From the sprawling, family-friendly pub to cute coffee stops, this is your guide to the best Dunsborough restaurants, bars, and cafes.

Impossibly blue beaches, world-class wine, and thick West Australian bushland: Dunsborough sits at the intersection of all the major drawcards of the Margaret River region. Transport options in the region are quite limited, but fortunately, Dunsborough restaurants, bars, and cafes aren’t. You don’t have to venture too far from your accommodation for a great coffee or cocktail, with these ten venues some of the best in the area.

The shortlist:

Best for brunch: Wild and Woods

Best family-friendly spot: Meelup Farmhouse

Best date spot: Yarri

Best outdoor dining: Chow’s Table

1. Merchant and Maker

Nowhere in Dunsborough does sandwiches and cinnamon scrolls quite like Merchant and Maker. Each morning, their in-house bakery springs to life, pumping out slow-ferment loaves, organic focaccia, and, on Thursdays, traditional Danish Rugbrød. Visually, the cafe-turned-general store is inspired by Scandinavia, too, subscribing to the northern European region’s trademark minimalism with simple black, white, and timber finishes. But, when it comes to what’s on the shelves in the general store, it’s all very much local. There are housemade condiments and meal jars, cheese from makers in the region, and all manner of chocolate goodies from local companies.

Next door, owners Steve and Anna have opened another love letter to Denmark, Elski. Grab a scoop of their Danish ice cream (all made on-site from fresh ingredients) to go and enjoy as you wander down to the beach.

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Average price: $

Atmosphere: Casual

Location: 8/35 Dunn Bay Rd, Dunsborough

2. Wild and Woods

For anyone with intolerances and allergies, the carby, Italian-heavy menus so loved by Australian venues can be difficult to digest. Avoid the discomfort of dining on a limited menu or things you shouldn’t, and make a beeline for Wild and Woods, where gluten-free, vegan, and dairy-free aren’t dirty words. Not everything is completely allergen-free, but things like their vegan risotto patties, falafel wraps, and gluten-free and dairy-free banana and raspberry loaf are just what intolerant stomachs need. If you’re staying in self-contained accommodation, you can pick up gourmet granolas and mung bean fettuccine to take back to base in their small eco store, too.

Location: 2/237 Naturaliste Terrace, Dunsborough

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Average price: $-$$

Atmosphere: Casual

3. Meelup Farmhouse

Any cafe that keeps kids entertained is a winner in parents’ books. Meelup Farmhouse goes beyond crayons and colouring in books, offering little ones a bag of feed and meet and greets with the hobby farm’s resident animals. There’s a flock of silky hens (whom the feed is for), Winston the goat, three alpacas (Maisie, Daisie, and Haisie), Lizzie and Sir Raymond the Highland cows, and Mila the farm dog, who roams the back deck wearing her ‘do not feed me’ bandana. The food at Meelup Farmhouse is too good to want to share, anyway. Think brunch or lunch with char sui pork belly scrambled eggs, mushroom and sage gnocchi, or confit duck leg curry paired with a mimosa or a glass of regional wine.

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Average price: $$

Atmosphere: Relaxed

Location: 54 Sheens Rd, Naturaliste

4. Chow’s Table

In a region full of modern Australian restaurants, Chow’s Table carves its own space. Specialising in modern Chinese and Malaysian cuisine, the winery-side eatery is the kind of warm and inviting place you go to share a great meal with even greater company. It’s what owner and head chef Malcolm Chow wants of his food, designing his menu in such a way that promotes ‘shared feasting’. For $90 per person, you can select three small and three large dishes for the table, all served with complimentary steamed rice (based on two people). As it shares the same property as House of Cards Wine, the wine list is heavily skewed towards their varieties, with a handful of other regional drops thrown in for good measure.

Cuisine: Modern Chinese/Malaysian

Average price: $$$

Location: Unit 12/5 Quininup Rd, Yallingup

Atmosphere: Relaxed

5. Commonage Coffee Co

A morning coffee among the gums is quintessential Dunsborough. It’s an instant shoulder-dropper—a letting go of all that pent-up city-life tension—which is exactly why people escape to this part of the world. Breathe in the fresh country air with your hands wrapped around a mug of site-roasted Commonage Coffee Co. coffee, and enjoy the bushland outlook from the flagship cafe. There are muffins, cake, and sandwiches at the counter to sate a hungry stomach, or, for the sweet tooth, chocolate next door at Yallingup Chocolate.

Cuisine: Cafe

Average price: $ – $$

Atmosphere: Casual

Location: 855 Commonage Rd, Yallingup Siding

6. Yarri

Everything that the team at Yarri does is influenced by nature, seasonality, and the Margaret River Region; it doesn’t get much more local than using timber collected from site to flesh out the restaurant’s interiors or a menu full of dishes using fresh produce from the large tended garden at sister property Snake and Herring. Each morning, a bounty of freshly picked fruit and vegetables is delivered to head chef Aaron Carr, who expertly crafts it into dishes for the evening’s three-course dinners or seven-course tasting menus. Expect anything from lamb and Jerusalem artichoke with garlic to tiger prawns with saltbush. Though the timber, worn leather, and limestone interiors are beautiful, the best place on a summer evening is out the back on the deck, surrounded by festoon lighting and gums.

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Average price: $$$$-$$$$$

Atmosphere: Relaxed

Location: Unit 7/16 Cyrillean Way, Dunsborough

7. Bungalow Neighbourhood Social

Sourdough ferment pizza, natty wine, and local beer; it’s the name of Bungalow Neighbourhood Social’s game. They pride themselves on their 48-hour dough, backing up their quality wood-fired Margherita and pizza con patate with a solid lineup of Italian-inspired share plates. Think homemade focaccia with whipped ricotta, carbonara crocchette, and gnocchi with zucchini cream and gremoulata. The menu here is as easy-going as the atmosphere, with the mid-century beach-bungalow-style interiors really leaning into the barefoot Dunsborough lifestyle.

For a slightly more ‘grown-up’ feel, pop into the wine room next door. Here, vinyls crackle and spin, and anything from biodynamic Piedmont Barberas and Belgian saisons are on the pour.

Cuisine: Modern Italian bar-style

Average price: $$

Atmosphere: Casual

Location: 226 Naturaliste Terrace, Dunsborough

8. Wayfinder Cellar Door and Restaurant

For the most part, the Margaret River region’s cellar doors are all on-site, with urban centres strictly cafe, bar, and restaurant territory. Wayfinder is the exception to the rule. In the heart of Dunsborough, this small tasting room brings drops from three sustainably minded Australian brands—Swell Season, Wayfinder, and Tasmania’s Small Wonder—to you with minimal effort on your part. Sit through a wine tasting in the light and breezy front bar, or sit among the art in the back section of the urban cellar door to wine while you dine. The menu here is succinct (particularly at lunch when it’s ‘grazing menu only’) but varied enough to have something to please even the most discerning of diners.

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Average price: $$$-$$$$

Atmosphere: Relaxed

Location: 239 Naturaliste Terrace, Dunsborough

9. Eagle Bay Brewing Co.

If Vasse Felix is the founding father of the Margaret River wine region, Eagle Bay Brewing Co. (EBBC) is the same for the region’s craft beer industry. Established in 2010, the brewpub was one of the first companies to play with the status quo, brewing interesting small-batch beers with story and heart. At EBBC’s core are kolsch, pilsner, and cacao stout, the range bolstered by a rotating roster of seasonal beers and collabs. Try them in a tasting paddle at the brewhouse, overlooking the rolling hills of the family farm and the Indian Ocean beyond. Pizza is always a good match for their beers, or go for a few shared dishes like the fried prawns with chilli crunch cabbage or charred cos with pickled shallots.

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Average price: $$

Atmosphere: Casual

Location: 252 Eagle Bay Rd, Eagle Bay

10. Lady Lola

Slotting in beside two of Dunsborough’s most celebrated venues is no easy task. But Michelle Forbes and Marinela Antonic’s Lady Lola—a whimsical acronym for ‘love of life’s adventures’—does so with ease. In 2021, the pair transformed an old patisserie into a classic Italian-style bistro with a dash of bar and slice of deli, serving salumi, shared plates, and a daily menu of pastas, risottos, and other international favourites. Their cocktail list reads long, but the wine list is even longer, starring everything from Marri Wood Park Chenin to a Tuscan sangiovese. Cosy up with a glass at the long communal table, or make the most of WA’s balmy evenings on the deck overlooking the Dugalup Creek.

Cuisine: Italian bistro

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Relaxed

Location: 4/16 Cyrillean Way, Dunsborough

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