Mangia at Saddler’s
Authentic Italian casual dining in the wine garden at Saddler’s Creek Wines, Pokolbin
Looking for a Hunter Valley winery with food? Mangia at Saddler’s is the Italian kitchen at Saddler’s Creek Wines, a Hunter Valley winery where food sits at the heart of the visit. Authentic Italian dishes served alfresco in the Pokolbin wine garden. Lunch Saturday and Sunday, early dinner Friday. The point was never just the wine. It was the table.
📅 Friday 5.00pm to 8.00pm. Saturday and Sunday Noon to 3.00pm
📍 Wine Garden, Saddler’s Creek Wines, 15 Marrowbone Road, Pokolbin
🍷 Authentic Italian casual dining, every dish with a suggested Saddler’s pairing
Casual lunch in the Hunter Valley, the Italian way
Looking for a casual lunch in the Hunter Valley without the white tablecloths? Mangia at Saddler’s is authentic Italian casual dining. Handmade pasta, slow cooked ragu and fresh seafood, the kind of cooking that takes hours to make, with weekly specials that make the most of seasonal ingredients. It is what keeps locals coming back, week after week. Nothing here gets rushed, except maybe a second serve of focaccia.
This is eating the Laureti family way. Long lunches, shared plates, kids on the lawn and conversation that outlasts the food. The wine garden fills with locals and weekenders alike, glasses of Saddler’s Creek wine on every table.
Mangia! Mangia! Nonna Maria’s favourite call to the table for Sunday lunch. The name came from her. So did the spirit.
A winery with outdoor dining, live music and room for everyone
Mangia serves in the alfresco wine garden at Saddler’s Creek, with the vines in view and live music drifting through Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons. Pull up a chair in the winter sun, gather around the fire pit or settle in under the heaters with a blanket. And if the weather turns, move into the Barrel Room for a wine tasting, warm and dry while the rain does its thing. Child friendly and dog friendly, with vegetarian and gluten free options across the menu.
Every dish on the menu carries a suggested pairing from the Saddler’s Creek list, printed right beside it. Take the suggestion with a glass or a bottle for the table, or ask the cellar door team what they would pour with it.
The Winter Menu
This is winter cooking the Italian way. Hearty, slow cooked comfort food, rich ragus that have simmered all morning, golden fried seafood and sauces made for mopping up with focaccia. The menu below is a sample of the season, with specials changing weekly to make the most of the best ingredients coming through the kitchen door.
Kids Meal, $20. Chicken fingers, chips, soft drink and ice cream.
Seasoned Chips, $14. With chicken salt and ketchup.
Rosemary Focaccia, $14. Four pieces with EVOO and aged balsamic.
Tiramisu in a Jar, $16. Chef’s signature homemade savoiardi, mascarpone, espresso.
GF gluten free. GFA gluten free available. VG vegetarian. Wine pairings are suggestions from the Saddler’s Creek list, ordered separately.
Friday nights in the Hunter Valley: dinner, sunsets and live music
Friday Sunsets is where the Hunter Valley weekend begins. The Mangia kitchen serves from 5.00pm to 8.00pm, live music plays from 5.00pm to 8.00pm and the wine garden does the rest. Come straight from work, bring the family or make it the first stop of your weekend away.
Wine and food pairing luncheon, Wednesday to Saturday at 12pm
Mangia at Saddler’s operates from the Airstream Kitchen in the wine garden, but for the foodies, our classically trained chef offers something more. The wine and food pairing luncheon is a seated degustation held in the Barrel Room, Wednesday to Saturday at 12pm. Chef Chiero’s dishes matched course by course with Saddler’s Creek wines, guided by the cellar door team.
The pairing changes with each seasonal wine focus. Right now it is the Alessandro Reserve and food pairing, 6 wines with 6 delicious bites. Bookings are essential.
What’s on at Saddler’s Creek this weekend
Every weekend at Saddler’s Creek runs to the same happy rhythm. Friday Sunsets with live music and Mangia from 5.00pm. Saturday lunch in the wine garden with live music from Noon. Sunday lunch from Noon. Wine and food pairing luncheons Wednesday to Saturday at 12pm, and wine tastings daily at the cellar door.
Friday Sunsets
Kick the weekend off at Saddler’s with live music, Italian food from the Mangia kitchen, wine by the glass or bottle and local craft beer. Cosy up by the open fire pits or heaters, then Wine and Chill.
Wine and Chill
Food, wine and music. Relax in the wine garden with the Mangia at Saddler’s Italian menu and live music in the open air, made for families with children or pets in tow.
Private Events
Host an intimate wine and food experience in the Bluegrass Members Lounge. A lunch or dinner for you and up to 10 guests, matched with a curated selection of our very best wines.
Plan your visit to Mangia at Saddler’s, Pokolbin
Saddler’s Creek Wines is at 15 Marrowbone Road, Pokolbin, in the heart of Hunter Valley wine country, about two hours from Sydney and forty minutes from Newcastle Airport. Taxis and Ubers are available locally.
Walk-ins are welcome. Wine and Chill runs any day the cellar door is open, reserve a free spot to be sure of a table. The Mangia kitchen serves Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and on other days you can order a cheese and charcuterie board with your tasting experience. Bookings are essential for the wine and food pairing luncheons. Mangia is alfresco and weather dependent. In winter, bring warm layers, we have blankets, heaters and a fire pit going, and if the weather closes in, wine tastings move into the Barrel Room. Kids and dogs are welcome. Sorry, no BYO alcohol.
For private functions, milestone birthdays or an intimate gathering in the Bluegrass Room, our team can curate a wine and food experience for you and up to 10 guests.
Meet Chef Chiero, the Venetian chef behind Mangia
Mangia at Saddler’s is led by Venetian born, classically trained Chef Chiero. From the Airstream Kitchen beside the wine garden, Chef Chiero crafts authentic Italian dishes with seasonal, locally sourced Hunter Valley produce. Handmade pasta, rustic antipasto and seafood the way his nonna would approve of, each plate made to sit beside a Saddler’s Creek wine.
It is the Laureti family’s Italian heritage on a plate. Food crafted with heart and soul, made for sharing.
Mangia at Saddler’s FAQs
Where can I have a casual lunch in the Hunter Valley?
Mangia at Saddler’s serves casual Italian lunch in the wine garden at Saddler’s Creek Wines, Pokolbin, every Saturday and Sunday from Noon to 3.00pm. Expect fresh pasta, seafood and shared plates, each dish with a suggested Saddler’s Creek wine pairing, and live music on Saturdays from Noon.
Which Hunter Valley cellar doors do lunch?
Saddler’s Creek Wines in Pokolbin serves lunch at the cellar door Saturday and Sunday through Mangia at Saddler’s, its Italian kitchen in the wine garden. You can taste wines, stay for lunch and enjoy live music in one visit, with wine and food pairing luncheons Wednesday to Saturday at 12pm.
Where can I eat in the Hunter Valley with kids or dogs?
Mangia at Saddler’s in Pokolbin welcomes both. There is a kids meal of chicken fingers, chips, a soft drink and ice cream, lawns and picnic grounds for them to roam, and well behaved dogs are welcome in the alfresco wine garden while you finish your glass.
What’s on in the Hunter Valley on a Friday night?
Friday Sunsets at Saddler’s Creek Wines, Pokolbin. The Mangia kitchen serves authentic Italian from 5.00pm to 8.00pm and live music plays from 5.00pm to 8.00pm in the wine garden. It is a relaxed early dinner that eases you into the Hunter Valley weekend.
Do I need to book or can I walk in?
Walk-ins are welcome at Mangia at Saddler’s. To guarantee a table, reserve a free Wine and Chill spot, it runs any day the cellar door is open and you simply pay for what you eat and drink. Bookings are essential for the wine and food pairing luncheons in the Barrel Room.
Is Saddler’s Creek dog friendly?
Yes. Saddler’s Creek Wines is dog friendly and child friendly. The wine garden and picnic grounds are alfresco, so well behaved dogs on leads are welcome to join you for lunch or a Friday evening.
Where can I do a degustation lunch in the Hunter Valley?
Saddler’s Creek Wines in Pokolbin holds a wine and food pairing luncheon in the Barrel Room, Wednesday to Saturday at 12pm. It is a seated degustation where Chef Chiero’s dishes are matched course by course with Saddler’s wines, currently the Alessandro Reserve pairings.
Does Mangia at Saddler’s have gluten free options?
Yes. Several of Chef Chiero’s signature dishes are gluten free, including the King Prawns and Fritto Misto di Pesce, and the menu marks every gluten free dish. Vegetarian options are available too, so mixed tables are easy.
How do I get to the Hunter Valley from Sydney?
Saddler’s Creek Wines is about a two hour drive north of Sydney, at 15 Marrowbone Road, Pokolbin, and forty minutes from Newcastle Airport. Taxis and Ubers operate locally if you would rather not drive between cellar doors.
Never miss what’s on at Saddler’s
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Last updated Tuesday 4th August 2026