Salopian Inn

Picture this:
Its cloudy and wintery outside, with blue sky sneaking through, and the warmth of the sunshine on your skin is perfection.
You walk into the eclectic Salopian Inn… theres a beautiful large wooden table right in front of you on a large big red vintage rug. On your right is a beautiful bar stocked with a vast range of Gin’s and other drinks, and theres a bright open kitchen buzzing with life. Ahead, theres a short climb down the stairs to the very well stocked cellar, and around the walls with some outstanding views of the rolling green hills are booths and nooks of tables.
The Gin:
OPTIONS!!! There are literally PAGES and pages of gin options to choose from, and each one is paired with accompanying flavours and extras. It is actually HARD to pick just one gin, but if you persist, your choice will surely be satisfying.
I tried Creamy London Underground Gin with a coffee bean — and Mediterranean Tonic Water. Now, I have a HUGE love for citrus, but I have an equally strong dislike of Tonic Water — however, I was assured that the options of Tonic Water at the Salopian Inn is vast and much better than your Schweppes Tonic Water (which I think is absolutely foul). I was also assured that if I tried their Tonic water and disliked it, I could get something else brought over. Okay, lets do this, team!
I first tried the gin. Like… WOW! Its like a creamy heaven in a clear liquor, subtle and refreshing. And I was even more surprised that the Mediterranean Tonic Water was AMAZING! I could’ve had that solo (had I not been on a bit of a dining and drinking day out). The combination of the two beverages — with one coffee bean that continued to subtly infuse the drink — was heaven. H-​E-​A-​VEN!
I could’ve tried drinks for days, but the warmth of the rolling log fire behind me, the gin and dessert had me pretty snoozy.
The Dessert:
HOW DO YOU CHOOSE?! I’ve just struggled to pick a Gin drink, now I have to pick a dessert? Lucky for me, our cute and fun waitress was all over it and quickly suggested a zesty chocolate layered ice-​cream cake. UGH. Get in my face hole RIGHT NOW!!! But I also tried my gal pal’s desserts — TO DIE FOR Pana Cotta, and WARM YOUR BELLY chocolate Soufflé… i need to spend a week and a few dollars on this place to really try it all…
PLEASE! If you haven’t given yourself the pleasure and taken yourself on a lazy Saturday afternoon drive to Maclaren Vale — do it immediately while the weather is cool and wool is delicious to wear and log fires must be in your life right now. Now.

Just disappointed !! spent the day enjoying the wineries in the district ask many about the best place for dinner the overall response was this restaurant but often it was validated with it can be hit or miss. Tonight was definitely a miss.

Surprised with the quality of the food. First class. Wine cellar is a delight. Service is good. Delightfully long lunch after 2 bottles of delightful wines.

Delicious food, great service, comfy fireplace, and a lovely view over the surrounding vineyards.
For us this was the perfect way of finishing off two great days in Barossa and McLaren Vale. We already had a ton of great food the past two days, but this was excellent once again.
For starters, we had the Snapper croquettes and Kangaroo tail. The croquettes were creamy and fresh (a.o. thanks to fresh dill and other spices). The roo tail was fantastic; super tender fall-​of-​the-​bone meat, great seasoning, and not a trace of game-​iness.
For the mains, our group of 4 shared the goat curry, the roast/​steamed ½ duck and some duck-​fat & rosemary potatoes. The curry was excellent; not too sweet or coconutty, just elegant and relatively light. The duck was a feast. Fantastic texture and flavors.
We finished it all off with a shared desert and some coffees.
With one drink per person we ended up at $ 50 a head; not a bad deal all.

Well … Words fail me, in short, bloody magnificent. Service first rate, attention to detail was excellent and for any food allergies they bent over backwards to make sure your needs where met. I had the Kangaroo Tail entrée as a main, fantastic, Julie had a perfectly cooked steak with salad. Staff had that personal touch that you get in 5 star establishments, would recommend The Salopian to anyone that enjoys genuine good food and service

I must praise the chef for the food is absolutely delicious! The inside of the venue is classy and the service was good.
This is a fusion restaurant using flavours and spices from different parts of Asia. I would recommend these dishes (although I believe the menu changes each season):
–Braised kangaroo tail with eggplant (very special. so tasty.)
–Garden tagine, lemon & cinnamon rice pilaf with yoghurt bread
–Wonton soup with ginger and corn (LOVED this)
The prices aren’t cheap but I would still recommend this place for a great dining experience.

Confident, clever cooking of locally sourced ingredients with an Asian influence in some dishes. Warm, attentive and knowledgeable service and lovely, laid back setting. These qualities just keeps luring me back to The Salopian Inn.
I’ve been there with the kids (both under 4), with girlfriends and family, and Salopian Inn never disappoints. I usually go for the Asian-​influenced dishes and the balance of flavours have been spot on. The starters gets my taste buds going and the main meal satiates. The freshness of the ingredients just sings through with such clean, restrained cooking. The wines on their drinks menu matches the meals perfectly and your waitress would be able to assist with the wine match if you are undecided and even give you a taste before you choose. The kids love the free range chicken fried rice and the fish & chips. High chairs available.
I haven’t tried their gins or bar snacks, but look forward to doing so.

The space is so peaceful and somewhere I could imagine JK Rowling writing Harry Potter as she sipped on a beautiful McLaren Vale Syrah or Chardonnay. Perhaps then Harry would have ended up with Hermione. The food here is simply spectacular in a very precise way. Seafood stew filled with the goodness of local produce and chicken with fennel was ridiculously soft, the flavours beyond the realms of the everyday. Thank you so much for a lovely dining experience. Simply magical.

Stunning location for sunset, sparkling service, and delicious food — put Salopian on your must visit list while in McLaren Vale.
You can even pop in for bar snacks and a G&T from their constantly growing gin collection — well over 100 choices now. To narrow down the decision, there’s a regularly updated list paired with a specific tonic and ingredients, such as Kangaroo Island Spirits gin with lime cheek and pink peppercorn, or the Botanist with Rosemary and green olive.
The Salopian is a prominent historic building on Main Rd that has had many different uses over the years. The fit out is modern with a nod to history, recycling many details from the buildings past such as an old door converted to a table top.
Service is friendly, chatty & welcoming throughout.
We had an amazing meal of vege San Choy Bao which was spicy, tangy and featured sweet green beans and salt & pepper silken tofu plus crisp iceberg leaves to roll your own flavour bombs.
The steak with chorizo & green olives was cooked perfectly rare & Mr Wino was most impressed.
Dessert was wicked dark chocolate cake with pistachio praline and raspberries.