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Eat & Drink Restaurant Red Hill $$$

The Epicurean

A Red Hill institution that has turned long lunch into a civic duty.

Known for One-Hat Red Hill RestaurantSunday Long LunchMediterranean Produce CookingVineyard Row Terrace

Photograph by jem

Why we’d go

One hat, sensible prices, and a kitchen that has been quietly doing the work longer than most of the ridge's trophy restaurants have been open.

The Epicurean has been doing Red Hill Sunday lunch for longer than most of the ridge's trophy restaurants have existed, and it is finally getting the recognition the food deserves. The dining room is unshowy in the best sense, timber, stone, long windows onto vineyard rows, and the cooking is confident Mediterranean with a clear affection for the Peninsula's producers.

The pasta course is where the kitchen shows itself; the roast-of-the-day is the secret weapon. The wine list is sensibly priced and leans local without any of the estate chauvinism that creeps into cellar door restaurants. This is the place you take parents, in-laws, or anyone who wants Red Hill to feel like a warm weekend rather than a performance.

Weekday lunches are easier to book and almost always better-paced. Order the tasting plate for the table and let the kitchen run.

Worth knowing

Best for
Long lunches · Food lovers · Scenic views · Wine lovers

If you only do one thing

Order the pasta that sounds most seasonal and the roast-of-the-day if it's on, this kitchen earns its hat in those two dishes.

Works well with

Port Phillip Estate · Red Hill Brewery

Filed under Long LunchFireplaceViewCellar DoorAll YearCouplesFamiliesGroupFirst Timers

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In the journal

Stories that mention The Epicurean

These pieces give you the context a listing page never does — the when, the why, and the who-it’s-for.

Journal →
Insider Edit 7 min

Breakfast Before the Crowds: Where Locals Actually Eat at 8am

9 April 2026

The long lunches get the headlines. But the Peninsula's first hour of the day - the flat white, the croissant out of the oven, the eggs on a working bakery's sourdough - is the quieter, better-value half of the food story. Here is where locals go, and the order to do it in.

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