Some people are often self-driving people, and some people prefer the temptation of overseas adventure. But after the past 18 months, none of us took the fun of packing up and heading to a new place for granted.
In Victoria, we don’t feel the same sense of distance as the rest of the country: even if you only have free time for a day or a weekend, you can explore our compact state.
But after spending so long on the streets we know ourselves, something tells us that in the next few weeks and months, luxurious long-distance road trips are possible. Here are the new attractions to add to your itinerary.
The newly opened bar of this Daylesford brewery combines a relaxed country pub atmosphere with clean lines and a soft late appearance, and has been popular with locals and tourists of all ages.
The bar table and rattan armchairs are perfect for one or two caravans (choose ale, beer, golden beer or port) or elderflower wine.
The stalls made up of pale pink concrete arches are the venue for long meetings and provide high-quality snacks: smoked cheddar cheese and potato tortillas, capers pork ribs or pickled green peppers hot-cooked lamb ribs.
The owners Dave Gill and Jessica Holmes have been planning this space for five years-we think they will be very happy to see you at the bar.
97 Vincent Street, Daylesford, daylesfordbrewingco.com.au
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Bright’s Reed & Co brewery has a new roast chicken restaurant, Koji Bird. Photo: Provided
This gin distillery in Bright is not new, but the owners Hamish Nugent and Rachel Reed (who also runs Tani Eat & Drink) are good at keeping us alert, whether it is their latest gin creation in collaboration with a local winemaker , Still very new Koji Bird, a chicken shop like never before.
After experimenting with koji (a Japanese cultivated mold used to make miso, soy sauce, and mirin) at a brewery, Nugent and Reid decided to use it extensively in a pop-up store in May. The feature is free-range The roast chicken, roast duck smoked red glue and so on. Koji Bird was born, and now, fortunately, it has become a permanent facility in the brewery.
All the birds are marinated with koji to add umami flavor and tenderize the meat, which can also be seen in other dishes, such as the lightly marinated golden trout from Harrietville with koji and buttermilk sauce. Equally smart is the chicken butty, a delicious snack of dehydrated chicken soup "chips" sandwiched between soft white bread.
You can choose to add a gin cocktail pairing, or you can take a tasting flight for a complete winery experience.
15 Wills Street, Bright, 0460 782 642, reedandcodistillery.com
Chris and Gabrielle Moore, the founders of Sailors Grave. Photo: Jessica Shapiro
The founders Chris and Gab Moore are known for their unique beer featuring local plants, so it makes sense that they added a bar with a unique imprint.
Behind their East Gippsland brewery in the former butter factory of Orbost, a refurbished container and 130 seats have been added, overlooking the paddock and snow river. As Gab Moore said, this is one of the most special attractions in town.
Try the complete Sailors Grave collection as well as William Downie wines and Gurneys cider, and don’t miss the tender lamb shoulder tacos made with Snow River black garlic (called black sheep) on the local Luke Gibson’s Vaya Taqueria truck.
7 Forest Road, Orbost, Sailorsgravebrewing.com
1915 is a new restaurant and bar in the Federal Mill District of Geelong. Photo: Monica Berry
Whether it was a stopover or a destination, the redevelopment of the Federal Mill in Geelong in 1915 was a dizzying itinerary.
The boiler room that was once a factory is now a huge restaurant, proudly wearing its industrial history. Vaulted ceilings, original brickwork and cobalt-blue metal frames, various stalls, bar counters and outdoor seating, all large and small snacks gather on the delightful menu of Andy Symeonakis (former Lorne Hotel).
Enjoy O'Connor porterhouse, fish and chips or wood-fired pizza in a safe place, or sample beef ribs with beetroot tzatziki.
The proximity to Anther, the gin distillery, means that cocktails are even better. Taste the local specialties of Singaporean Sling, infuse Tasmanian cherries with Anther gin, or explore the glass-door wine cellar assembled by Jeremy Shiell, mixing Geelong's name with French, Spanish and South Australian names.
33 Mackey Street, North Geelong, 0499 33 1915, 1915.com.au
Tiny Maldon is a brand new tavern that won’t look out of place in the smoke. It proudly serves local-style Italian gnocchi with Long Paddock’s semi-hard Banksia or Uncle’s Apple Tartine Cheese Sauce George’s in Harcourt Specially grown fruits.
Chef Cedric Bricnet from Lille and his partner Clare Shamier opened this restaurant last year after opening a series of successful pop-up stores in Castlemaine. Bricnet uses Goldfields ingredients within reach.
At Table et Terroir, pistachios and oceanic duck meat sauce, asparagus, Holy Goat's fresh tofu and local wine are mixed and matched. Macedonia is the furthest region on the list.
24 High Street, Maldon, 0460 946 391, table-et-terroir-maldon.square.site
Martha's table at Martha's Bay Pier. Photo: Jack Rodden
For those arriving by boat, there may be a private berth on the Martha’s table, but this safe beach place is not your typical nautical-themed coastal restaurant.
Of course, there are seafood, including smoked mussels and school prawn spaghetti made by chef Adam Beckett, or whole fish cooked on wood fire. But the restaurant feels like a large seaside hotel in Europe, with hexagonal tile floors, turquoise wood strips and elegant Art Deco style.
Yellowfin tuna on Masha's table. Photo: Jack Rodden
Beckett (last appeared in Lindendri at Red Mountain) has just joined and made grand plans for wood-fired grills and ovens, hoping to provide a loose Mediterranean menu that changes enough to bring regulars back, while always highlighting Peninsula producers, such as mushroom forestry, and local ingredients that he forages.
A grocery store has takeaway food and cabinets filled with cheese and cured meats as an aperitif.
5 Waterfront Place, Safety Beach, 03 9617 5377, marthastable.com.au
La Bimba in Apollo Bay became a bird house. Photo: Provided
If the unobstructed sea views extending to Cape Patton are not enough to attract you to this first-floor restaurant on the front bank of Apollo Bay, then maybe asado grills or local catches would be better.
Chef Gavin Rix and partner Nikki, who is responsible for the floor processing, turned La Bimba into a tropical space with double windows that open onto the leaves and coastal breeze.
Gavin moved from Adelaide to Apollo Bay 15 years ago, when he first worked at La Bimba and liked the space very much.
He pays tribute to its heritage in signature dishes such as paella, and also adds Portuguese seafood soup caprana or dry ribeye cooked with red chewing gum for dinner.
Breakfast includes Chook at the Rooke eggs and Genovese coffee, while lunch is somewhere in between.
Address: 125 Great Ocean Road, Apollo Bay, Tel: 03 5237 7411, birdhouseapollobay.com.au
Since COVID-19 has completely upended their world, event catering providers Matthieu and Erica Miller (Milkin Kitchen) have moved from snacks to takeaway containers to cooking for a complete restaurant. And Grace, a brand new smart all-day dining restaurant on the main street of Rutherglen, is a glimmer of hope for all of us.
Start the day with maple and bacon beans on Milawa cornbread, with coffee from the Albury roaster Platform 9. Later in the day, you might have empanadas filled with venison or goat tofu with spring vegetables and hazelnut piccata, followed by Humpty Doo barramundi with fregola and curry cauliflower.
If there is an opportunity for a picnic, you can stock up on French cheese, fennel seed salami, condiments, local wine and baked goods from the cafeteria.
84 Main Street, Rutherglen, 02 5017 0017, Milkinkitchen.com.au/grace
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The new Aireys Inlet restaurant The Gin Kitchen is adjacent to the winery’s tasting room, combining the bright flavors of Vietnam, Thailand and other regions with the local botanical ingredients of Great Ocean Road gin.
Chef Hoan Kiem Ho offers a series of familiar dishes, including Korean fried chicken (or cauliflower), charcoal grilled prawn rice paper rolls, pork belly and spiced quail, and red curry featuring Great Ocean Road Duck.
Walk through the garden to the tasting room next door to taste the unique gin of the owner Ann Houlihan, such as S.East Meets S.West, which is a blend of grapefruit, lemongrass and local coastal herbs found in the Surf Coast area. You may also choose Some G&Ts stay away from the happy hour canned and bottled cocktails at the family bar.
34 Great Ocean Road, Aireys Inlet, 03 5210 5705, greatoceanroadgin.com.au
Chef Mischa Tropp’s nomadic culinary project We Are Kerala is about to have a one-month lunch at Avani Wines in Red Hill, showcasing regional specialties from all over India.
This is not the first time a winery has experienced the exciting pop-up shop of an Indian chef: Helly Raichura of Enter Via Laundry recently used this restaurant as her mobile restaurant for a few weeks.
When Tropp is up and running, he will grill prawns and top with Bangladeshi curry Malakari, and mix besan chilla (vanilla and chickpea pancakes with chili speck from northern India) with whipped cream and Yarra Valley Pair with trout roe.
Uttapam is topped with whipped cream and Yarra Valley trout roe. Photo: Park Bryan
Inspired by a trip to several different regions of India in 2019, the chef intends to expand our knowledge of food (although he did provide a mean butter chicken through Elsie's With Love to help us get through the lockdown period). Paired with biodynamic farmed Chardonnay and Syrah from the Avani family, the acquisition of Tropp (November 19th to December 30th) heralded a good time.
98 Stanleys Road, Red Hill South, 0435 009 381, avanisyrah.com.au
December is the peak season for cherries in Victoria, why not go directly to the source and pick your own cherries? The Victorian Cherry Trail includes visits to eight cherry orchards in the Upper Goulburn Valley, Yarra Valley, Macedon Range and Mornington Peninsula, where you can pick or buy freshly picked cherries. Walk the whole trail or choose an area for exploration and lunch.
The orchard is open from November to January, cherries.org.au
Part of Castlemaine’s fabulous mill, a series of manufacturers, one-of-a-kind shops and artisan producers, this school is run by Alison Lansley and the highly respected cheese maker Ivan and Zhu of Long Paddock Cheese Lilacher recruited Christine Allen (who recently arrived in Victoria from Sydney) to teach the art of home cheese maker Labne, ricotta cheese, and fermented buttermilk from mid-December. Mark your calendar and keep following more courses.
December 15th, priced at $260, kristenallan.com.au
This year looks a little different, but this month (November 20-21), the spring celebrations in the Valley of the Kings and the new wines it brings will be held in selected wineries.
Dal Zotto will host an informal Prosecco party over the weekend with music from DJ Impede ($55, dalzotto.com.au), while Politini will provide Sicilian lunch in the garden (ticket $15, extra food, politiniwines) .com.au) and La Cantina will set up market stalls, offering Italian cuisine and homemade food, and offering wine tastings (admission fee is $10, lacantinakingvalley.com.au).
Check winesofthekingvalley.com.au for the latest information
At the annual Yarra Valley celebration of pink wine in various forms, drink rosé wine on the picnic carpet among the vines, ride a hot air balloon or in your own private igloo.
Soumah is making a pink fizz with Italian Merenda (afternoon snack), Denton brings Izakaya Den to the valley to launch a new nebbiolo rosé wine, and Giant Steps is setting up a courtyard oyster bar.
November 20-28, wineyaravalley.com.au
After the fire broke out in June 2020 and the restaurant and cellar doors of this Yarra Valley winery were completely rebuilt, chefs Grant Flack and Beth Candy are preparing to open their doors to diners on December 9.
Flack and Candy will showcase the Who's Who of local producers, including Yarra Valley Dairy and Buxton Trout, whose dishes reflect the influence of the Middle East, Italy, France and Spain, and are embellished with local Australian flavors. balgownie.com
By December, after 9 months of renovations, including the former bar, bistro, hotel rooms and outdoor dining area, people will be able to enjoy pots and pizzas in the beer garden of this seaside bar again.
Chef Richard Hall (former transport and transit bar) has just joined and will showcase local seafood as well as exquisite bar food and Bellarine wines.
Indoor dining and accommodation will open in January. portarlingtongrandhotel.com.au