Are you looking for a perfect Sunday afternoon session with the sun shining down on your face and a plethora of cheeses and cured meats in front of you? Well look no further, we’re here to help you find the top 5 best charcuterie platters in Canberra to satisfy your cheese addiction and grazing cravings. We’ve done the hard work of trying each grazing platter paired with wine around Canberra.
What makes a great charcuterie platter?
In our eyes, it’s not just about the novelty of charcuterie platters. We look for the following:
- Variety of items: based on the amount of different items included on the plate for your enjoyment (out of five stars)
- Quality: the level of quality food items that are included in the platter (out of five stars)
- Price point: the overall price of the charcuterie platter
Amici Bar
As a dedicated deli, wine and cocktail bar, Amici is a no brainer for this list. With half a page on their menu full of cheeses and cured meats, you can choose four items for your plate. Served with sourdough and marinated mixed olives, we recommend choosing two cheeses and two cured meats. The great thing about Amici is that if dining in house isn’t your thing, you can collect takeaway for even their charcuterie plates and take it home or sit by the lake. The choices of charcuterie include Finocchiona Salami, Mortadella, Jamón de Serrano Reserva and Salumi Capocollo and the cheeses available are Berry’s Creek ‘Oak’ Cow Blue, Adelaide Hills Triple Cream Brie, Manchego Iberico and Chevrano (Goats Gouda).
Variety: ★★★★☆
Four options of each between cheeses and charcuterie
Quality: ★★★★☆
Authentic cheeses and charcuterie from all over the world
Price:
- $42 for their signature platter
Website: https://amici.bar/
Pialligo Estate – The Pavilion Dining
With organic produce in mind at Pialligo Estate, Pavilion Dining is a true farm to table experience for everyone to enjoy. 90% of the produce that is used is grown right on their 55-acre working farm just metres away from your table. While their dedicated charcuterie board only includes cured meats, you can also purchase a selection of cheeses to compliment the meats. Served with the chef’s selection of condiments, the Smokehouse Charcuterie Board includes smoked chicken breast, smoked duck breast, smoked salmon, salmon gravlax, spicy pork tasso, hay smoked ham, pork lonza and duck prosciutto. The cheeses available for purchase are Holy Goat La Luna – soft cheese (Victoria, Australia), Ossau-Iraty – hard cheese (France) and Riverine Blue (Victoria, Australia).
Variety: ★★★★★
Eight options of charcuterie cured meats and three options of cheese
Quality: ★★★★★
All charcuterie from Pialligo is made at their smokehouse on the estate acreage.
Price:
- Smokehouse Charcuterie board: from $18 to $44
- Cheese board: from $11 to $29
Website: https://www.thepialligoestate.com.au/pavilion-dining
Les Bistronomes
Canberra’s most iconic French restaurant, Les Bistronomes has been providing beautiful French food since 2014. The head chef actually used to work for Gordon Ramsay. The Assiette de Charcuterie is one of their starters and comprises a selection of cured meats and crackers. It is the perfect starter for two people and won’t sit too heavy before your main meal. They do have a famous French goat cheese dip that they offer with beetroot crackers which would go splendid with the charcuterie platter. The items on the charcuterie platter are salami, pepperoni, jamón serrano and other various cured meats.
Variety: ★★★★☆
Four options of charcuterie. No cheeses included but the Boursin (goat cheese dip) is available as well
Quality: ★★★★★
A restaurant that prides itself on high quality produce that is fresh and seasonal.
Price:
- Assiette de Charcuterie: $22
- Boursin (French goat cheese dip) $16
Website: https://www.lesbistronomes.net/
Buvette Bistro & Wine Bar
Part of the Realm Precinct, Buvette Bistro & Wine Bar provides a sophisticated setting with a Parisian feel for all guests to enjoy. Offering a plethora of delicious food and wine, Buvette is a must try for the Barton area. They offer a charcuterie & cheese platter with several choices of cured meats and cheeses that are served with quince paste, lavosh and a sourdough baguette. The cured meat on offer includes prosciutto di parma, jamón serrano, capocollo, chorizo, la bastide saucisson, ibérico bellota shoulder and bresaola air dried beef. The cheeses available include Section28 Mont Priscilla (Australia), Manchego Queso Oveja al Romero (Spain), Vacherousse d’Argental (France) and La Dame (Barossa Valley, Australia). Buvette is also a great dining experience that offers high tea if you’re looking for something a little different.
Variety: ★★★★★
Offering 7 different types of charcuterie and some aged for more than 16 months for flavour and the inclusion of 5 different cheeses from Australia, Spain and France.
Quality: ★★★★★
Items are sourced from their original region and chosen cured meats that are aged to perfection.
Price:
- Charcuterie & Cheese platter (ranges from $15 to $42 depending on amount of items chosen)
Website: https://buvette.com.au/
Parlour
Located in the historic NewActon precinct, Parlour offers dining and drinking experiences with an art deco interior feel. Open until late, they offer tapas with local and international boutique wines to pair it with. Parlour prides itself on contemporary food with a modern Australian feel and Spanish influence. They don’t offer one entire charcuterie board that includes both cured meats and cheeses. However, they do have two separate boards that can be bought and enjoyed together. Their charcuterie board includes pastrami, sopressa and smoked ham while the cheese plate includes Manchego, Danish blue and triple cream brie.
Variety: ★★★★☆
Three different types of cured meats included and four different types of cheeses with a few extra items included on each board.
Quality: ★★★★☆
No story included around the origins of each item. Very tasty but unsure on the quality of each item included.
Price:
- Cured Meat Board with pickled seasonal vegetables and focaccia: $30
- Cheese plate with quince paste, muscatels, dried figs and seedy lavosh: $30
Website: https://parlour.net.au/
Well, there you have it. That concludes our top 5 choices of the best charcuterie platters in Canberra. We hope you enjoy the cheese and cured meats as much as we have. Let us know in the comments below which ones were your favourite and what wines you paired it with. For a different kind of dining experience, check out the best bars to listen to local Canberra artists.
