Six new Ballarat restaurants to watch out for this spring

A new fine diner, sandwich bar and winery restaurant where you can bring the kids are new additions to Ballarat’s booming food and wine scene.

Spring has sprung and Ballarat is booming with new restaurants.

A degustation diner and casual winery kitchen have opened in the mining town in the past few weeks, with more on the way as we defrost from the winter chill.

Since the Herald Sun revealed Derek Boath was moving his tiny fine diner Underbar to the new Hotel Vera development, a slightly more affordable degustation restaurant Peasant has popped up on Lydiard St North.

Led by Doug Kerr(Ezard, London’s Embassy) in the kitchen and maitre’dDan Tesorieroon the floor, the 50-seater follows on from the duo’s Carlton North eatery Billy Boy Blue, which they ran from 2015 to 2017.

“We were wasting a lot of food and I didn’t want to see that happening anymore,” Tesoriero said.

Pat’s Sandwiches will open down a laneway in Ballarat in early October.

Peasant is a new five-course degustation restaurant in Ballarat.

“We’ve looked at how we could better produce what Doug does in a way where we wouldn’t lose so much.”

This means Peasant’s $110-a-person, five-course menu changes weekly, inspired by what’s local and fresh, drawing influence from their European roots with a French, Dutch and German focus.

But this new waste-saving concept means diners may be in store for a few menu surprises.

“Last week we had coq au vin with local mushrooms and beef carpaccio, which isn’t unfamiliar, but we also do push the boundaries with fried chicken liver, crispy pigs’ ears, sweetbreads and poussin,” Tesoriero said.

A few blocks away Thom Mitchell(of Ballarat’s Fika) and bartending mateJonny Driver will open Pat’s, a laneway sandwich bar housed in a shipping container, early next month.

Mitchell is excited about bringing something new to his home town after moving back to the ’Rat.

“Melbourne is so saturated with places, and when I came back I noticed things that were missing from Ballarat – mainly a good, fresh, fast takeaway place,” he said.

Pat’s will sell a mix of five to six fresh sandwiches, with toasties and hot sandwiches on the horizon.

Most of Wayward’s food is cooked in the woodfire oven.

Wayward Winery opened in August.

“There’ll be fresh mortadella sandwiches and lots of cold cut meats with pickles,” he said.

Meats will be supplied by Mick Nunn’s Salt Kitchen, bread from 1816 and espresso and filter coffee by Proud Mary.

Meanwhile, Teddyand Louis Powlett – the powerhouse team behind Ballarat favourites Moon and Mountain, Renard and Ragazzone – have taken on their next project.

They’ve bought the old Quin Hill Winery and turned it into Wayward – a thriving, family-friendly restaurant with a heaving woodfire oven.

“I had a special connection with the winery. I grew up in Learmonth and we used to come here for special occasions,” Teddy said.

“The previous owners approached me just before Covid about taking it on, as they wanted someone who would continue ... to develop (the property) the way they had envisioned.”

Liam Downes oversees the menu, which includes chargrilled eggplant empanadas, flame-kissed chicken with pickled onion and toum, and a selection of pizzas.

The site also includes a cellar door and 14 acres of shiraz, chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot grigio under vine, which will be turned into wine by Leigh Clarnette and sold under their new W. O. W (Wine of Wayward) label.

Luxury accommodation will open at the site later in the year.

But that’s not all for the Powlett’s this year, Teddy and Ragazzone business partner Drew Harry plan to open Earl’s Deli in late September.