The Old Bush Inn

Had lunch w a friend it was nice.
My friend was gluten intolerant so the waitress explained the many options to us.
For a Wednesday it was really busy! I noticed a few local winemakers in for lunch… this place has really picked up since the new owners took over!
We asked if they could do half serves of wine as my friend is quite small and gets easily tipsy which they were happy to do. Bravo! Not many places would agree to that I’m sure!
The fish dishes were well cooked and yummy, the accompanying salad with one of the fish dishes was very hohum however… It’s like the kind of scratchy lettuce you get in a real average pub placed in a bowl with the signature tomato wedge, cucumber & red onion on top not tossed in and then dressing over the top so the whole salad is not dressed! Annoying!
I’m sure they are trying to be better than hohum so fix this please!
There were a lot of tasty sounding options on the main menu perhaps not so many vegetarian options as could be … if I came with my vego friends might be looking elsewhere

I thoroughly enjoyed our dining experience here on a summery evening. The food is cooked to perfection and the serves are of a generous nature so come hungry .
The pokies are well hidden from the main dining area which is nice as I am not a fan of pokies.
The staff are friendly and welcoming, service is quick and efficient, the dining area does look slightly dated, it is a pub and with a country feel.
They also have a lovely outdoor area in which to sit and relax with a drink, in all we had a lovely time and will most certainly go again.

This place used to be my favourite pub in Willunga and I was a regular but in the past few months it’s gone really downhill and now most of the regulars go to the middle pub instead (the Willunga hotel)
It’s a real shame because it was a great place for live music but now I’d recommend the middle pub instead.
For a couple of drinks at night it might still be worth a shot but go to the middle pub instead for food or if you’d prefer a younger crowd and a more exciting atmosphere.

I grew up about a 10 minute walk from here and my last memories of it contain a chicken parmi and a fruit cup. We used to come here occasionally with neighbours because its the most family friendly of the three pubs in Willunga. My mates and I would run around the pool table, play ridiculous songs on the jukebox and play hide and seek in the car park.
20 years later, nothing has changed (the décor, that is — my behaviour is slightly more subdue). The wooden floorboards soaked in years of spilled beer give this place a pleasant stench, the band setting up and complaining about something or other while the bar chick makes faces behind their backs provided us with endless entertainment.
Our Irish mate copped flack from the staff (understandably and harmlessly) before we settled in for a quiet drink. There’s something about a local’s pub in a small country town that makes you feel welcome and at ease enough to burb out loud but not quiet at ease enough to fart.

The Old Bush Inn, or «the top pub» as it is known to locals, is a true country pub whilst not being all that far from metropolitan Adelaide and only 20 minutes on the Southern Expressway. On my last visit to almond country (Willunga) I made a bee line straight for this pub, located on the top of the main road.
Packed with locals during dinner, to avoid the cold my friends and I chose to sit at one of the only remaining indoor tables – bar tables near the pool table and juke box. Service was good and fast and the traditional pub fare that I and one of my mates chose, Salt and Pepper Squid and Surf and Turf were hearty and tasty. My other friend chose the salad however and was punished as all health conscious vegetarians should be in a place like this, and her food was gross. The salad was covered in a grey gruel that looked like the weird nutrient food people eat in the Matrix, and half of an Avocado sat on her plate as if to say «cut it yourself you hippie».
What we had really come to see was the open mic night where anyone can just get up and perform. This starts from about 9pm on a Thursday and for the most part was awesome. On the night I was there, there were several solo artists of varying degrees of talent, and a bagpiper. Of those I got to see, the best performer was one young local called Aiden who played an awesome mellow indy version of the theme song of Fresh Prince of Belair.
It was a mate of mine’s birthday and the bagpiper struck up the whole «Happy Birthday» and the entire bar serenaded my mate. The place also stocks my favourite cider, South Australia’s own Aussie Cider.