The Barn at Mount Gambier review, South East best restaurants | delicious.SA: Regional 50

Sometimes the most impressive wine lists pop up in the most unlikely of places. Like a steakhouse surrounded by Mount Gambier farmland.

Wagyu at The Barn, Mount Gambier.

747 Glenelg River Rd, Mount Gambier

[phone]

barn.com.au

Travelling to the South East? See our guide to the region

Sometimes the most impressive wine lists pop up in the most unlikely of places. Like a steakhouse surrounded by Mount Gambier farmland.

Self-confessed “cork dork” and the Barn Steakhouse cellar master Kent Comley has curated a wine list of more than 750 drops that showcases the Limestone Coast (particularly Coonawarra and a few from up and coming Mount Gambier wine region). It also boasts an impressive collection of international wines for which savvy imbibers travel from afar to taste – usually with steak, at which the kitchen excels.

The Cleeves family breeds Hereford cattle in the region and has been serving aged steak here since 1988. The meat is grilled over mallee coals and the grill fire burns consistently for 364 days of the year. It’s no wonder then that prime aged grass-fed porterhouse is so tender.

Particularly famished diners can go for the one-kilogram New York sirloin – a thick cut of mammoth proportions. Eye-fillet, rump, Mayura Station wagyu sirloin … there’s something for every flesh fiend.

The kitchen also has a fine reputation for seafood. Smoky Bay oysters natural with ginger dressing or kilpatrick are best consumed by the dozen, while South Australian whiting in crisp Coopers Ale beer batter (served with a baked potato) is top end fish and chips at its best.

For dessert, the house classic orange liqueur ice cream is served in the orange skin.

The Barn’s on-site accommodation means you can enjoy all the spoils and rest your head without navigating designated driver discussions and country roads.

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• Hours: D Mon-Sun
• Bill: E: $8.50-$19.50 M: $33-$85 D: $14.50-$15.50
• Wine: Wine list
• Chef: Alfons Couldrey