Hainault @ Carmel - Restaurant and Cellar Door

Hainault @ Carmel is a vineyard restaurant and cellar door on Carmel Road in the Bickley Valley, part of the Perth Hills wine country east of the city. It pairs a French-influenced kitchen with estate wines and a lawn-and-terrace setting that looks straight down the vines, and it is one of the few cellar doors in the valley where your dog is a proper guest rather than a gate-crasher.

Dogs at the cellar door

Dogs are welcome on the outdoor lawns and terrace seating, on lead, with table service still coming out to you, so a tasting and a long lunch both work with a dog settled at your feet. Water bowls are usually on hand. The hosts have their own kelpies roaming the grounds, which most dogs take in their stride, but if yours is nervous or reactive it is worth a quick call ahead so you can be seated with some space.

Max: sprawled on the lawn, a bowl of water, and someone keeping my glass topped. This is the good life.

The wine and the kitchen

The cellar door pours cool-climate whites and reds grown on the estate, with the chardonnay and the merlot the usual talking points, and the kitchen's French leanings show up in a seasonal menu that also carries vegan options. The Persian whipped fetta has a following of its own. Live music on Sunday afternoons is a fixture in the warmer months, which makes weekends the busiest stretch.

Getting there

The address is 51 Carmel Road, Carmel, about 30 minutes from Perth and a short hop from Kalamunda. There is parking on site. Opening hours run Friday afternoons and evenings, then Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 5pm; the door is shut Monday to Thursday, so plan a dog day out around the weekend.

While you're out there

The valley is dense with cellar doors: MyattsField Vineyards on Union Road and Plume Estate in Bickley are both minutes away for a second tasting. If you would rather burn some dog energy first, the Jorgensen Park Walk Trail at Kalamunda is nearby. More options sit in our guide to Western Australia's dog friendly wineries, and you can see the full range of spots in Carmel.