Outback dinners overlooking Uluru and private picnics on Lizard Island: Australia's most spectacular supper spots revealed
Italy and France might be the first countries that spring to mind when it comes to the world's best food and wine, but Australia's incredible gastronomic credentials are some of the world's best-kept secrets.
A place of awe-inspiring natural beauty, the country’s landscape is as eclectic as its people with craggy escarpments, rolling grassy plains and palm-fringed tropical beaches all to be found within its borders.
As a result, spectacular picnic spots aren’t hard to find. And if you don't fancy preparing your own food, there are plenty of breathtaking scenes where you can leave that to the professionals.
Supper with a view: The Sounds of Silence dinner takes place in front of the beautiful Uluru (Ayers Rock)
A dinner date with Uluru
Towering 348m above the red scrubby soil of the Northern Territory, the mutable rosy hue of Uluru – or Ayers Rock – has made it one of Australia’s most iconic sights.
Although viewing platforms have been set up on the nearby Kata Tjuta escarpment, a more leisurely option comes courtesy of the Sounds of Silence dinner offered by the Ayers Rock Resort.
Along with a choice of 15 unique dining experiences and a BBQ buffet, expect a didgeridoo performance and stunning views of the rock itself.
Seafood in Sydney
From its iconic opera house to its striking harbour views, Sydney has no shortage of pretty supper spots.
But of all the city’s eye-catching eateries, seafood restaurant Quay is hard to beat when it comes to dinner with a view.
Behind its floor-to-ceiling plate glass windows, dinner is served with spectacular views of the Sydney Opera House, Harbour Bridge and of the boats tracking back and forth in the water below.
Panorama: At Quay, supper is served with a side order of Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge views
Private dining: With 24 beaches to choose from, you're never far from a scenic supper on Lizard Island
A private picnic in Lizard Island
A tropical isle in the northern reaches of the Great Barrier Reef, Lizard Island is a 1,024ha national park with 24 sugar sand beaches and mesmerising sights beneath its turquoise waves.
With just one resort on the island, it’s not hard to escape the crowds and disappear for a picnic. Pick a beach - any beach - and staff will set up an al-fresco supper, complete with Champagne, while you watch the sun set over the reef.
Feed on a farm
As anyone who’s ever watched Crocodile Dundee or the Flying Doctors knows, Australia has no shortage of remote farms, although few match Poacher's Pantry near Canberra (three hours' drive south of Sydney) for prettiness.
Part of the Poacher’s Way, a food trail that brings together local artisan producers, supper at Poacher’s Pantry combines seriously good food with stunning views of the surrounding countryside.
Artisan fare: Poachers Pantry serves up delicious seasonal food in wonderfully pretty surroundings
Stunning: Most public beaches, among them Byron Bay in New South Wales, boast free barbecue stations
Melt-in-the-mouth barbecue
With a coastline that stretches for more than 16,000 miles, it’s not hard to find a remote beach where you can splash about and catch your supper before throwing it onto a BBQ.
BBQ stations are found on most public beaches and can be used free of charge while you rustle up supper with a spectacular view of the sea.
Munch your way through Melbourne's past
At Vue de monde, one of the most exclusive restaurants in Melbourne, exquisite dishes are served up with a side order of stunning city views from the 55th floor of the iconic Rialto building.
The menu also offers foodies a culinary tour through Melbourne’s history, complete with native herbs and a wallaby steak or two.
Top floor: Vue de monde in Melbourne's Rialto Building specialises in fine dining with a view
Supper is served: Tasmanian lodge Saffire offers a tasty new take on the concept of pick your own
Pick (and eat) your own oysters in Tasmania
Plump and tangy with salt, you barely need tabasco when tucking into oysters hauled out of the sea, shucked and slid straight onto your plate.
You can, of course, add a few chopped onions or a sprinkling of sauce, but chefs at Tasmania lodge Saffire recommend going au naturel instead.
Gorgeous views of the sea and the chance to harvest your own shellfish supper complete a lovely picture.
Tuck in while you travel
Cutting through some of the most spectacular scenery in Australia, a ride on the Ghan – the southern hemisphere’s answer to the Orient Express – starts in Adelaide and ends in Darwin.
But it’s not all about the stunning views and the pink-bellied cockatoos that flap along in its wake.
With a dining car serving up an impressively tasty menu that changes each day, expect supper with a view at every stop.
Lunch on the go: The Ghan train is Australia's answer to the Orient-Express and serves seriously good food
Beautiful: The Barossa Valley in South Australia is home to some of the world's best wine - and Hentley Farm
Bottoms up in the Barossa Valley
Covering 352sqm of prime vine growing land, it’s hardly surprising that the Barossa Valley has become synonymous with good wine.
The region’s myriad small producers let you buy from the cellar door, while others have branched out into catering.
One of the best is Hentley Farm, a Shiraz specialist, 90 minutes’ drive from Adelaide, which serves locally grown food in its converted stable dining room.
Search out a mud crab supper
Home to the Bardi, Njulnjul and Djaberadjabera peoples, Western Australia’s Dampier Peninsula is second-to-none when it comes to unique cultural insights, spectacular scenery and the chance of a slap-up supper.
Taking a starring role on the menu is the mud crab, a huge local crustacean with scarily large pincers and delicious tender flesh.
While you can attempt to track one down alone, sensible pescavores get a local guide in to help – tours can be joined in Broome.
Taste of Australia: Mud crabs might have huge claws but they taste great - as the locals know all too well
Australia is inviting the world to dinner with a unique event running from September 22 through to 27, 2014.
For six nights, Australia House in London will transform into a pop up restaurant, showcasing the very best in Australian food and wine.
Six famous Australian chefs will create a three-course menu sourcing produce from different regions across the country and you could be there.
Six famous Australian chefs will create a three-course menu sourcing produce from different regions across the country and you could be there.
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