The Cheese Barrel

The Cheese Barrel is a specialty café and providore that was established by neighbouring winery, Olive Farm Wines, in 2012. Since its opening, it has fast become a favourite amongst visitors to the Swan Valley, not only for their specialty cheese platters but also for quality ‘5 Senses’ coffee, sweet macarons and traditional French croissants with conserve.
We first visited The Cheese Barrel back in 2013 upon recommendation of a friend who was working in the Valley area. What immediately stood out was the ambient back deck area (overlooking the meandering Susannah Brook) with repurposed ‘barrel tables’, plentiful bench seating and a lush grassed area for family picnics.
Our first visit was beautiful, the highlight being a wedge of soft, creamy Brillat Savarin. We’ve since been back on many an occasion, for everything from romantic afternoons to noisy back-​lawn picnics with the extended family.
Our most recent visit was for a catch-​up with the in-​laws; their choice of beverage being coffee whilst my partner and I ordered glasses of Olive Farm Sauvignon Blanc ($ 9 ea). We shared a French regional cheese board ($ 45) between us, with four types of cheese (ranging from creamy soft mould to firm and crumbly), lavosh crackers, fresh baguette, French butter, fruit paste and slices of crisp, fresh pear.
The platter was beautiful; generously portioned and cohesive in terms of ingredients. The waitress wisely advised us to wait 20 minutes for the cheese to adjust to ‘room temperature’ (for maximum flavour), though both my partner and his dad started nibbling the corners after five.
The wine was quite delicious — crisp, dry, gently tropical and perfectly chilled. We liked it so much that we stopped over at Olive Farm Wines to pick up a bottle. I suppose that’s the intention, being an associated licensed café and nearby cellar door. But we didn’t mind one bit.

If you love cheese then this place is your heaven! Wide range of local, Australian and international cheeses and you can either choose a board from the menu or build your own. Awesome views plus a great downstairs area for families with two huge sandpits. Not much else on the menu for non cheese lovers though, understandably!

Great for coffee catch ups especially with kids. The sandpit downstairs is fab for children where you can pull up a crate and wait for your delicious share plates to arrive

I’ve struggled to find good cheeses in Perth but the Cheese Barrel has them in plenty. The tasting platters were amazing. Lovely place to sit and enjoy your food. The staff we very friendly and helpful too. A great addition to your Swan Valley experience!

Love amazing cheese and beautiful wine? Then the Cheese Barrel must be on your to do list when in the Swan Valley!
I miss my cheese from back in the UK but the barrel made me feel right at home with their delicious cheese platters — or you can sample a small platter of any cheese on their menu.
Very reasonable price — would recommend going for lunch if you are a cheese fiend — nothing more satisfying than a meal of good cheese!
To drink we ordered a jug of sangria and it was beautiful!
Will be back for sure :-)

Cheese platter, wine & a stunning view. what more could one want! The cheese barrel ticks all the right boxes and is home to a delicious array of cheeses.
The decking is gorgeous, overlooking luscious green fields and is the perfect spot to enjoy some cheese. The staff are great and are more than happy to give you suggestions — so many to choose from! The cheese list has all the details you need to select the right cheese and gives you appreciation for the different methods and flavours available!
At $ 35 for three different cheeses served with crackers, bread & fruit — it’s an afternoon well spent!

I really wanted to love the cheese barrel; after all I love cheese and wine; and indeed on the two occasions I have been here I did enjoy it — could be that I was firstly a tad intoxicated at the end of a wine tour (the second was a UYE) and great company makes most experienced better!
However if I pair away this and look at the facilities and offering it could be better; the view is of a fairly ordinary field; since there are no vines to lift the view; the choice in cheese are what you can find from any speciality deli; and the staff can be quite blunt (perhaps I just got them after a rowdy bus tour?).
If you are in the area on a wine tour it is worth stopping in.

Hmm, not sure whether to review based on such a short visit, but I can always update. Thing is, there was nothing in particular that will get me back any time soon.
I foolishly assumed this was a place that might be an outlet for a local cheese producer. It’s not. It is a retail outlet for some Australian and imported cheeses, situated in the wine district of Swan Valley, dedicated to luring in the tourist dollar. And I don’t begrudge them that, at all.
The building is new and flash, but the use of it, the layout, lacks something I can’t quite put my finger on. I think it has bad feng shui or something. It just didn’t feel warm or welcoming. There’s a lot of wasted space. Nice deck out the back, but it just faces a rather ordinary dense stand of trees, not a sweeping view of the valley as you might expect. The vines line the driveway as you head towards the car park, so the trees are just disappointing, as if the deck was an afterthought. It would have been nicer out the front, considering the view.
All over the place were signs proclaiming they don’t do tastings. OK, I get that, but not even allowing me to taste a cheese I wish to purchase a slab of? That’s not normal. At least, not in my experience at Fromageries around Perth /​the world. Also, there were two particular cheeses listed that they didn’t have, couldn’t tell me when they would have, unless I ordered and paid for them in advance. Uh, no thanks.
There were not many (if any?) cheeses for sale from WA producers. I did buy some D’affinois, but guess what kids, I can buy the same at Coles, for a better price. (It was delicious, though).

Easy place to find on the Northern hwy.
I liked the façade of the building. Walking through the doors you step into a very spacious area that doesn’t have a lot of tables and chairs. I’m thinking on a busy day standing room only wine in hand cheese on cracker in the other. Wonderful.
Wasn’t there long. It was just a quick visit to buy some cheese for a picnic and look for a tranquil spot.
On what I saw plenty of cheeses to buy and wines to drink. Unfortunately no tasting plates. Oh well. It’s a place you have to give a go and make up your own mind.
Will go again when I have time to sit and enjoy the surrounds. On the premises I will give 4 stars and will rate the service and produce another time.

Love this place. Stopped off for a glass of vino and some much earned cheese after a long hike in the hills.
I can’t eat cows milk, but there were plenty of sheep and goats milk cheeses to choose from if you choose to make up your own board. The wine from the next door winery was excellent too… We left purchasing both cheese and wine to take home which says a lot!

Hello I’m Dani and I’m a cheesaholic! Yep this place was heaven served on a platter of cheese! I have never been here but I am in love!
Four of us shared the Australian Cheese board with Wine Flight to match from Olive Farm wines. There were four cheeses (Meredith Ashed Chèvre, Tarago Jensen Red, Healy’s Pyengana Cheddar, Tarrago Shadows of Blue served with baguette slices, lavosh, pan de higo & seasonal fruit) absolutely amazing!!! Thoroughly enjoyed this cheese/​wine combo!
They had put us downstairs undercover but because it was sunny we had set up a picnic with the cushions and stools as tables on the grass. Beautiful backdrop and lovely company and of course scrumptious cheese and wine it was an incredible experience.
Will definitely be back here and next time will have to pop into Olive Farm Wines to check out more of their wines.
Cheese Barrel — Delicious * Mouth-​watering * Appetising * Tasty * Flavoursome * Delectable * Beautiful * Amazing * :D

Love love love this place.
It’s not just because I love cheese either, it’s because they serve wonderful cheese with incredible matching wines from Olive Farm Wines next door, in a gorgeous setting and it’s not overly expensive.
We tried the Australian Regional Board, with four cheeses, including crackers and beautiful bread (serves 2 for lunch or 4 for tasting) for $ 39.50 which is pretty good value. We added the flight of matching wine tasters for $ 12.
I was supremely happy with our choice, I was beaming throughout the entire eating and drinking process. So much so that I had to pop over to Olive Farm Wines and buy a bottle of their Traminer which blew my taste-​buds away
My favourtie cheeses — The Tarago Jensen Red (so damn good) and I’ll always have a soft (ha) spot for the Meredith Chevre.
I will be back with friends and it’s definitely a great Swan Valley location to show off to out of towners too. They have a kids play-​area too.

I love cheese. I now love The Cheese Barrel after spending some time there today with my visiting mum and my baby. We had a delightful sampling of six cheeses along with an assessment of paired nib. bles (olives, quince paste, pears, leg ham, pan de higo, sweet onion jam, lavosh, and baguette). I was particularly happy to be able to get gluten free crackers ($ 3 extra). We ordered a glass of merlot, a glass of sparkling rose; both were very enjoyable and went nicely with our tasting platter

I’ve not lived in Perth for a good 15 years. So my views on Perth are maybe a little antiquated.
When I saw the Cheese Barrel nearby I was undoubtedly curious, but my expectations were low. I mean, *Good Cheese* is hard to find in Australia, let alone in semi-​rural Perth?
Well. I won’t feign suspense, because you’ve seen the four stars and you probably know how it turns out. My prejudices were indeed misplaced. The Cheese Barrel was great. Lovely outlook, great for kids and a very respectable selection of Australian and European cheeses.
I must admit there were a few niggles. They wrap their cheese in cling film, which I consider a bad sign. However, that’s pretty commonplace in Australia. I only know of a few hold-​outs that store their cheese otherwise.
On this particular day, it was low-​mid 30’s outside, but there was a nice breeze. So you could comfortably sit outside, watch the trees sway in the distance — Plus have some cheese with a good pairing of wine.
Nicely done. There are plenty of reasons to get out to the Swan Valley, the Cheese Barrel is yet another.

Cheese and wine in the Swan Valley, perched on top of a little green hill and surrounded by vines at the front and trees out the back. How can you go wrong?
This joint even has a playground downstairs, meaning it’s family friendly, but those who want to enjoy some child free time get to while away an hour or two on the upstairs alfresco level.
It’s not cheap, but you get plenty of cheese for your buck, and bottles of wine go for the same price as they do at the cellar door next door. Nice one!

As a cheese fan I can’t sing the praises of The Cheese Barrel enough. Entirely inspired to have a café entirely devoted to the wonder of cheese perched in such a pretty spot in the Swan Valley. Such a varied range is available and I love that they incorporate Olive Farm Wines into their wine and cheese pairings. A really wonderful way to spend an hour or so. Chatting over cheese — loved it!

This isn’t a cheap eat by any means, it’s really high quality fare. A couple of glasses of wine and a sharing cheese plate is $ 35 — but if you like real French cheese, and superb wine then it is without a doubt in my mind worth it.
The coffee and the tart make a fantastic dessert, the pastry was perfect with the topping. I can only sing the praises of this with 5 stars and a review.