Our 2026 Bar of the Year: Tread Lightly

Sometimes a new venue feels so intrinsically linked to the regional community in which it is nestled, you wonder how locals ever lived without it.

When Tread Lightly emerged below Willunga’s main street in February, it did so without fanfare, marked by the appearance of a simple A-frame. This is one of South Australia’s oldest rural towns and the entrance, tucked behind a former art gallery, leads the way down slate stairs, past an underground bar to a charming grotto. Rustic stone walls and exposed wooden beams tell a story of 19th century authenticity, and young couple William and Trina Kay-McPhail believe in their historical Fleurieu Peninsula backdrop so deeply they bought the building.

Tread Lightly co-owner William Kay-McPhail. *(Credit: Ben Macmahon)*

The duo searched long and hard for a community that “gets” their sustainability-focused ethos. Trina is studying Honours in Marine and Wildlife Conservation, and her focus on minimal waste is unwavering. Will, meanwhile, hails from the UK and has more than a decade of hospitality, event and mixology experience behind him. His small but classic cocktail list is crafted from the ground up and the roster of all-South Australian wines by the glass leans into thoughtful Fleurieu Peninsula producers. By-the-bottle options span small batch Australian heroes and the occasional Chablis and Champagne.

There’s no pressure to order food but it would be foolish not to, from snacks to small, large and share plates. Young local chef Georg Delago preps plump hibachi-kissed mussel skewers, camel ragù, and dishes championing the likes of wild shot rabbit and traditionally less desirable protein sources from the local butcher. The pig’s head terrine and beef heart skewers are a must. Some people pop in purely for sticky toffee pudding and a St Agnes Bartender’s Cut Brandy nightcap.

Yes, Tread Lightly is a 45-minute drive south of Adelaide’s CBD, yes it accepts purely walk-ins, and yes, it’s open Thursday to Sunday but the warm welcome and small but deeply thoughtful offering is well worth the effort. There’s zero pretence, just Will and Trina working the space with the relaxed, familiar approach of old friends while regulars high-five each other and newcomers gasp at the old-world magic of it all. All this, while most passers-by are oblivious to the great times going on below. It is a reminder that good things come in wholesome packages – and feels like a secret almost too good to share.

Gourmet Traveller’s Bar of the Year is presented by 1800 Tequila.

Past winners of Gourmet Traveller’s Bar of the Year award

From 2021 to 2024, we changed the Bar of the Year Award to Wine Bar of the Year.

2025: +81 Aizome Bar, Brisbane Qld
2024: South West Wine Shop, Busselton WA
2023: Good Gilbert, Adelaide SA
2022: Paloma, Burleigh Heads Qld
2021: Monopole, Sydney NSW
2020: Due to COVID-19, a Hospitality Honours List was introduced in lieu of the Restaurant Awards
2019: Wines of While, Perth WA
2018: Liberté, Albany WA
2017: Bar Rochford, Canberra ACT
2016: Pink Moon Saloon, Adelaide SA
2015: The Gresham, Brisbane Qld
2014: Lefty’s Old Time Music Hall, Brisbane Qld
2013: Bar Di Stasio, Melbourne Vic
2012: The Everleigh, Melbourne Vic
2011: Shady Pines Saloon, Sydney NSW
2010: Eau-de-Vie, Sydney NSW
2009: Gerald’s Bar, Melbourne Vic

Author Katie Spain GT State Editor and Journalist

Katie is an award-winning author, national drinks writer and journalist with a particular penchant for regional stories. It’s little wonder, really. She grew up on a dairy farm in rural South Australia (but for the record, doesn’t drink milk). Produce-obsessed and curious from day dot, Katie’s storytelling led her to Germany where she studied journalism (auf Deutsch), followed by six years in London where she wrote a longstanding lifestyle column for The Australian Times Newspaper and worked in everything from travel to music and West End theatre reporting. After returning to Adelaide, via a two-year stint at Sydney’s NovaFM, she devoted herself to feature writing for the likes of Gourmet Traveller, News Corp, Australia’s Wine Business Magazine, Good Food, Sydney Morning Herald, and The Age. Katie was awarded Wine Communicator of the Year in 2021 and she was named Best Rural Journalist – Print – in the Rural Media Communicator Awards in 2022. That one pleased her dairy farmer dad. Her career highlights to date are co-writing the Adelaide Central Market – Stories, People & Recipes 150th anniversary book and The Wine Producers series which won Wine Communicators Australia’s 2022 Best New Wine Book. When she’s not accumulating keystrokes, she can usually be found exploring South Australia in a vintage caravan called Charlie.

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