I’ve eaten at Vines a few times before and was always happy with the food and service however the last time went was really underwhelming. Our very good friends from the upper Hunter shouted myself and daughter lunch for our birthdays on 23 April and...the restaurant was fairly busy. Perhaps they weren’t expecting it to be as busy as they didn’t have many stay on. So much so that we sat unattended for about 30 minutes waiting to have our drinks ordered. My daughter ended up getting up and going into the main restaurant to find a staff member to come to our table. Not a great start. Once our bottles of wine arrived we settled in and drank the lovely wines.... and it was another 30 mins before our waitress came and took our order. We ordered the stuffed zucchini flowers to share for entree. We ordered this as it said on the menu there were 4 pieces per serve which suited us as there were 4 in our party. Again we sat and waited a long time watching other people who ordered after us getting their entrees. When the zucchini flowers did finally come out I saw only three on the plate. Not 4 as promised so I hunted down the illusive staff and asked why there were only three. She apologised and off she went to the kitchen. Three of us ate our zucchini flowers, feeling guilty that we were tucking into our food while the 4th in our party sat with nothing to eat. The 4th zucchini took a long time to come out as well. For main course my friend ordered a medium rare steak, I ordered a salmon poke bowl and my daughter and other friend ordered a parapadelle pasta with mushrooms. The steak and my poke bowl came out first. The steak was verging on well done and was nearly warm, as were the accompanying vegetables. My poke bowl was really good. Ross (steak guy) complained to the waitress about his steak at this point and also pointed out to her that the other two at our table hadn’t been served their meals yet, and that the table next to ours had ordered after ours and had received their meals before ours. The two pasta dishes finally arrived and they were underwhelming as well. The pasta was way too al dente and again served warm. The restaurant apologised and deducted the steak from the bill but it was still very disappointing. If I was the manager I’d be having a very strong word to the chef about the standards.More

My Family had the most fantastic Valentines Day lunch at Vines today as with many others . As we have been come accustomed to the foods delicious and to ur surprise the Valentine Day Seafood entree with all fresh Lobster, Prawns, Mussels comparable to any...of the best anywhere complimented by Hollydene's Semillon . The staff are exceptional and all go out of their way to ensure our experience is the best ,given a full house we all expected a little wait and to our pleasant surprise the staff gave us complimentary starters and we had more time to enjoy the day The weather was lsuch kids as usual had a play on the lawns while we finished a long lunch in the lounges under the shady tree with a great coffee. Vines and Hollydene thank for another great family day still our most favourite destination love your food ,services and ambience see you again soon.More

Horrible experience on Valentine’s Day. We waited 4 hours for our set course meal. When we complained the owner/management were the rudest people I have ever come across. I would never recommend this place to even my worst enemy’s. Save your self the trouble and...go somewhere else.More

A booking for 10 produced ‘nice’ meals, nothing outstanding. The ‘share with friend’ Cheese and antipasto platters were $$ and we have had better value platters at local wineries. Staff were nice but our first bottle of champagne was left on table with glasses for...us to serve ourselves (not a nice feeling when we were paying near $40 a bottle) & we consumed several throughout the afternoon. We booked for 12 & were constantly asked to ‘order’. Overall we did have a lovely afternoon but considering the $$ of food & drinks, customer service was lacking and doesn’t match the prices being charged. It’s a long drive to pay top prices for drinks & food with basic customer service in the ‘vineyard’, it had me thinking I was a tourist & was in Pokolbin.More

Well worth getting away from the commercial precinct of Pokolbin and driving the extra time for this fantastic winery/restaurant. The staff on their first day back were exceptional - interesting, engaging and fun. The meals of lamb shoulder, Hollydene wines and of course a tasty...cheese plate on the outside courtyard at the end of the day were without question exceptional. The setting is magnificent and you really settle in and do not want to leave ..... please get some accomodation as we would easily do a double meal and relax into the night!!! I think my new go to in the region amongst a few more ..... I hate telling my secrets but when it’s as good as this it deserves to be promoted!!! Top choice - 100%More

While returning home from a wine tasting weekend in Mudgee, & having already eaten lunch just before arriving at Hollydene Estate, we only stopped in because my wife's friends had raved about the place. We explained to Emma upon arrival that we we wined out,...not hungry, & only wanted a peek around. From that minute on, we were treated like honored guests, absolutely amazing treatment, we ended up staying & having drinks, & dessert, before leaving with a few bottles of wine that was recommended by Josephine. It was a rainy, cold Monday, but the food what we had was great, the staff amazing, and the decor spectacular. Can't wait for a sunny, warm day so we can return to enjoy the hospitality again.More

We spent a very enjoyable day in the Upper Hunter last week which included lunch at Hollydene Estate. The setting is scenic, the service was excellent and the food was tasty. It was a lovely experience.