Peak of dining out

ARTHUR Stanley reveals the best places to wine and dine in the southern hemisphere snowfields this winter.

Warm inner glow ... snowy visitors enjoying cosy drinks at the classy Black Cockatoo Bar, Grand Mercure Hotel, Mt Buller

JERRY Seinfeld once joked that skiing is about driving all day so you can wear $5000 worth of clothes and equipment to stand around in a bar and get drunk.

A tad exaggerated perhaps. Some of us actually like to sit down with our drinks while we watch others sliding down steep hills in freezing cold temperatures.

But there's no denying the majority of Australia's one million skiers and snowboarders like to keep a healthy balance when it comes to their sport.

Skiing bliss is breaking icicles off from outside your window and dropping them, ploink, into a tumbler of gin and tonic as you await your dinner booking at a beautiful mountain restaurant.

Or sliding to a halt outside a wood cabin which specialises in home-baked pancakes and muffins, then sitting on a bench with a steaming mug of coffee, or hot chocolate and marshmallows, and enjoying the view.

Australia's alpine villages are dotted with outstanding restaurants offering the height of good taste, and cosy or lively bars that guarantee a peakin' good time.

Some are well-known while others are gloriously understated and underrated.

Best of the best

ALL of our resorts have top-end alpine restaurants, and your dining experience will often be determined by your mood, which will often be determined by what sort of day you've had on the mountain.

At Falls Creek, Summit Ridge remains the benchmark for alpine dining in Australia.

Perhaps it's the walk along snow-covered roads among the snow gums that makes it so special, but the cosy nature of this eatery, combined with the modern Australian cuisine and extensive wine list, keeps it at No.1 in this writer's view. Astra is the obvious other choice for top-end dining at Falls.

At Thredbo, The Denman Terrace Restaurant has emerged as the leading player at a resort where skiers are spoilt for choice when it comes to eating out. Packaged with the Apres Bar at The Denman, this is a night out to remember.

Segreto Italian in the iconic Thredbo Alpine Hotel and Credo are other major superb restaurants in Thredbo.

The place to stay at Perisher Blue has long been the Perisher Valley Hotel, and Snow Gums Restaurant at the PVH looks out over Front Valley, with food and wine to match the view.

Hotham's dining options are growing as a result of the emergence of Dinner Plain, 10km down the mountain, as an exciting accommodation option. Tsubo, with a Japanese influence, is the standout at Dinner Plain. On-mountain at Hotham, Blake's Feast at Zirky's is fabulous.

At Mt Buller, the Black Cockatoo at Mt Buller Chalet is unbeatable for class and quality, with Pension Grimus another slightly more affordable option at the high end.

Travelling to New Zealand? Queenstown will be the chosen destination for as many as 80 per cent of the 50,000 Australian skiers and snowboarders who will carve their turns across the ditch this season.

The Bunker remains top of an impressive list of Queenstown restaurants in this writer's view. Walk down narrow Cow Lane and knock on the old wooden door and you'll enter The Bunker, complete with roaring log fire, cosy bar and just 12 restaurant tables.

Surreal and Boardwalk Seafood Restaurant are other fantastic Queenstown restaurants. If you are prepared to drive 15 minutes, Saffron at Arrowfield is magnificent, with the Blue Door wine bar next door serving Central Otago vino.

Family value

YOU might be worried that you will break a limb or two on the slopes, but you don't have to spend an arm or a leg eating out at the snow.

There are great, affordable eateries at all resorts.

Try Aldo's Cafe & Pizzeria in the Snowtube Centre at Perisher Blue. It has arguably the best views on the mountain and great tucker too.

At Thredbo, House of Ullr is a great choice for lodge-style meals, the Thredbo Bakery has the best pies in the Snowy Mountains while Gourmet Forty Two has tasty meals that can be eaten there or taken back to your lodge.

At Falls Creek, the Cock N Bull is a great affordable option, while Uncle Pat's at Mt Buller has excellent pizzas.

Mid-schuss snacking

YOU can literally eat on the run at the major ski resorts, and get good-quality grub as well.

The Mountain House at Merritts, Thredbo, is a standout in this regard. So too Tyrol Cafe and Kofler's Hutte at Mt Buller.

Keep a watch out this season for the return of Joyce Brockhoff Hut at Hotham for the first time in five years.

At Falls Creek, Dicky Knees is worth a call-in, while the Mid-Centre at Perisher Blue is consistently good.

Essential rehydration

YOU will never be short of a place to enjoy a drink in the alps, because skiing is just as famous for its indoor parties as it is for outdoor fun.

If it's beers and cheers you are after, try Bernti's at Thredbo, The Man From Snowy River at Perisher Blue, Kooroora at Mt Buller, Zirky's at Hotham, The Man at Falls Creek, the Pulpit Bat at Charlotte Pass or Jindabyne's legendary Brumby Bar.

For a more refined cocktail, go looking for the Apres Bar at The Denman in Thredbo, Snow Gums Bar at the Perisher Valley Hotel, Grimus Cocktail Bar at Mt Buller, the White Room at Hotham, Astra Vodka Bar at Falls Creek and Charlotte Adams Bar at Charlotte Pass.

For a big night on the piste with some music thrown in, you can't go past Thredbo's Schuss Bar, The Man at Falls Creek, Jax at Perisher Blue, Kooroora at Mt Buller or Swindlers at Hotham.

Cheers.