The Barn Bistro at Mclaren Vale

The Barn Bistro
252 Main Road,
Mclaren Vale,
South Australia
Ph: (08) 8323 8618

Open 6 days
Tues - Sunday
10am till Late
Public Holidays Lunch Only

Click here to view The Barn Bistro's photo gallery.

Click here for more information on this historic icon of Mclaren Vale.

The Barn @ Mclaren Vale History

The Barn at Mclaren Vale stands on land originally granted George Fife Angas , Henry Kingscote and James Riddell Todd in 1840 under the hand and seal of George Gawler who was at the time Commissioner of public land in South Australia. The particular site on which The Barn was built was the old Coach Stop Way Station for the overnight stage for bullock teams bringing wheat from Victor Harbour to be milled in Adelaide.

The land was subsequently laid out by Richard Bell to become the township of Bellevue.

The Reverend Prior started the original Bellevue School in the cottage that still stands behind the Barn to this day.

In 1882 , Thomas Hardy acquired the property and used the extensive stables to house his work horses.

As a result of a long running local feud , the old well by the stone horse trough was poisoned, killing Thomas Hard's horses.

The property fell into disuse until in 1969 David Hardy ( great grandson of the original Thomas Hardy ) and well known Australian artist David Dridan renovated the original coach house building with old timber beams from the disused Clarendon Winery. The result being the iconic figure known as The Barn Bistro and Art Gallery.

The Barn @ Mclaren Vale

During its period of disuse The Barn was a home to many including one of the districts most famous wine family's The Scarpantoni's. The family ties don't stop there with the Grandfather of current owner Ben Vandeleur being born in the cellar of the restaurant.

One of the fascinating things about The Barn is the conditions of the license. The License was granted shortly after the end of 6 o'clock closing in hotels. Tap beer could not be offered but they didn't outlaw sparkling wine on tap which became a calling card for the iconic venue. One of the other stipulations was that in order for the Restaurant to trade it must operate as a legitimate art gallery which it did successfully for many years and was a catalyst for the large array of galleries you see in the region today.

The Restaurant rose to prominence as one of the most highly regarded Restaurants in the country under the guidance of Brian & Rose Tierney. It was not uncommon to see helicopters land over at the Mclaren Vale Motel and guests walk over for a business lunch before making their journey back to Sydney or Melbourne. The Restaurant was a favourite for sporting celebrities such as the late Sir Donald Bradman and Richie Benaud and political icons like the late former Premier Don Dunstan.

The Restaurant was bought in August of 2006 by Ben & Bev Vandeleur. The fact that Ben's Family had the Mclaren Vale Hotel for over forty years was a big part of the emotional attachment to The Barn. After a facelift and some TLC The Barn has once again become a favourite with locals and a destination for tourists from all over the world.