Image Credit: Amanda Carlin at Millbrook Winery
A long lunch tastes better when the veggies were picked that morning, and there’s an orchard view from your table. In the Perth Hills, there are plenty of producers where you can savour a paddock-to-plate experience.
There’s something deeply satisfying about eating locally and knowing exactly where your food comes from, especially when it hasn’t travelled far to reach your plate. From casual cafes to winery dining, you’ll find fresh produce-driven dining in the glorious Perth Hills.
The OG paddock-to-plate lunch experience at Millbrook Winery, in Jarrahdale, is still going strong. Set on a sprawling vineyard, this is destination dining at its finest. The restaurant’s kitchen draws directly from the estate’s expansive kitchen garden, with whatever is ripe that day shaping the ever-changing menu. Expect a long lunch that feels deeply rooted to place. Millbrook takes this experience to an entirely other level with their weekly ‘No Waste Monday’ garden tours and lunches, which have become something of a Perth foodie pilgrimage. Bookings are essential.
Pickering Brook’s La Fattoria brings rustic Italian charm to the Perth Hills. There’s a homely generosity to dining here, like you’re eating at your Nonna’s place. Lucy and Eric are the third generation of the Radice family to work and live on the property. As well as their Italian varietals of wine, produce from around the property works itself onto the ‘Nonna’s Table’ Sicilian dining experience. Keep your eyes peeled for seasonal produce and preserves available in their packing shed, as well as special tasting events. Over two weekends in April 2026, they will be pairing five La Fattoriawines with olives prepared five different ways – be sure to book.
It should come as no surprise that the sprawling Canning River side spot, Avocados Bar and Café, is packed with Avocado trees. Found in the foothills of Kelmscott, brunch favourite ‘smashed avo’ packs even more of a punch when the fruit is picked from their very own trees. Avocados serves up dishes in a gorgeous green setting, punctuated with honey from the property’s hives and fruits grown on-site from mangos to apricots, limes and more.
A relative newcomer, The Good Paddock restaurant at 11 Acre Farm is found in the foothills of the Armadale region. This is a true farm-to-table experience. Step onto the working property and taste the freshness in Head Chef Fendi Bong’s dishes, where many of the components are sourced from the on-site market garden that uses the South American growing method “Syntropic Agroforestry”. It’s basically a super-charged gardening, planting many different species close together, copying how a natural forest grows. The venue is very family-friendly too, a great spot to teach the kids where their food comes from. Be sure to book a ‘Wander & Feast: A Long Lunch at 11 Acre Farm’ tour and be inspired.
Image Credit: Daw Family Farm
If you want to learn all about creating your own fresh produce and practising the ‘Paddock to Plate’ philosophy in your own home, the Daw Family Farm is a brilliant place to start. This special spot in Chidlow offers an inspiring window into sustainable living and growing your own food. Be sure to book into one of their workshops to learn the art of making cheese (from camembert to ricotta, butter, yogurt and more), sourdough bread, plus goat keeping and beekeeping. Bookings are essential.
Image Credit: Core Cider House
A Perth Hills institution, Core Cider House, offers the rare pleasure of enjoying a sip of cider right amongst the orchard where its journey began. The Pickering Brook spot adds to this experience with the Orchard Bistro menu filled with its fresh produce. Think 14-hour braised beef cheek with apple slaw, or garlic chicken salad with roasted apples, followed by an apple panna cotta with cider poached pear or apple berry yuzu cheesecake for dessert. Delicious! Keep your eyes peeled for fruit-picking dates seasonally and take your own hand-picked fruit home.
Image Credit: Cherith Grove Cafe
Start your day on a working olive farm at Cherith Grove Café. The Gidgegannup spot, open Friday to Sunday, is found in a beautiful setting: rows of olive trees, a picturesque dam, an old oil press and the peace of the city being so far away. Settle in for breakfast or a leisurely lunch of delicious wood-fired pizzas, amongst the groves.
The Perth Hills, a tapestry of orchards, paddocks, groves and vineyards, does paddock to plate so well. Here, it’s not a trend, but a way of life. Come hungry and leave with an appreciation for just how good local produce can be.