Orange, NSW, Travel Guide: Where to Eat, Drink & Stay in 2025

If its name were to accurately reflect its most prized crop, the Central West NSW city of Orange could easily be called Grape. The cool-climate winegrowing region, a 50-minute flight from Sydney (Warrane) on Wiradjuri Country, is notable for its range of elevations – including the highest-altitude vineyards in the country – which produce everything from Champagne-style sparklings to full-bodied shiraz. Autumn and winter are popular times to visit for fireside cosiness but the warmer months are just as enticing – the mild climate means the mercury rarely pushes past the low 30s and fresh produce is at its peak.

Where to drink in Orange

ChaLou Wines

When you wind your way up the driveway of this family-run estate at Emu Swamp, you might be greeted by vignerons Nadja Wallington and Steve Mobbs. Or, just as likely, it’ll be Barnacle the black labrador and chickens Corn and Zee who first make your acquaintance. The cellar door is open for tastings Friday to Monday or book the Bud to Bottle Tour, where you’ll sample the property’s prized syrah, chardonnay and pinot noir straight from the barrel and take a stroll among the apple, apricot and mulberry trees, glass in hand.

Rikard Wines

At more than 1000 metres above sea level, this low-key cellar door in Nashdale has one of the most spectacular views in the region; a pastel tapestry of vines, meadows and distant smoke-grey peaks. The tasting room sits right among the barrels and you’re encouraged to sink into a chesterfield as winemaker William Rikard-Bell gives a spirited explanation of his low-intervention wines. The elegant, textured blanc de blancs – with its splash of armagnac for nuttiness – is a standout, as is the Black Label pinot noir.

Rowlee

The majority of Orange’s cellar doors are tastings-only, with the odd cheese or charcuterie platter. However, Rowlee in Nashdale is one of the few where you can enjoy a full sit-down lunch on the leafy patio of the onsite restaurant. Head chef Simon Furley has created a menu of generous share plates that pair beautifully with the label’s wines, including the standout entrée of cured and crisped carrot on a bed of housemade ricotta. Be sure to order a few rounds of flatbread to soak up the molasses dressing.

Where to eat in Orange

Lucetta Dining

Exposed brick and concrete walls, an accidental sculpture made from a waterfall of melted candle wax and a pretty little niche decorated with Spanish-style religious curios combine to make this Italian restaurant one of the city’s loveliest places to grab dinner. The savoury seada – a crescent-shaped Sardinian pastry topped with ricotta, scamorza and truffle pecorino – is a fine way to kick things off, while the tiramisu offers an unbeatable ending.

Hey Rosey

Even the most simple-looking snacks at this elbow-to-elbow wine bar pack a flavourful punch, thanks to the considered cooking of head chef Hugh Piper (above), who once clanged the pans at Sydney’s Dear Sainte Éloise. It might be a lightly pickled apricot slice draped with pork neck from nearby Trunkey Creek that’s lifted with the fragrance of fig leaf oil and mustard seeds or a tumble of heirloom tomatoes scattered with padrón peppers and tarragon dressed with a slick of leek oil. Something from the detailed Martini menu is non-negotiable and the house rosé – called, naturally, Hey Rosé – is a solid drop.

Where to stay in Orange

De Russie Boutique Hotel

Spacious and comfortable, this collection of 25 self-contained suites and two- and three-bedroom apartments housed inside a pretty, ivy-clad building puts you right in the middle of town. Guests have access to plenty of off-street parking and a generous (and complimentary) continental breakfast of granola, toast and local coffee is delivered to your room every morning.