Best places to eat and drink in Victoria
You don’t have to hit the wineries to eat well on the Mornington Peninsula. This small but perfectly formed newcomer offers a procession of perfectly pretty plates that are among the best in the region.
Eating Out
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Whether it’s burger joint B.East branching out, cool craft beers in the country at the Holgate Hotel or the perfect Mornington Peninsula meal at newcomer Moke, Herald Sun food editor Dan Stock lists the best spots to eat and drink this weekend around Melbourne and Victoria.
FOR THE PERFECT PENINSULA MEAL
Current Australian Professional Chef of the Year, Australia’s representative in last year’s Bocuse d’Or global culinary competition and longtime Flinders Hotel chef, Michael Cole has struck out on his own around the corner.
At Moke, he’s taken over the old Flinders Bakehouse site and transformed it into a gorgeously simple country/beach chic dining room, where he’s serving an ever-changing set menu of Peninsula produce across multiple courses.
While Michael’s in the kitchen – jumping out from behind the pass with the odd course or two – wife Alex runs the floor with effortless charm, the duo a formidable double act delivering an experience that is approachable and exciting, considered and innovative and generous. And very, very delicious.
A few bites are super-quick to hit the table: perhaps a large cheesy lavosh covered in shaved Main Ridge goat’s cheese; maybe a chicken skin-cracker topped with daubs of thickened goat’s milk and avocado.
There’s warm, dense Flinders Sourdough to dip in grassy Cape Schanck olive oil that you’ll need to wipe the bowl if the “whipped egg” with beef tartare is on the menu.
It’s a cracker.
More pretty plates of Peninsula produce keep arriving until a finale that might be the simple delights of perfectly ripe mango and sorbet enlivened with finger lime.
At $75 a head, Moke is fantastic value.
The small wine list is an equally keen celebration of lesser-known Mornington labels (Circe from Shoreham; Brothers McLean from Somers) around the $12 glass/$60 bottle price point augmented by a cellar of judiciously chosen interest from around the corner and globe.
Small but perfectly formed and offering interest and elegance on the Peninsula rarely seen outside of (and often not even in) a winery, Moke is as enjoyable as they come. Make tracks.
Moke, 60 Cook St, Flinders. mokedining.com.au
FOR CRAFTIES IN THE COUNTY
IPA and EXPA, American Pale and German Kolsch and French farmhouse.
Drinkers are becoming increasingly fluent in beer styles thanks to our booming craft scene but when Paul and Natasha Holgate brewed their first beer in October 1999, Victoria’s beer drinkers were used to far less exotic fare.
But now, 20 years on, their Holgate beers are so popular they’ve had to expand their Holgate Hotel brewpub operations in Woodend and have recently opened a new tap room and visitor experience to go with a their new brewery out back.
The new modern building complements the original hotel, and the new brewery will enable capacity to increase five-fold, for both on- and off-premise sales.
In the new tap room 16 beers are on offer, with a core range of six (including a lager, pale ale, American IPA and a sour beer) augmented with a changing line up of seasonal and batch brews.
A range of tasting platters complement the beers in the tap room that has indoor and outdoor seating for about 100 people.
With its dozen taps pouring the signature beers, the hotel continues to offer its popular pub-style meals at the bar and restaurant.
Holgate Hotel, 79 High St, Woodend. holgatebrewhouse.com
FOR A BURGER WITH BITE
It was one of the first to ride Melbourne’s burger wave, and, unlike many bigger names which have come and since gone, Brunswick East’s B.East is still going strong.
And this week the B.East became two, getting a sister venue – B.East of Brunswick St - which has taken over the double-storey corner site that was the worthy-but-short lived plant-based fast-food joint Henry’s.
Promising the same burgers, bands and booze of the Lygon St original, the new Fitzroy incarnation will still have vegans in its sights, with B.East meat-free burgers long-loved of northside’s plant-first peoples.
But it’s their double-patty filthy beast – with fiery chilli paste and jalapeno aioli along with pickles, lettuce, tomato and Jack cheddar – that’s sure to light up the Brunswick St night.
B.East Brunswick St, 275 Brunswick St, Fitzroy. theb-east.com
FOR NORTHSIDE NOSH
A former shoe factory has been turned into Preston’s newest eat-drink hotspot.
Northside Food Hall is a communal market of food-and-drink kiosks that serve a communal eating area for 275 people.
Tenants include Ric’s Hamburgers serving wood-fired burgers, low-and-slow smoked meats come from Fat Ram BBQ, with Oscar’s Fried Chicken ticking off Nashville, Korean and Southern fried chook.
Choi Boys serve up san choi bao, dumplings and fresh oysters while Gelato Central looks after the sweet side of the ledger. Bar North takes care of the drinks with a fridge filled with cool crafties and on-trend wines.
With live entertainment on weekends and weekday happy hours featuring bang-on bargains and northside noshing just got a hall pass to good times.
Northside Food Hall, 39 High St, Preston. northsidefoodhall.com.au