Crafers Hotel, Adelaide: What makes this South Australian pub special?
The Crafers Hotel between Adelaide and the Adelaide Hills is one of the oldest pubs in South Australia. There’s on-site accommodation, but the craft beer and wine lists are the star attractions.
The Crafers Hotel in Adelaide is one of the oldest pubs in South Australia. Established in 1839, the Crafers is just off the Princes Highway, 20 minutes’ drive from Adelaide CBD.
This is in that strange transition zone that doesn’t quite feel like Adelaide, but isn’t truly in the Adelaide Hills either. And that’s arguably the main problem with the Crafers Hotel – it’s hard to come up with a compelling reason why you’d just stop by.
Crafers Hotel menu: Food and wine
The Crafers Hotel has won several awards in the last few years, and it has cultivated an old-meets- new look. There’s exposed stone, mixed in with leather, iron, copper and repurposed wood. The vibe is very much traditional Aussie pub, although the French-leaning food menu reaches for something a little more contemporary.
With the Adelaide Hills on the doorstep, it would be borderline criminal to not have a strong wine list. That’s certainly the case, and the Crafers Hotel doesn’t limit itself to local wines either. You can enjoy a prosecco from Pizzini Wines in Victoria’s King Valley, a Pooley Estate Riesling from Tasmania or a Yering Station pinot noir from the Yarra Valley.
15 fabulous Adelaide experiences to supercharge your visit
- DOLPHINS 🐬: Swim with wild dolphins, kayak with the resident bottlenose pod or watch them on a dolphin cruise.
- FOOD AND WINE 🍷: Indulge on Adelaide food tour including Adelaide Central Market. Or try a wine discovery tour with tastings at the National Wine Centre. Or the ultimate Penfolds Magill Estate experience with full estate tour & Grange tasting.
- WILDLIFE 🐨: Spot koalas on a guided Morialta nature hike. Or walk from Waterfall Gully to Mount Lofty with entrance to Cleland Wildlife Park.
- CRUISES ⛵: Watch the sun set on a twilight coastal cruise, get to know the city on a Torrens River cruise or take a high tea cruise aboard the Popeye.
- SPORT 🏏: Dare to take on the Adelaide Oval Roofclimb or enter the fabled scoreboard on the behind-the-scenes stadium tour.
- ACTION 🚵♂️: Descend Mount Lofty on a downhill mountain bike tour or kayak along the Torrens River.
Craft beer menu at Crafers Hotel
The craft beer menu takes a similarly expansive approach. Breweries represented include Bridge Road Brewers from Beechworth in Victoria, the Sauce Brewing Co from Marrickville in Sydney and the Little Bang Brewing Company in Adelaide.
It’s also possible to stay at the Crafers Hotel. Accommodation comes in the form of seven recently refurbished rooms with high ceilings and modern facilities.
Pick your perfect Adelaide day trips
- Barossa Valley tours: 1. Wine-tasting with lunch 🍷. 2. Food and wine tour. 3. Small group wine tour with exclusive VIP tastings.
- Kangaroo Island in a day – including sea lions 🦭, koalas 🐨and national parks.
- Adelaide Hills tours: 1. Sights plus Murray River lunch cruise combo. 2. Small group cheese, chocolate & wine tour with Hahndorf German village.
- McLaren Vale tours: 1. Small group wine tour with lunch. 2. Hop-on hop-off wineries tour 🍷. 3. Food and wine indulgence tour, including the gloriously weird d’Arenberg Cube.
- Victor Harbor and southern highlights tour – including the Granite Island horse-drawn tram.
The issue is quite why you’d want to stay there. If you want to see Adelaide, stay in Adelaide. If you want to stay in the Adelaide Hills, stay in Hahndorf or Mount Barker. A halfway house doesn’t really suit either all that well.
Where the Crafers Hotel might fit in is at the end of a day trip from Adelaide by car. If you’ve gone for a loop around the Morialta Conservation Park, Cleland Conservation Park and Mount Lofty Botanic Garden, then a meal and a drink at Crafers becomes a nice way to round off the day.
Top Adelaide hotel recommendations
For the beach: Oaks Glenelg Plaza Pier Suites. For families: Big4 West Beach. Most fun: Hotel Indigo Adelaide Markets. For setting: Oval Hotel. For heritage: Adina Apartment Hotel Adelaide Treasury.
More South Australia travel
Swim in the rockpools at Greenly Beach on the Eyre Peninsula.
Do a Flinders Chase National Park tour on Kangaroo Island.
How much does the Mannum ferry cost?
What are the top attractions on the Melbourne to Port Augusta drive?
Where to stop on the Port Augusta to Coober Pedy drive.