built on editorial judgement - every entry is researched and reviewed, and earned its place on merit. No advertising, no paid placement, no sponsored rankings. If a restaurant appears here, it's because the editor rates it and is willing to say so.
The Peninsula's strongest category is the vineyard restaurant - a dining room attached to or embedded within a working winery, where the produce is grown within a few kilometres and the wine list is anchored by the estate. Montalto, Ten Minutes by Tractor, and Polperro operate at the serious end of this format. Below them, a deep bench of rooms doing honest, seasonal work without the fanfare.
The list is ordered by editorial authority: top-rated rooms first, then the places doing quietly strong work below them.
Photo · Peter Foster, courtesy of Visit Victoria
Editorial ranking · 2026
The top 15 dining rooms, by authority
Ordered by editorial weight. Rooms with a hat rating first, then the places doing the strongest quiet work.
Restaurant Red Hill
Tedesca Osteria
1175 Mornington-Flinders Road, Red Hill VIC 3937
Brigitte Hafner's single-set-menu osteria inside a restored Red Hill farmhouse with the wood oven running all service.
Photo: Provided image
Winery Main Ridge
Ten Minutes by Tractor
1333 Mornington-Flinders Rd, Main Ridge VIC 3928
Estate-grown pinot noir alongside a seasonal degustation rooted in the Ridge vineyard.
Winery Merricks
Willow Creek Vineyard
166 Balnarring Rd, Merricks North VIC 3926
The vineyard at the heart of Jackalope Hotel, a showpiece single-site program and the home of both Rare Hare and Doot Doot Doot.
Restaurant Dromana
Crittenden Restaurant
25 Harrisons Rd, Dromana VIC 3936
Lakeside dining under a vine-strung pergola at one of the Peninsula's founding wineries, now Crittenden Restaurant under Head Chef Brunno Melo.
Photo: Two Palms Australia, courtesy of Visit Victoria
Winery Red Hill
Montalto Vineyard & Olive Grove
33 Shoreham Rd, Red Hill South VIC 3937
Single Vineyard Pinot Noir and a Sunday lunch beneath the olive grove canopy.
Photo: Paringa Estate
Winery Red Hill
Paringa Estate
44 Paringa Rd, Red Hill South VIC 3937
A serious single-vineyard producer with one of the Peninsula's most dependable restaurant terraces.
Winery Red Hill
Polperro
150 Red Hill Road, Red Hill VIC 3937
Small-production cool-climate pinot and chardonnay poured in one of the prettiest tasting rooms on the ridge.
Winery Red Hill
Port Phillip Estate
263 Red Hill Rd, Red Hill South VIC 3937
Rammed-earth architecture, an estate dining room and six vineyard suites in Red Hill South.
Restaurant Red Hill
Port Phillip Estate Restaurant
263 Red Hill Rd, Red Hill South VIC 3937
The dining room inside Wood Marsh's rammed-earth building at Port Phillip Estate, architecturally serious, one-hat kitchen, six estate suites.
Winery Tuerong
Yabby Lake Vineyard
86-112 Tuerong Rd, Tuerong VIC 3933
Tom Carson's single-block Chardonnay and Pinot Noir program, poured from a relaxed cellar door with one of the Peninsula's loveliest lunch decks.
Restaurant Main Ridge
Allis Wine Bar
1333 Mornington-Flinders Rd, Main Ridge VIC 3928
The low-waste, low-key sibling of Ten Minutes by Tractor's fine dining room, small plates, garden-harvested produce, and a thoughtful wine list.
Winery Red Hill
Avani Wines
98 Stanleys Road, Red Hill South VIC 3937
Shashi and Rohit Singh's biodynamic family estate, one of the Peninsula's only serious Syrah programs alongside the Amrit single-vineyard range.
Winery Merricks
Baillieu Vineyard
51 Stanleys Rd, Merricks VIC 3916
A thoughtfully managed Merricks estate making elegant Chardonnay and Pinot Noir that rewards the drive to find it.
Café Moorooduc
Barmah Park Farm Kitchen
3007 Frankston-Flinders Rd, Moorooduc VIC 3933
All-day farm kitchen and courtyard, brunches, cheese plates, and an easy Peninsula midweek lunch without the wine-country theatre.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best restaurants on the Mornington Peninsula?
The strongest rooms right now are Pt. Leo Estate, Tedesca Osteria, Ten Minutes by Tractor. All three offer serious food in the vineyard-dining tradition the Peninsula does best - long lunches, estate-grown produce, and wine lists anchored by Mornington Pinot.
Do I need to book restaurants on the Mornington Peninsula?
Most serious restaurants on the Peninsula require bookings, especially on weekends. Cellar door restaurants in Red Hill like Ten Minutes by Tractor and Montalto can book out weeks ahead in summer and autumn. Book as far ahead as you can for special occasions; casual venues like Allis Wine Bar and local bakeries typically operate walk-in.
What is the best area for restaurants on the Mornington Peninsula?
The Red Hill plateau - including Main Ridge and Red Hill South - has the highest concentration of serious dining. Mornington town has the strongest casual dining scene. Sorrento and Portsea dominate in summer for atmosphere. For wine-paired lunches, stick to the ridge.
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