Bridgewater Inn

The Bridgey has a fair bit of hills charm despite having the freight train track 50m from the beer garden. On a Spring or Summer’s afternoon its a good spot to sit and enjoy the hills, a beer and some pub grub like a schnitzel, steak or seafood basket.
The beers on tap are usual pub fare with a few crafty’s snuck in here and there. The food can be great but can also be very mediocre, as can the staff. We have waited there for an hour for an average meal on a busy Saturday afternoon.
As we lived within walking distance from this pub for a year, I think I’ve probably eaten there about 10 times, but never got excited about it like I do the Stirling or Aldgate pump. It’s just not that good. Schnitzels atop soggy chips with lacklustre sauces are part of the repertoire in the kitchen.
That said though, sometimes they surprise you with a stellar dish. The problem is it’s usually one person on the table that got lucky and everyone else is jealous of the good meal and saying «why didn’t I order that?! Dammit.»

Excellent food, great and friendly service. We were a party of 4 on a wet and cool autumn Saturday. The fire was welcoming, the wines excellent and the food great. Service was extremely friendly and nearly too chirpy in this miserable weather.
Do make a reservation! Not cheap, but I think right price for what you get. Portions are fine, apparently ownership changed recently.
We will be back!

Great location for a balmy night in the beer garden. Seemed very family friendly with kids playing in and around the creek area.
Food was average.
James squire pints were $ 9.10!
Cheaper to drink at Adelaide Oval!
What a disgrace.

One of our locals. Never had a bad meal her whether it be in the lovely vine covered outside eating area or the inside restaurant (downstairs). For something equally as good but very casual for a bite after work the eating area near the pool tables serves great party.
Outside under the vines is great for a larger gathering but on a really hot evening spray on the mozzie spray as they like the nearby river. Really relaxing though.
In the downstairs restaurant service is very good and the meals are better. Good for an intimate dinner as it has smaller rooms and is quiet. Very good wine list. Great seafood platter. My husband said the steak is perfect.
Enjoy.

Being a new local to Bridgewater I thought we’d better try out the local.
We first took my mum there & bought her dinner for her birthday. We dined downstairs in the more formal area. It’s really nice down there with bucket loads of atmosphere & old world charm. Unfortunately there was also a bucket on the table next to us catching the rain water that was leaking from the roof too!
I wasn’t particularly hungry so just ordered the tasting plate. If I had to describe this plate in one word, it would be disappointing!
The frittata was stone cold, as if it had been frozen & was rubbery & devoid of flavor. I had 1 bite. The marinated mushrooms were equally as cold & flavorless. Tasted like old shriveled mushrooms in vegetable oil.
The rest of the plate was less than impressive, so much so that I can’t really remember what was on it.
My mother & partner had schnitties & they were both really nice apparently. The chips were great too.
On my second time there I sat outside on a lovely autumn day with a group of friends.
It’s really gorgeous out there.
We pretty much all had salt & pepper calamari. And we all thought it was decent enough. Not the best I’ve had, but quite palatable.
I will say that on both occasions the staff were really fantastic. Very welcoming & accommodating & open to feedback.
Might have to go again soon… best out of three :)

Unfortunately I was not able to sample the food since nobody came out to take my order. I noticed other people having the same problem. This inn seems to be relying solely on their location to bring in the numbers.

I really am in two minds about my experience here — the outdoor dining area is definitely worth going out of your way for, a beautiful view of the creek making for a wonderful setting on a sunny day. The menu features a huge array of mouth watering choices to select from, all at pretty reasonable prices for what is on offer and there are a generous amount of tasty local drops of wine around.
So I’ve set you up for a downside though, and here it is; on the recent Sunday afternoon when we arrived at 2pm the restaurant was clearly busy — as one would expect on such a glorious hills day. We were ushered to a table after waiting for some time, with no acknowledgment from many of the staff who walked past — even a ‘we’ll be with you shortly’ would have been nice… but there was none of that. When we finally got our table, we were told that due to the busy day there would be no table service — although it was evident that staff were trying to accommodate for everyone, there just seemed to be not enough employees, which really let down the whole experience for us.
When the food did finally arrive, it was delicious — my pork belly was perfect, served with a broccoli salad that wasn’t really a salad, but was still delicious none the less!
I’ll definitely be back, but I hope that they plan for busy days in the future because, guess what?! people like to go eat out at nice places on sunny sundays!

My family has dined at the Bridgewater Inn in the Adelaide Hills several times — mostly for a last-​minute drop in when we’ve been exploring the Hills in leafy winter. It always seems to be warm and bustling, with plenty of happy families and friends getting together. It occurs to me now I’ve only been there on weekends …
Recently my family took me there for Mother’s Day lunch. We had a booking and enjoyed the «special occasion treatment» immensely. A friendly gent was acting as host, welcoming all Mums and showing us to our tables where a few gifts (wrapped in pink) were waiting for us. That was a nice and unexpected touch.
The pumpkin soup was a million miles away from being as tasty as my husband’s soup, and no amount of salt and pepper revived it. But my son’s prawn cocktail was tasty and fresh. My chicken salad main was delicious, with a zesty salad that sizzled well on the tongue. I ate a lot more than my stomach was comfortable with.
The desserts looked a bit stock standard, to be honest, and nothing excited us enough to encourage us to order it. But perhaps we were already full enough.
As it was Mother’s Day, the venue clearly had a lot of people to accommodate that day. It was a pity that we had a ‘bucket seats’ table. It was cosy at first, but sitting from low leather chairs soon becomes awkward when you want to sit up and eat.
Our main waitress was smiling from ear to ear and happy to run around for us; younger wait staff may have been brought in for the day and were not able to do simple things like removing soft drink cans from our table. «I don’t know where they go» was the answer we received.
It was overall a lovely experience and, set alongside a creek, a sweet playground, and the iconic Bridgewater Mill, we’ll certainly return one day.

The Bridgy has been a hills classic for as long as I can remember. There’s always a few interesting characters around, and good times to be had. Whether it’s just a quiet drink and a meal, or a full night of… celebrating, the Bridgy has always provided for me.
Over the seasons, and over various chefs and owners, the menu has changed. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse, but that’s half the fun! Trying new menu items at the Bridgy can quickly become a hobby, you never know if what was delicious last week will be average this week… or a completely different meal entirely!
It’s little eccentricities like this that keep me coming back, along with the always friendly and engaging bar staff.

I spent quite a few of my childhood years living around the corner from the Bridgie, then again in my late teens my friends and I frequented the place for a couple of pints on the weekend when we couldn’t be arsed making the trek to town.
In my mind, unless you’re a local, this is the perfect sunday session pub (these can also be held on saturday afternoons if you’re so inclined). Yetserday arvo the weather and atmosphere was perfect on the deck for a couple of cheeky ciders. I much prefer it to it’s busier hills counterparts, where it’s more about posing to see and be seen, than having a bevvy with your mates.
The bar is a little country, there’s TAB and the regular barflys. My city slicker friends erred a little at these elements, but if you’re a true pub lover like myself these factors won’t bother you and I had some good banter with the barmaid which always bodes well in my mind.
There’s plenty of seating in and around if you don’t want to be up near the bar. Downstairs is the bistro part where I frequently dined with my parents as a child. The big bonus is all the outdoor seating and I have fond memories of the joint. I’m told it still serves fairly standard quality country pub grub. Nothing to complain about here!

The Bridgie!
This is a little treasure for young Hills folk in Adelaide. If this pub was in the city it would be packed out every night and have lines up the road to get in. I love it.
The Inn is set inside a big old classic Australian Hotel style building, next to Bridgewater Mill (another hills gem) and just a minute or two down the road from the Bridgewater exit off the freeway. Indoors you have a spacious casual pub area with pool tables, big lcd TVs and dining tables. Outside is the unbeatable beer garden facing a small ravine where people’s kids are perpetually adventuring.
Unfortunately, I can’t say great things about the food. It’s normal pub fare really. Meat, sauce, veg, and overpriced for it. Go on a Wednesday for a decent deal on chicken parmigianas and Thursday for burger deals. Be wary of the throngs of lads that come to capitalise on these offers though.
The Bridgie is a great setting to go with friends, family or visitors keen to witness the magic of the Hills.