Hortas

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Having dinner midweek in McLaren Vale can be a bit of challenge, with only a few places open – so Hortas (admittedly, with a 20 min drive from Karawatha Cottages, it is more than the usual 10 min) should already be a favourite just for that – but this would not be doing it justice.

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Next there is the location, in Port Noarlunga right at the jetty with absolutely amazing views over the beach and ocean, with beautiful sunsets to be enjoyed with a glass of bubbly on their balcony.

 

The restaurant inside has tables nicely spaced out, so didn’t feel crowded or busy despite all tables booked when we had dinner there last time.
Cuisine is Modern Australian and Portuguese, with local seafood playing a big part. My SA whiting, followed by wild barramundi with local pipis was absolutely beautiful and they have an excellent selection of McLaren Vale and Adelaide Hill wines to accompany your food.

If you can’t decide on what to have, there is also a decent range of different Petiscos (Portuguese Tapas) to choose from.

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And, even if you believe there is no room for desert, you can’t leave without having one of the traditional Portuguese custard tarts. Simply amazing and bringing back lots of memories from our last visit to Portugal.

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You can always walk them off again with an after-dinner stroll along the beach and out onto the jetty to get some fresh sea air (the jetty reaches out almost 350m, connecting the beach to the reef).