Best Restaurants in Regional Victoria
Sometimes, it feels like Melbourne is the be-all and end-all of dining in this state. But visit certain parts of regional Victoria and that illusion quickly falls away. You’ve probably heard of Brae, which has twice appeared on the World’s Best Restaurants list. Browse this group of restaurants and you’ll see there are plenty more places worth taking a road trip for, regardless of how many hours the drive is. Our tip? Stay the night and make a weekend of it – it’ll only make the meal that much more memorable and special.
Restaurant
Brae
It’s one of world’s finest restaurants, but this country cottage also has a comforting, familial character that makes chef Dan Hunter’s creative food that much more enjoyable. Don’t leave without strolling the extensive grounds, where much of the restaurant’s produce is grown.
Restaurant
Underbar
Just 28 diners per week are admitted to this intimate restaurant, where veteran chef Derek Boath prepares degustations using hyperlocal produce, some of which he forages himself.
Restaurant
Tedesca Osteria
This rustic, intimate 30-seater by acclaimed chef Brigitte Hafner and wine whiz James Broadway feels less like a restaurant and more like a friend’s house – if your friend had access to farm-fresh produce and a cellar full of wines from Victoria’s most interesting new producers. A prime long-lunch destination.
Restaurant
Provenance
House-made dashi, miso, pickles and ferments are the hallmarks of this decade-old fine diner by chef Michael Ryan, who spins hyperlocal produce into creative, Japanese-inspired dishes. On the floor, his wife Jeanette Henderson pours matched sakes and local wines.
Restaurant
Greasy Zoe’s
Just two people work at this tiny eight-seat fine diner. They do everything: wash the dishes, pour the wines, and cook the outstanding multi-course, daily-changing menu. This is one of the best – and most intimate – dining experiences Victoria has to offer.
Restaurant
Lake House Daylesford
Long, slow lunches and degustation dinners at the edge of the lake – Alla and Allan Wolf-Tasker have been doing their thing since 1979 and it's never lost relevance.
Restaurant
Wickens at Royal Mail Hotel
The dining room of this sleek, matchbox-shaped building has one of the most impressive restaurant views in Australia. The regional menu showcases the Grampians just as well.
Restaurant
Laura
Point Leo Estate’s in-house fine diner is up there with the peninsula’s best culinary experiences. Chef Josep Espuga and his team are firmly committed to local produce, so the only constant on the changeable European-leaning menu is that most ingredients come from nearby, if not from Point Leo itself.
Restaurant
Paringa Estate
This stalwart winery has some of the oldest vines on the Mornington Peninsula, and some of the most impressive dining. Although the restaurant was originally built to help showcase the maturing range of wines, it's since grown an esteemed reputation of its own.
Restaurant
Doot Doot Doot
Jackalope’s in-house fine diner is just as extravagant and eccentric as the rest of the sprawling complex. But it's grounded by a steadfast commitment to local produce and seasonality. And caviar.
Restaurant
Cape
A modern, leather-clad dining room that looks out over Fingal Beach.
Restaurant
Sardine Eatery & Bar
An ex-Vue de Monde chef championing local seafood at this lakeside bistro.
Restaurant
Seville Estate
Four generations. That’s how long this family has been perfecting the art of exceptional wine and homegrown produce. Enjoy a drop of its revered barrel-fermented chardonnay, or complex old-vine shiraz in the bright and spacious dining room.
Restaurant
Levantine Hill
From the helipad to the high-profile architect, no expense has been spared at Levantine Hill. At the restaurant, a Levant-inspired menu that leans into the owners’ heritage. Settle into a wine-barrel-shaped booth for Middle Eastern snack plates, Beluga caviar for an eye-popping $340, three-wine flights and more.
Restaurant
O.My
This farm-to-table diner isn’t as far-flung as some of the others on this list, but it wholly deserves to be here. Wildly inventive degustations featuring produce from the restaurant's own Cardinia farm take place in a light-filled, spacious dining room. It also has a mood-lit wine bar for casual but no-less-inventive bar snacks and Victorian wines.
Restaurant
Restaurant St Lawrence
Named for the patron saint of cooks, this homey fine diner by a pair of Levantine Hill alumni champions produce from the Yarra Valley and pairs it with drops from the region’s top wineries. On the weekend, the low-lit dining room transforms into a sunny bakeshop selling cakes, tarts, cookies and more.
Restaurant
Little Picket
There are bowlo restaurants, and then there’s Little Picket. Set within a beautiful old weatherboard building, Lorne Bowling Club's in-house diner is helmed by a young Victorian chef who’s using local produce to create a menu of rustic, modern Australian dishes. Plus, nostalgic sweets from a by-the-slice buffet.
Restaurant
Chae
At this singular Korean restaurant, chef Jung Eun Chae cooks, cleans and serves for just six guests at a time – in the living room of her home. If you can score a hotly contested booking, expect a serene, wholesome meal underpinned by homemade ferments, including booze.
Restaurant
Hogget Kitchen
Enjoy some of Gippsland’s finest nose-to-tail dining in a spacious, award-winning restaurant that overlooks the Strzelecki Ranges. The menu champions local produce, house-smoked ethical meats and natural wines from across Victoria.
Restaurant
Marnong Estate
A small winery and historic homestead dating back to the 1800s, set against the backdrop of undulant green and yellow pastures. It’s just a 20-minute drive from Melbourne Airport, so time it well and drop by for a tasting before your flight (or right after you land).
Restaurant
Samesyn
This tiny Surf Coast diner rescues surplus food from landfill and presents it on an elegant, veg-forward menu designed to share. It’s also a hell of a lot of fun.
Restaurant
Chauncy
The set menu at this bucolic French bistro ebbs and flows with what’s available from the garden. Preface your lunch with a game of petanque and a glass of pastis outside.
Restaurant
Messmates
Two siblings and their partners are behind the next-gen diner set in a former church. The unfussy cooking shows off some of Gippsland’s finest produce. While the mood lighting and local wine list give off inner-city wine bar vibes.
Restaurant
Re’em
This 200-acre property has a slick Chinese-inspired restaurant with uninterrupted lake views. Lunch in the restaurant or stop by the cellar door for snacks. Or turn your day trip into a weekender and stay in one of its 16 luxe rooms.
Restaurant
Emerald City
This intimate, four-seat chef’s table is helmed by a top Yarra Valley chef. Come for a degustation of up to 16 courses starring hibachi-grilled dishes and a technicolour signature.
Restaurant
Barragunda Dining
Set on a regenerative farm on the 1000-acre Barragunda Estate, chef Simone Watts's diner focuses on reconnecting the local community to their food. And there's a dessert that pays tribute to pioneering chef Greg Malouf.
