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.
Eat & Drink Hatted Restaurants
Hatted Restaurants on the Mornington Peninsula
The Good Food Guide awarded 15 hats across 11 Peninsula venues. Four venues carry two hats - the highest recognition in the region. What distinguishes the Peninsula's hatted scene is its context: these are not city strip restaurants. You eat in a converted 1940s farmhouse on a biodynamic property, a 40-seat room inside a sculpture park estate, or a cave-like dining room beneath a boutique winery hotel. The long lunch is the defining format.
The four two-hat venues are Barragunda Dining (Cape Schanck), Laura at Pt. Leo Estate (Merricks), Tedesca Osteria (Red Hill), and Ten Minutes by Tractor (Main Ridge). Each is different in character. Barragunda is the Peninsula's newest and hardest booking. Tedesca is the most farm-forward. Laura is the most internationally credentialled. Ten Minutes by Tractor is the most established.
Below the two-hat tier, seven one-hat venues cover a wider range of formats - from Doot Doot Doot's formal dinner-only room at Jackalope Hotel to Rare Hare's walk-in wood-fired outdoor sessions on the same estate. The list is ordered by hat count, then by editorial weight.
Researched from published sources. Every venue listed was reviewed April 2026 or later. Sources disagree on at least one fact here and an editor is reviewing it. · Source: Good Food Guide 2025
Ranked by Good Food Guide recognition
15 hatted and hatted-adjacent rooms
Two-hat venues first, then one-hat, then the AGFG-recognised rooms working below the GFG list.
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.
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.
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.
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 Merricks
Laura at Pt. Leo
3649 Frankston-Flinders Rd, Merricks VIC 3916
An intimate fine-dining room at Pt. Leo Estate, with seasonal menus and an unhurried view across the grounds.
Photo: Peter Foster, courtesy of Visit Victoria
Restaurant Merricks North
Doot Doot Doot
166 Balnarring Rd, Merricks North VIC 3926
A multi-course dining experience at Jackalope Hotel, with a dramatic room and a seasonal menu.
Photo: Peter Foster, courtesy of Visit Victoria
Restaurant Red Hill
The Epicurean
165 Shoreham Road, Red Hill South VIC 3937
A long table in Red Hill’s historic coolstore and packing shed.
Restaurant Cape Schanck
Barragunda Dining
165 Boneo Rd, Cape Schanck VIC 3939
Chef Simone Watts's farm dining room on a 1000-acre regenerative estate at Cape Schanck, one of the Peninsula's most compelling new voices.
Photo: Courtesy of Visit Victoria
Restaurant Merricks
Rare Hare at Willow Creek
166 Balnarring Rd, Merricks North VIC 3926
Jackalope's relaxed lunch room, wood fire, vineyard views, and plates built for sharing over most of an afternoon.
Restaurant Red Hill
Many Little
166 Red Hill Rd, Red Hill South VIC 3937
Sri Lankan flavours in a European wine-bar setting, from the Polperro team, paired with natural wines and small Peninsula producers.
Frequently asked questions
How many hatted restaurants are on the Mornington Peninsula?
The Good Food Guide awarded 15 hats across 11 Peninsula venues - four two-hat restaurants and seven one-hat restaurants. The Australian Good Food Guide recognises additional venues including Lancemore Lindenderry Dining Room (two AGFG hats) and Paringa Estate (one AGFG hat).
Which hatted restaurants accept walk-ins?
Rare Hare (Merricks North) is walk-in only - no reservations taken. Many Little Bar & Dining (Red Hill South) takes walk-ins for some sessions. Montalto's Piazza is walk-in daily as a casual alternative to the main restaurant. All other hatted venues require bookings.
How far ahead do I need to book?
Laura: four months ahead. Barragunda: book immediately when dates open - extremely hard to get. Tedesca: weeks ahead for Friday to Monday lunch. Ten Minutes by Tractor: four to eight weeks for weekend lunch. Doot Doot Doot: two to four weeks ahead.
What are the best hatted venues for a special occasion?
Laura at Pt. Leo Estate is the strongest special-occasion choice - the sculpture park setting, Relais & Châteaux membership, and consistent two-hat recognition make it the clearest destination-restaurant argument on the Peninsula. Barragunda Dining is the newest and most talked-about; Tedesca Osteria is the most personal and farm-driven.
Related guides
More ways to eat on the Peninsula
Long Lunch
Two to three hours at the table, estate wine, and a reason not to drive home at noon.
Full Hat Guide
The complete Good Food Guide hat table with booking realities and what each restaurant actually is.