Wondering where to take dad on Father's Day? Here are some ideas in and around Newcastle and the Hunter Valley

Here are some suggestions. And a hot tip - book ahead!!

There's a Father's Day BBQ Box Special for $40 that includes three meats, two salads, jalapeno corn bread, and a tap beer schooner. Dessert is $12 and is a choice between a Beeramisu and Churros with Chocolate and Beer Dulce De Leche Sauce. DJs from noon to 5pm.

Book ahead for their all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet from 8.30am to noon. Think bacon, eggs (poached, fried and scrambled), sausages, frittatas, mushroom, cheesy tomatoes, hash browns, toast, salad, yoghurt, cereals, pastries, fruit platters, unlimited barista coffee, hot chocolate, juices and tea, plus a gift for dad. Cost is $38 per person, $18 children under 12, $10 children under five.

Pre-order a Vietnamese Street Food Father's Day Lunch Box for $65: pan fried rice cakes; steamed rice rolls with woodear mushrooms and pork; lemongrass beef banh mi; pork spring rolls.

Head to the Wallsend Rotunda on Saturday, 11am to 1pm, where the Rotary Club of Maryland-Wallsend will be slinging free snags for dad and there are prizes up for grabs at the chocolate wheel.

Decode the secret message to claim a prize and take part in fun activities along the way. Friday and Saturday, 10am to 1pm.

A Father's Day Feast on Sunday, $110 per person which includes your choice of entree, a family feast of roasted lamb shoulder or XO chicken, and your choice of dessert or cheese.

Pre-book your tickets for Sunday, starting from only $15 per adult, which includes entry and a VIP guided tour of the sculptures. If you pre-order a grazing box or ploughman's platter, children 13 years and younger are admitted free. Bring a picnic blanket and enjoy the fresh air.

A special Father's Day menu in the new-look bistro including chicken wings, Surf & Turf, loaded schnitzels, garlic seafood and combination laksa.

A free schooner of house beer for dad with the purchase of any main meal, and in the sports bar, $15 pizzas, $15 house beers jugs and live and loud sport on the big screen.

Enjoy a share-style feast package, $60 per adult, bookings from noon.

Share plates, a lunchtime raffle, first beer is free for dad.

Treat dad to a mixed grilled special for $30, and $15 beer jugs.

Food specials all day, Modus XPA schooners at a special price, live music from 1pm to 4pm, and dad gets a voucher for a round of Putt Putt or a bucket of balls for Aqua Golf at Hunter Valley Gardens Aqua Golf with his meal.

Smoked meat platters and vegetarian specials will be available for lunch and dinner. Make a reservation online and dad gets a free beer on arrival.

The Big Daddy Deal, $55, includes: 150g wagyu rump, BBQ pork ribs, grilled chorizo, buffalo chicken wings, charred sweet corn, fries, jalapeno and corn bombs, house slaw, schooner of Mountain Culture Status Quo.

Pre-order a $55 Father's Day Pack (pork sliders, karaage chicken sliders, buffalo wings, house-cut potato crisps).

It's a festival for fathers at the corner of Watt and Scott streets on September 3, 10am to 5pm. There's an on-site licensed bar, food and drink tastings, market stalls, barbecue cooking demonstrations, live music, putt-putt golf and velcro axe-throwing. There's also fun activities for the kids.

On offer is a Family Meat Platter which includes US pork ribs, sirloin, chorizo, marinated chicken, and slow-cooked lamb.

Father's Day blackboard specials will include a Mega Mixed Grill: 1kg of steak, ribs, wings, lamb cutlet, sausages and bacon with any two sides and sauce.

FogHorn Brewery and Roundhouse are collaborating for a Father's Day Long Lunch: three courses, a FogHorn beer, wine or soft drink on arrival, and a gift for your dad.

A four-course set menu for $65.

All weekend: two-hour breakfast sittings, 8am and 10am (free coffee for dad), plus two-hour lunch settings, noon and 2pm (free cider for dad). Also, complimentary wine tasting upgrade for dad to a luxury red experience.

Breakfast: $15 for bacon and eggs with a small coffee.

Breakfast and lunch specials for dad, plus the option of a $25 bucket of beer. Breakfast: pulled pork benedict or a loaded croissant, and lunch: Dad's Catch (beer battered flathead, a crab claw, crumbed calamari, grilled prawns served with chips) or the Surf & Turf. And dessert? Chocolate mousse or bread and butter pudding.

Father's Day catering boxes are available to order by August 29, for pick-up on September 1. Choose from a brunch box or a sweet treat & gift box.

There's a breakfast buffet from 7am to 10am, and lunch from noon to 3pm (beef brisket, char sui pork belly, garlic marinated king prawns, BBQ buffalo chicken wings and more). Adults $65, children 5-11 $30, children 4 and under $10.

Book for lunch (11.30am to 3pm) or dinner (5.30pm to 8pm) on September 3 and take advantage of menu and drinks specials.

Lunch is served from noon, with spit-roasted lamb souvlaki, fresh breads and salads, garden games and, of course, beer.

Lunch and dinner bookings are available and there is a special $75 churrasco menu on offer. Think buffalo wings, chorizo, halloumi with fermented chilli honey, flank steak with salsa verde, chicken thigh with cachaca rum and mint, white fish with fennel slaw, smoked pork belly with roasted apple, brisket, beef short rib, wild mushroom croquettes, school prawns with chipotle and lime aioli, cheese bread, Brazilian feijoada ... the list goes on.

There will be a special Father's Day buffet lunch menu on offer at 1pm. Cost is $80 for 13 years and over, $50 for children aged 3-13 years.

Book a seat on September 3 and dad will receive a free schooner of tap beer on the day and a choice of menu specials.

The Father's Day package includes a one-hour hosted axe-throwing experience, safety briefing and coaching session, a pizza to share, and one standard drink. 188 King Street, Newcastle.

A half-day journey on a steam train from Maitland to Dungog and return.Your journey begins at Maitland Railway Station and travels along the scenic North Coast line.

Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner on September 3, with music by Damien Baguley from 1pm. "Ultimate Dad Specials" for lunch and dinner (including the Surf & Turf 450g T-bone chargrilled with garlic lobster chips and salad, $85).

A two-course spit roast, music by Louis Burt and a display by the Antique Truck and Machinery Club. Beer, wine and soft drinks available at the cellar door. Tickets: adults $60, children aged 4-10 $25.

Something different: Dad's & Bub's Lawn Bowls at 2pm. Sounds like fun.

Head to the Honeysuckle fave for a $38 wagyu steak and a complimentary Orion beer for dad.

Dads bowl or play putt-putt for free all day (must be accompanied by a full-paying customer for free bowling). Grab a smoked brisket bun and a beer from the "Farbecue" in the mini golf area between 11.30am and 3pm, or book for a sit-down lunch or dinner at The Diner.

Bring dad to the club for lunch and he will receive a free beer. Music from Glen Harrison, noon onwards.

Limited edition Fireball cocktails, 4 Pines Brewing Co tastings and food specials including $1 wings.

Treat dad to a Sunday roast, a smoked meat platter or one of several beer specials.

Enjoy a seafood and Texas-style buffet (adult $89, children 5-12 $35), lawn games and live music, with the option of booking a scenic helicopter flight.

Thanks to 4 Pines Brewing, dad's first beer is free (with the purchase of a main meal) and he gets a chance to spin the 4 Pines prize wheel. Special deal: Surf & Turf 300g sirloin with butter poached tiger prawns, chips and salad ($49).

Enjoy a two-course meal and drink for $42 and take advantage of $10 drink specials all day. Live music 4pm to 7pm with acoustic guitarist Matt Atherton.

Head to 116 Maitland Road, Islington, on September 3 for an "all-you-can-eat" Texan smoked barbecue lunch (sittings at 11am to 2pm, or 2.30pm to 4.30pm).

Food specials all day plus Modus XPA schooners at a special price; live music from 1pm to 4pm; and dad gets a voucher to use at Hunter Valley Gardens Aqua Golf.

Head to Cardiff RSL Club for a seafood buffet. Sittings at 11am to 1pm, 1.15pm to 3.15pm, and 5pm to 9pm. Phone 4956 7183 to book.

A choice of four, three-course packages for lunch or dinner, plus there's a special "Dad's Drinks Package".

It's a family affair on the bowling green from noon to 4pm with live music, a sausage sizzle, slushies, a jumping castle and face painting.

This year's Father's Day Breakfast Boxes look amazing, and include free-range eggs, bacon from Moores Meats in Morisset, a fresh, crusty loaf from Morisset Bakehouse, milk from The Little Big Dairy Co, a jar of Regal Honey, a jar of Drunken Sailor Canning Co. Smokey Tomato Relish, Olssons sea salt, fresh orange juice from East Coast Juices, Hunter Belle Dairy Co beer cheese and Jersey butter, Martins Meats beef jerky, and Gwandalan Quality Meats sausages. Available for delivery ($85) or pick-up from the farm gate ($82), with a choice of add-ons.

Give dad a sleep-in and take him to brunch at this Hamilton cafe. Included on the special Father's Day brunch menu is eggs benedict, smashed avocado on sourdough, a pancake stack with Jamaican bananas, and the Mountain Man Hotpot (chipotle pulled pork baked with cannellini beans, chorizo, potatoes, Spanish onion, and a fried egg, served with sourdough bread).

IN THE NEWS: