Gippsland is one of Australia’s premier food bowls, celebrated for its fertile soils, moderate rainfall, and coastal climate, Gippsland is a home to farm-to-table ingredients shaping Gippsland cuisine, from world-class dairy, wild-caught seafood, cool-climate wines, to organic fruits and vegetables.
Stretching from the edge of Melbourne to the New South Wales border, its unique microclimates support a thriving community of passionate producers. Whether you are seeking hand-stretched cheeses, award-winning gins, or farm-gate truffles, Gippsland offers an unparalleled culinary journey. Below are the top 8 locally-sourced restaurants, using farm-fresh ingredients that represent Gippsland cuisines. Pack a cooler bag and hit the road to explore the authentic flavours of Victoria’s most abundant agricultural landscape.
Local Produce in East and Central Gippsland
Sodafish
- Address: 1 Esplanade, Lakes Entrance VIC 3909
- Opening Hours: Wednesday to Sunday: 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM (Lunch), 5:30 PM – 9:00 PM (Dinner)
- What They Produce: Premium seafood dishes, including Lakes Entrance king prawns, wild flathead, local squid, and beach pipis.
- Highlights: Dining on a converted floating ferry, seafood sourced directly from nearby trawlers, and curated regional wine pairings.
Sodafish is a premium restaurant that celebrates the freshness of East Gippsland’s wild-caught seafood. Located on a beautifully renovated, historic wooden ferry in the Lakes Entrance marina, the kitchen looks directly out over the water, bringing a fresh experience of Gippsland fishermen in front of dining guests. The chefs work closely with local fishermen, sourcing the daily catch directly from the commercial trawlers moored just metres from the kitchen door. Rather than sticking to one signature dish, Sodafish curates the menu based on the season to protect ocean ecosystems, presenting fresh fish with clean flavours alongside the finest wines grown in the surrounding valley districts.
Carrajung Estate
- Address: 322 Lays Rd, Willung South VIC 3847
- Opening Hours: Thursday to Sunday: 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM (Dinner service is available on Friday and Saturday nights)
- What They Produce: Award-winning cool-climate range: elegant 2024 Gold Medal Chardonnay, crisp Sauvignon Blanc, floral Estate Riesling, vibrant Estate Rosés, and rich aged Cabernet. Guests complement the wines with curated gourmet cheese pairings and stay in private boutique vineyard cottages.
- Highlights: Seasonal plates showcasing fresh Gippsland green asparagus and local blue swimmer crab, flexible estate wine flights, and boutique vineyard accommodation.
Carrajung Estate is a scenic vineyard and boutique resort hidden away in the rolling hills of Willung South. The estate sits on a quiet escape from busy main roads, inviting guests to slow down and enjoy the region’s agricultural landscape. The menu is anchored by three core culinary pillars: premium pasture-raised meats, house-made pastas, and artisanal cheeses. These ingredients are featured thoughtfully across our dishes, blending perfectly into other farm-fresh components to highlight and honor the authentic, rustic flavors of the Gippsland region.
Besides the seasonal menus built from locally grown ingredients, visitors can explore the cellar door, which serves premium wines alongside cheese boards that showcase the best dairy makers across Gippsland. Visitors can enjoy an afternoon meal on the wide timber deck overlooking the vines, or extend the lunch and book an overnight stay in the property’s stylishly converted farm cottages.
Local Produce in West Gippsland
Cannibal Creek Vineyard
- Address: 260 Tynong North Rd, Tynong North VIC 3813
- Opening Hours: Wednesday to Sunday: 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- What They Produce: Single-estate Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and sparkling wines.
- Highlights: Award-winning cool-climate French-style wines, dynamic seasonal menu, and an in-house regional produce store.
Cannibal Creek Vineyard sits at the granite-tinged foothills of the Tynong Ranges, serving as the perfect gateway to Gippsland’s wine country. The estate focuses on traditional, low-intervention winemaking techniques to craft complex varietals that showcase the true character of the cool-climate wine lines in the Gippsland region. .
Visitors can book an intimate tasting at the rustic timber cellar door or relax in the acclaimed restaurant. The kitchen pairs estate bottles with French-inspired dishes made from ingredients grown by nearby farmers, creating a complete regional dining experience.
String + Salt
- Address: 42 Smith St, Warragul VIC 3820
- Opening Hours: Monday to Friday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Saturday: 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
- What They Produce: Small-batch custom spice blends, artisanal condiments, culinary gifts, and hands-on cooking masterclasses.
- Highlights: Intimate cooking school environment, extensive global spice wall, and hard-to-find kitchen tools.
String+Salt is a vibrant epicurean storefront and educational hub that brings together food lovers from across the region. Operating out of a beautifully styled brick building, it functions as both an ingredient dispensary and a community workshop space. Instead of focusing on the ingredients, String+Salt pays more attention to seasoning, connecting ingredients together. In the back, the dedicated cooking school hosts small, interactive classes led by regional chefs. These sessions teach participants how to prepare seasonal recipes using raw, seasonal harvests collected straight from local Gippsland producers.
Local Produce in South Gippsland
The Truffle House
- Address: 840 Korumburra-Wonthaggi Rd, Jumbunna VIC 3951
- Opening Hours: Saturdays & Sundays during harvest season (June to August): Tours start at 10:30 AM
- What They Produce: Fresh black winter truffles (Tuber melanosporum), truffle-infused salts, custom mustards, and rich truffle oils.
- Highlights: Winter truffle hunting experiences, expert truffle dog demonstrations, and decadent multi-course farmhouse lunches.
The Truffle House offers an exclusive farm-gate experience tucked away in the misty hills of South Gippsland. The farm features thousands of hazel and oak trees, whose roots host prized black winter truffles. During the winter harvest, visitors can join the owners and their highly trained tracking dogs to find the fresh truffles from the damp earth, joining in one-of-a-kind experience to pick truffles by hand.
Following the hunt, guests gather in the cosy farmhouse to enjoy a specially prepared menu where every single dish highlights the earthy, luxurious flavor of the morning’s harvest. If you want to taste an elevated ingredient in Gippsland, truffles are the go-to option for a weekend vacation far from the city.
Bassine Specialty Cheeses
- Address: 2125 Bass Hwy, Glen Forbes VIC 3990
- Opening Hours: Friday to Sunday 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
- What They Produce: Soft and hard artisan cheeses (Brie, Camembert, Feta, Halloumi, Gouda) and non-homogenised milk and cream.
- Highlights: Glass production viewing window, farm-gate café platters, and farm-fresh milkshake bars.
Bassine Specialty Cheeses is a dedicated paddock-to-plate dairy farm operating directly along the busy Bass Highway. The artisan facility processes rich milk collected from their own herd of Holstein cows grazing on the surrounding green pastures. Visitors to the farm-gate shop can look through a large glass window to watch the cheesemakers conduct their daily routine: press, salt, and age the dairy products into a complete output.
The friendly café serves tasting paddles, massive cheese toasties, and rich milkshakes, making it an excellent stop to fill a travel esky with fresh dairy provisions.
Gurneys Cider
- Address: 343 Fish Creek-Foster Rd, Foster VIC 3960
- Opening Hours: Thursday to Monday: 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- What They Produce: Traditional dry-fermented ciders, perries, small-batch wild ferments, and wood-fired flatbreads.
- Highlights: Massive underground cider cellar tours, 7,000 heritage apple trees, and clear views over Wilsons Promontory.
Gurneys Cider is an eco-friendly, off-grid cidery built on a steep hill overlooking the stunning coastal inlets of Corner Inlet. The family orchard grows thousands of traditional English and French cider apple varieties, which are picked and pressed on site.
Unlike commercial brands, Gurneys ferments its fruit naturally without adding extra water, sugars, or artificial concentrates, creating dry, complex drinks. Visitors can grab a tasting flight in the industrialised-style tasting room or sit outside on the grass to take in the coastal views.
Loch Brewery & Distillery
- Address: 44 Victoria Rd, Loch VIC 3945
- Opening Hours: Friday to Sunday: 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- What They Produce: Traditional English real ales, small-batch gin (Classic, Gin Liqueur), single malt whisky, and grain vodka.
- Highlights: Historic 100-year-old bank building home, wood-fired brewing systems, and copper spirit stills.
Loch Brewery & Distillery is a cornerstone of the historic, slate-roofed village of Loch. The owners utilise traditional, old-world methods to craft authentic English-style ales alongside premium spirits. The production process uses custom copper stills and live-fire kettles, ensuring every batch has distinct, bold flavours.
Visitors can sit inside the old banking chamber to enjoy a paddle of cellar-temperature beers or taste award-winning gins infused with local botanicals, all while chatting directly with the working distillers behind the bar.
Why Carrajung Estate Is the Heart of Seasonal Dining in Gippsland
A trip to Gippsland couldn’t be complete without a long, relaxed meal in the dining pavilion, and Carrajung Estate celebrates regional dining through a rotating seasonal menu, showcasing quality local produce of the Gippsland dining scene. Together, the restaurant, cellar door and vineyard accommodation create a complete Gippsland food and wine getaway, perfectly capturing the essence of Gippsland.
A True Expression of Seasonal Dining
Led by Executive Chef John Cooper, the restaurant menu evolves constantly with the region’s finest harvests. Our menu is built on three culinary pillars sourced directly from Gippsland’s finest producers: premium O’Connor pasture-raised beef, pristine coastal seafood, and artisanal farm-fresh cheeses. By applying precise cooking techniques, from gentle searing to slow coal-roasting, our kitchen coaxes out the deep, natural characteristics of each ingredient without overcomplicating the plate. These savoury masterpieces are then followed by delicate, house-made desserts that offer a balanced, elegant finish to your dining experience.
Among the Gippsland restaurants using local produce, Carrajung Estate stands out with a European-influenced dining style, with a thoughtful food-and-wine experience for long, relaxed lunches or even walk-ins.
Estate-Grown & Best-Selling Wines
Carrajung Estate’s crafted menus are paired directly with the estate’s cool-climate wines. While our limited-release Shiraz, 2024 Award-winning Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir represent the region’s signature varieties, guests can also indulge in our popular, best-selling Sweet Sauvignon Blanc alongside the dessert course. Explore Carrajung Estate’s winery experiences and plan a visit that brings together seasonal dining, estate wines and vineyard accommodation.
Stay a Little Longer Among the Vines
Our renovated on-site cottage makes it easy to turn a lunch or dinner reservation into a restorative mid-week escape or a slow-paced country holiday. Accommodating up to 22 guests, Carrajung Estate provides four distinct options for every travel purpose: The Lodge suits larger groups, while The Nest, The Retreat and The Spa Cottage offer private options for couples and smaller parties.
A midweek visit gives you more time to enjoy seasonal dishes, estate-grown wines in Gippsland and cellar door tastings at your own pace. Settle into a cosy cottage, take in the open Gippsland views and explore nearby local destinations without the weekend crowds. Settle into a cosy cottage, a slow weekend getaway can start with a delicious meal at the restaurant, an interesting wine tasting session, then slowly become a mindful yoga session right at the cottage. From Lakes Entrance seafood and West Gippsland wine to South Gippsland cheese, truffles, cider and spirits, every stop offers a different taste of the region.
If you plan to visit the vibrant culinary scene in Gippsland, Carrajung Estate is a welcoming place to pause, enjoy the view and turn a Gippsland food and wine drive into a proper country escape.
FAQs About Local Food and Wine Producers in Gippsland
What local produce is Gippsland known for?
Gippsland is known for dairy products, farmhouse cheese, beef, lamb, seafood, wine, fruit, vegetables, cider and artisan pantry goods. Different subregions have their own strengths, from seafood around Lakes Entrance to dairy, wine and truffles across South and West Gippsland.
Which part of Gippsland is best for food and wine?
Each area offers different delicacies. East Gippsland is well known for seafood and waterfront dining, while West Gippsland has wineries, restaurants and gourmet food stores. South Gippsland is a strong choice for cheese, cider, truffles, spirits and farm-gate experiences, and Central Gippsland also offers vineyard dining and estate stays.
Can I combine local produce stops with an overnight stay?
Yes. Staying overnight gives you more time for tastings, long lunches and farm-gate visits without trying to fit everything into one day. Carrajung Estate offers four onsite cottages, allowing guests to combine seasonal dining, estate-grown wine and accommodation in one location.
How is the menu structured at Carrajung Estate?
Carrajung Estate’s seasonal à la carte menu is organised around three key elements: premium pasture-raised meats, house-made pasta and artisan cheeses. These ingredients appear across starters, main courses, sides and shared dishes, paired with fresh regional produce to showcase the rustic flavours of Gippsland. The menu changes with the seasons, so guests should check the current selection before visiting.
Which wines are served at Carrajung Estate, and where are they grown?
Carrajung Estate serves wide ranges of boutique cool-climate wines made from grapes grown on its 12-acre Gippsland vineyard. The range includes sparkling wines, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Rosé and Cabernet Sauvignon, all of which can be purchased or tasted through a guided tasting session at the cellar door. It’s recommended for guests to book a wine tasting session after lunch at Carrajung Estate for a thorough tasting experience, rather than a rushing session.
