The locality of Port Hughes on Yorke Peninsula is just minutes from the town of Moonta and is a popular spot particularly for the fishing.  Whether you want to try your luck on the jetty or launch a boat from the multi laned boat ramp, it’s a well known spot for fishos to head to.  There are two caravan parks, a picturesque swimming beach, a store and café, and the Port Hughes Tavern is proving to be a big drawcard too.

While staying at nearby Moonta Bay we decided to have an evening meal there and a cheap $10 taxi ride each way, made sure that all of us could enjoy a few drinks responsibly too. If you book in on a Friday or Saturday night, the tavern has a courtesy bus which will pick you up and drop off to and from nearby accommodation. The tavern overlooks the jetty and has a sports bar where you can watch every (it seems) sport known to man, on large screen TVs and have a bet while you’re watching if you’re feeling lucky, with TAB facilities available.

During summer the tavern is flat out with locals and visitors wanting to dine in and even with a huge dining room and an outdoor beer garden they were fully booked often.  It’s no surprise why when you arrive and see the really picturesque setting and comfortable surroundings.  Although they were extremely busy when we visited, the service was terrific even though we did have to wait a while for a few meals, the staff were apologetic and very friendly. The tavern has had new owners since September 2020.

We dined outdoors in the beer garden which has a quirky alfresco bar made of pallets which is open on Friday nights from 5-7pm. Shade sails keep the sun off the dining area and string lights give ambiance as the sun goes down. Colourful terrazzo look tables and umbrellas make the dining area casual and cosy at the same time. The reason we opted for the beer garden was to enjoy the warm summer evening and also because it’s dog friendly, so well behaved pooches are welcome to sit and stay at your table. The raised dining spot gives you a view of the water over the car parking area and boat ramp.

The tavern’s menu has plenty of options to choose from, and one of the specialties are the Stone Grills where you ‘cook your own’ at the table or you can choose from steaks, mains, seafood, vegetarian meals and pizzas. They also have an extensive wine list with a lot of South Australian varieties to choose from. There were no complaints from any of our group, everyone enjoyed all of the starters and mains they chose.

The Port Hughes Tavern is a warm and welcoming place to book a dinner with a group and in fact it was so nice…we went twice! Port Hughes is a little over 160 kilometres from Adelaide and around 4 kilometres south of Moonta Bay. It’s open 7 days a week from 11am to 9pm and has meal specials on Wednesdays and Thursdays nights.

Cheers

Glenys