Chardonnay Lodge in Penola

We organised for a group of 23 people to dine at Chardonnay Lodge as part of our weekend winery tour. Margaret, the manager, was extremely helpful from the date of booking to the end of the evening. The menu was provided in advance and the food was excellent. Margaret also allowed each couple to pay separately for their meal. She offered to make Portugese custard tarts for a morning tea snack while we toured the wineries and they were delicious. All the staff were very friendly and the open fire when we arrived was much appreciated.

Very cosy atmosphere. Good choice of food.

Beautiful food and nice atmosphere. We were so well looked after by the staff - couldn’t be happier with our evening!

Excellent new menu with stunning hearty dishes. Marg is knocking it out of the park!

Wonderful dinner. Well run business. Great atmosphere - style and classy all round. Stay for a drink by the warm fire after you’ve enjoyed your delicious meal. Cheers!

We are here as we stayed at the Coonawarra motel next door. The price is pretty expensive as all mains are around $40. We both ordered wagu rump steak and mine was okay but my girlfriends was a really bad cut and wasn’t cooked great. Really chewy.Interior is very charming and reminded me of a old chalet or a English/ irish pub.Good selection of local wines

We were staying at Coonawarra Units and booked in here for dinner. Definitely book as the night before we thought we would just walk across but they werent open. Amazing steak. The man serving us was so lovely. Would highly recommend.

Great meal and great value, really friendly staff.

Margaret and Craig are amazing hosts, and the meals are excellent. As I was travelling alone, they went out of my way to make me feel welcome. The venue is very beautiful, and has a large capacity for all the events they host there.

Cosy, friendly staff.

Great service and food

The service was friendly, the food was generous and cooked to perfection. The wine list was very good, with wines available by the glass. I had a Zema Merlot that I had tasted earlier in the day. It went perfectly with the chicken breast. Finished of nicely with a cappuccino and a Galway pipe port. Beautiful, highly recommend it.

Could not be bothered to serve us lunch at 130 on a Sunday. Poor attitudes displayed by staff, was clearly not welcome. Disappointing.

Once again I was very impressed not only with the service but also the meals, Im in Coonawarra for work and a holiday annually and always dine at the Chardonnay Lodge, when you arrive your greeted with a smile and presented with a magnificent setting, This year I was with my partner and friends that was lucky enough to share the same experience. On the last night after the Melbourne cup luncheon Im sure they were looking at closing early but I made a booking for tea, Margaret mentioned they were closed for the evening but asked myself and my partner to join them for tea to save me travelling to Penola, you would never get this in Adelaide lol!!!. we not only took her up on the offer but was surprised when they provided a discount.well Done Chardonnay Lodge Ill be a returning customer with several more friends to share in the experience next year.

There is not alot to eat for dinner around Coonawarra. We were staying at the Coonawarra Units, so the Chardonnay Lodge was a great option for dinner, considering we didnt have to drive, especially as there are no lights on the highway.The food and the hospitality were perfect. Could not fault anything about it. I would highly recommend this place to anyone, whether a couple, family or friends.

Had a dinner, great food. We having lamb shrank and lamb cutlet that cook toperfection.

Fabulous venue

Very disappointed in the service due to being informed that things were one thing however were given absolutely opposite a buffet at 40 dollars a head is ment to feed all whom paid not half that have paid

Nice place, friendly people

The rooms are large, airey comfortable and well stocked. They are not modern rooms but are well maintained. The grounds are beautiful and car parking is ample. We were not able to book into the restaurant due to a prior groups. All in all we had a great stay.

We had a wonderdwo evening at Chardonnay Lodge. Friendly hosts, the ambience was great and the food was delicious. We had the seafood platter for 2 and enjoyed all immensely with one exception - the prawns tasted thawed not fresh. Dessert was sticky date pudding which we shared and were fighting over the last spoonful 😊 Very reasonable too, really not that much more than local pub prices. Well worth a visit.

Staff were great, meal was great, slightly expensive

Was a fantastic meal and the whole family enjoyed the evening at this friendly place

I had the worst experience i had my 70th birthday there and there were a few people that contacted me at the last minute saying they couldnt make it ....when it came time to pay for the meals we were charged for the ones that couldnt make it. My advice is steer clear of there go to someone who cares and respects their customers

The best steak for a very long time.

Good place, but you have to pay for the wifi

The setting of the Lodge is beautiful, the staff were so friendly and helpful. The art work was amazing.

Great food. Ingredients are fresh and of good quality. Tried steak, sea food platter, prawns and lamb cutlets. It is a pity that we had two nights there.

Awesome hosts, great food.

Please do yourself a favour. This restaurant is as good as it gets for friendliness,service, food,wine and ambience and I have been to many. Dont say you werent told.

We really enjoyed our evening at Chardonnay Lodge . Great fresh produce and extensive wine selection.The premises are very clean and tidy .The staff were very welcoming and made sure we were well looked after. We will definitely come back.

Great wines and food, Maitred was amazing, knew everything about Coonawarra and the surrounding vineyards. Wine library for people that like vintage wines.

Not great facilities but great position for wines/south east tours

The food was fantastic. A lovely wood fire warm the room wonderfully on a cool Autumn night. The host was a delight. Planning our next visit.

Very friendly staff, 30 seconds walking distance from Coonawarra Units.

A good wine list, nice food and good views of the vinyards.The place is reminiscent of the movie sideways

Closed on a random Tuesday evening, nothing mentioned on the website, not even a sign in the window. Nowhere else in walking distance ifyouve spent the day at the wineries.

It is a little drove out of Penola but definitely worth the drive. Beautiful grounds perfect for a look around our a function. Friendly staff that are there to help.

Nice food