20 July 2023
12 mins Read
From an on-mountain hut serving up gourmet three-course lunches to a truffle cheese fondue and glorious takes on hot chocolate, Thredbo restaurants are an eclectic mix of utter indulgence.
Here, we’ve collated the best in every category so you can enjoy self-catering, pub classics, terrific to-gos and lavish feasts knowing you’re dipping your toes in the region’s finest.
Best for: A dimly lit date night
Slink into Cascades Restaurant for an intimate meal with your beloved, complete with uninterrupted views out across the mountains.
Settle in at Cascades Restaurant for dinner. (Image: Ben Calvert)
Located right off Thredbo Alpine Hotel in the village, this delightful Thredbo restaurant spins magic out of locally sourced, seasonal produce. Choose from two or three courses that span Italian and French influences while showcasing fresh Aussie seafood and quality meats.
Find French- and Italian-inspired cuisine on the menu. (Image: Ben Calvert)
It’s one of Thredbo’s fancier eateries, despite dishing up a buffet breakfast to Thredbo Alpine Hotel guests of a morning, so switch out your ski gear for finer threads before you arrive. The service is impeccable, very experienced, and don’t miss the desserts including a popcorn cake with salted caramel and chocolate that featured on the menu during our last visit.
Be sure to save room for dessert. (Image: Ben Calvert)
Address: Friday Drive, Thredbo
Price: $$$
Best for: Family-friendly fondues
Live out your European apres-ski dreams at Candlelight Lodge, a Thredbo institution that’s provided accommodation and heart-warming meals to holiday makers for more than 50 years.
A Thredbo restaurant like no other, that’s only open in winter from Wednesday to Monday, it’s an enchanting slice of Austrian heaven complete with a cheese fondue (and one truffle mushroom variation) you’ll struggle to overlook. Don’t. It is gooey, when-in-Rome goodness complete with white bread, pickled onions, cauliflower and potatoes.
The atmosphere is also charming as fairy lights, vintage tapestry, kitsch Christmas decorations and chunky timber furniture create a cosy space you can’t help settling into. Once you’ve licked your plate clean, take a seat in the bar area where a blazing fireplace and board games play the perfect backdrop to a night filled with schnapps plus international beer and wines.
Address: 32 Diggings Terrace, Thredbo
Price: $$$
Best for: Breathtaking views
Australia’s highest restaurant is, quite literally, the pinnacle of Thredbo dining. Eagles Nest stands 1937 metres above sea level and offers 270-degree views across the region as authentic Italian fare flies out the kitchen and into the gobs of famished snow-trekkers.
A pizza menu stacked with classic flavour combinations plus lavish ingredients like truffle and prosciutto provides crowd favourites, as does the drinks menu which features yet another excellent hot chocolate (one a day is standard practice in Thredbo) plus espresso cocktails that blend delicious liqueurs.
Pork and veal meatballs, and spinach and ricotta tortellini are also on the seasonal menu, serving as delightful accompaniments to those world-class vistas.
Satisfy your pizza cravings at Eagles Nest.
Address: Top of Kosciuszko Chairlift
Price: $$
Best for: Fast, family-friendly meals and great hot chocolates
Hop off Merritts Gondola for one of the most wonderful Thredbo restaurants of all. Merritts Mountain House is a must-visit for anybody experiencing the Gondola, particularly kids who use the large space out the front of the restaurant to build a snowman or carve out snow angels.
Enjoy a drink with your friends at Merritts Mountain Lodge.
Serving up sensational hot chocolate topped with whipped cream and chocolate shavings, this joint is a saviour from the chill and also sells pies, pastries, wraps, salads, German classics like pretzels and bratwurst sausage, burgers, chips and other hearty meals.
Plus, there’s plenty of grab-and-go sweets for the kids (and children at heart) and a bar serving up delicious Glühwein (mulled wine) from the moment doors open.
Address: Top of Merritts Gondola
Price: $$
Best for: Authentic Italian
A family-friendly Thredbo restaurant right in the thick of the action, T Bar Restaurant is a hit with crowds craving woodfired pizzas and in-village Italian cuisine.
Find a warming selection of woodfired pizzas at T Bar Restaurant.
It’s a casual vibe inside this space while the food itself is elevated. During winter, T Bar Trivia is staged on Thursday nights, bringing an even jollier atmosphere as fairy lights strung from the ceiling create festivity all year round.
If pizza isn’t your thing upon your visit, there’s also large plates like lobster ravioli and pan seared barramundi to feast on, and the desserts including sticky date pudding and chocolate fondant, are legendary. Fancy a night in? T Bar is also a great takeaway pizza option.
Pick something to snack on from the menu.
Address: Shop 1, 2 Mowamba Place, Thredbo
Price: $$$-$$$$
Best for: As the name suggests, Mexican food
Tiring of glühwein and stinging for a marg? The Mad Mexican feels you. A Thredbo village restaurant dedicated entirely to Mexican cuisine, this place nails all the classic hits including ceviche tostadas, jalapeno croquettes, guac and corn chips, burrito bowls, quesadillas, Pozole Rojo (a slow braised pork stew) and a stack of mouth-watering tacos.
Plus, there’s churros with chocolate sauce on the menu and the drinks are wonderful, spanning Mexican beers, flavour-packed cocktails and a decent selection of wines.
Address: 89 Mowamba Place, Thredbo
Price: $$
Best for: Relaxed pub classics
If it’s winter, park your clan right by the cosy fireplace and if it’s summer, set up shop out on the giant deck. The Local Pub is a spacious and friendly Thredbo pub speckled with fantastic spots to unwind after a big day on the mountain.
Feast on hearty pub fare at The Local Pub. (Image: Ben Calvert)
The food itself is reliable and generous, with favourites like chicken schnitzel, chicken parmy, burgers, chicken wings, nachos and one delicious steak sandwich.
The vibes are light and fun as families take advantage of the pool table and dart board to keep the good times rolling. Out on the deck, the mountain views are priceless.
Kids are also catered for here as colouring in sheets and pencils are available as well as a dedicated children’s menu.
Juicy burgers also feature on the menu. (Image: Ben Calvert)
Address: Friday Drive, Thredbo
Price: $$-$$$
Best for: Casual Asian cuisine done with flair
Don’t be fooled by this Thredbo restaurant’s cosy façade which looks more cafe than culinary cleverness. Central Road 2625 is dishing up some of the tastiest and creative dishes and drinks in the village including Asian-inspired meals locals are loving.
Street food snacks, house made pies, curries and soups filled the menu on our last visit, in addition to the best hot chocolate tasted on-tour. Labelled the ‘Bounty Hot Chocolate’, it mixes spiced rum, coconut milk and hot chocolate for an après that disappears in mere minutes. Prey it’s on the menu next time you’re in town.
Address: 4/17 Friday Drive, Thredbo
Price: $$-$$$
Best for: A sweet treat on a cold day
It is virtually impossible to avoid stopping by this much-adored Thredbo pitstop while visiting the beginner’s area.
The smell of those donuts is too good to refuse. Fresh cinnamon creations are the hottest ticket at the Donut & Coffee Hut but there are a range of other delectable spoils to indulge in after a day of wrangling little ones on the nearby slopes. As the name suggests, there’s also coffee to be savoured here, plus hot chocolates, snacks and cold drinks.
Address: Friday Flat, Thredbo
Price: $
Best for: Brazilian BBQ-style fare
Your go-to for char-grilled meats and other Brazilian-inspired dishes, Sante is an elegant Thredbo barbecue restaurant fuelling meat loving families in the village.
Starters include Chimichurri chicken, chorizo and onion jam quesadillas and duck parfait while the exceptional list of mains features barbecue pork ribs, a traditional Brazilian tofu and vegetable Moqueca stew, Wagyu and Black Angus steaks and slow cooked cuts.
The wine is also top-notch – you can expect plenty of excellent drops plucked from Australia and New Zealand.
Address: 4/ Squatters Run, Thredbo
Price: $$$$
Best for: A delicious pitstop on your way in or out of Thredbo
Just a little way outside of Thredbo, on the way to Jindabyne along the great Kosciuszko Alpine Way, lies Wildbrumby Distillery Door and Cafe. Knocking up the delicious schnapps you’ll sample right across the village and mountains, these guys also know how to put on a quality spread.
Pair their mouth-watering range of schnapps with a mammoth antipasti menu filled with stellar cheese and cured meats, or tuck into a hearty European-inspired main including veal schnitzels, Austrian beef goulash, spinach and ricotta dumplings and sausages on sauerkraut. The vibe is breezy and relaxed with an outdoor deck providing picturesque seating overlooking the beautiful property.
Refuel at Wildbrumby Distillery Door and Cafe.
Address: Alpine Way, Thredbo
Price: $$
Best for: Comfort food and cold beer
On the edge of the village, just skirting the Thredbo River, lies the American-inspired Thredbo Burger Bar. It’s a great spot to retire after a day’s on-mountain activities, rewarding appetites piqued by cool mountain air with satisfying serves of dude food.
Make up for all the calories spent while skiing, hiking or biking around the peaks of the Snowy Mountains with onion rings, chicken wings and buffalo sauce, slow-cooked pork ribs smothered in bourbon barbecue sauce, Black Angus beef burgers, flame-grilled chicken burgers and skinny fries. Chase it all down with a wodge of Nutella brownie and a shot of schnapps.
Those with dietaries haven’t been left out of the equation at this Thredbo restaurant either. There are salads, plus vegan and veggie burgers to enjoy, and many dishes can be adapted for anyone that’s gluten-free.
Address: 1 Diggings Terrace, Thredbo
Price: $$-$$$
Best for: Meat lovers looking for their fix
As the name insinuates, the food at Zack’s Grill centres around grilled meats (think 24-hour slow cooked beef short ribs, Wagyu rib eyes and eye fillets and a roasted lamb rack).
But its side dishes including truffle fries and sweet and spicy Bang Bang corn, pastas and delicious entrees like the sticky and spicy cauliflower and the laksa prawn dumplings, win plenty of acclaim from diners too.
Housed in Bernti’s Mountain Inn, the restaurant is buzzing and inviting and the service is top-notch to boot.
Note: Zach’s Grill is only open in winter.
Address: 4 Mowamba Place, Thredbo
Price: $$$-$$$$
Best for: A high-end on-piste dining experience
A stalwart since the 1960s, this standout Thredbo restaurant is exclusive but not in the way you might imagine. Open daily in winter for lunch only, Kareela Hutte is a ski-in, ski-out venue, located at an altitude of 1810m on the 3.7-kilometre Supertrail – a blue run that requires intermediate (or above) skills on the slopes.
Bask in the cold mountain air at Kareela Hutte’s outdoor deck.
You can roll up for a coffee or breakfast, but it’d be rude not to pencil an indulgent three-course lunch into your diary, with accompanying cellared wines and perhaps a warming schnapps for the road.
Order a vino and a generous-sized grazing board to share.
The European leaning a la carte menu skews toward the decadent. Dishes such as lobster thermidor with caviar, slow-roasted lamb shoulder, champagne cheese fondue, grazing boards and twice-cooked pork knuckle have graced menus in the past.
Cheers to an excellent day on the slopes.
Address: Along the Supertrail, Thredbo
Price: $$$-$$$$
Best for: A hearty mid-ski feed
If you’re after an on-mountain option (during peak winter only) with plenty of rustic alpine character and a convivial atmosphere, swing by Black Sallees. This bar and restaurant has a gorgeous deck to idle on, perfect for admiring the snow-drenched slopes.
Black Sallees bar and restaurant is perched on the side of a snowy cliff.
Slip straight into Euro mode with a tall German Weizen glass of Maisel’s Weisse wheat beer. There’s plenty of seating inside the timber-clad restaurant too, plus a fireplace to lounge by if you’re after some respite from the cool mountain air.
Soak up the view of the snow-covered mountains on the alfresco deck.
Choose from bistro-style meals, such as goulash, as well as snacks like gourmet hot dogs. Located on the Village Trail, this Thredbo restaurant is pure on-the-go convenience.
Dine on bistro-style meals at Black Sallees.
Address: Village Trail, Thredbo
Price: $$-$$$
Best for: A quick bite on-the-go
Pies, sausage rolls, lamingtons, banana bread, eclairs, granola cups, croissants, florentines, pain au chocolat – you name it, this popular Thredbo pit-stop probably has it.
Order up buttery and flaky croissants. (Image: Ben Calvert)
The Bakery in the Village Square is among the more affordable places in town for a snack or light meal. Stop by for your morning caffeine fix and a bacon and egg roll, drop in to pick up a loaf of freshly baked sourdough to fashion into sandwiches back in your self-catering apartment or take one of the gourmet rolls away with you and enjoy a budget on-mountain lunch.
Order up your daily caffeine fix. (Image: Ben Calvert)
Address: 24 Diggings Terrace, Thredbo
Price: $
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