If you love a family meal out and don’t mind a little journey to get to the *very best* places, get Stanley Bridge Tavern on your must visit list. Located in Verdun in the Adelaide Hills just a short hop, skip and jump off of the freeway before Hahndorf, and this is good news if your kids are like mine and don’t travel the windy hills roads well.

Little energetic people will be fine here. Book to eat out in the sheltered large beer garden. Our kids loved being able to wander over to the lawn and explore the creek bed, bridge and ‘fairy table’ in between ordering and eating.

I’m not sure you will find a prettier setting on dusk as the daylight ends and the festoon lighting sets a cute atmosphere. It seems perfect for balmy summer nights, or a mild winters evening with an Adelaide Hills Red wine in hand. Of course there is ample indoor dining too.

This is the kind of gastro pub we like to drive and explore on those valuable (rare?) weekends where we have no real plans but to discover something new and collect family memories. It’s also exactly the type of place we look for if we are celebrating milestone birthdays over a meal with extended family or the grandparents.

The menu is nothing short of superb, offering high quality pub fare (the parmi’s need their own special dedicated mention), and flip the menu over for some fancier options that honestly stack up to many of the finer options in the hills. The staff are well knowledged and passionate about both the local produce and the quaint bottle shop that was fervently stocked with a thoughtful and local selection of wines.

The kids menu was impressive and well presented. The chicken schnitzel was the winner from the three kids meals that we ordered and came with simple fresh salad and on point chips.

The Stanley Bridge Tavern is famous for its country front bar with an open fire and original shingle celling. The kids thought the toilets were ‘posh’ and look we agree, isn’t it nice to have clean modern toilets, more spa like than pub like if we do say so ourselves.

Last mention goes out to the desserts. They were huge. Definitely share the tiramisu, it’s large. Don’t share the sticky date crème brûlée (yep run don’t walk, that’s currently on the menu) because it’s too delicious, and do wash it down with a dessert wine. Kids enjoyed simple ice cream bowls and a final game of hide and seek on the lawn with other dining squids.

Bookings are highly recommended, do it, you won’t be disappointed.

Stanley Bridge Hotel
41 Onkaparinga Valley Rd, Verdun 
IG @stanleybridgetavern
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www.stanleybridgetavern.com