Victoria’s regional towns once lost their most promising hospitality talent to the bright lights of Melbourne. But there’s a correction under way – some of our best chefs are now found in the country.

Which means that some of the most exciting recommendations in the forthcoming Age Good Food Guide 2025 are for restaurants that ask diners to clock up a few kilometres on the road.

But whether you’ve travelled to Rutherglen or Red Hill, the reward is obvious once you sit down. Genuinely warm service, ambitious menus from low-waste to high-concept, and ingredients often grown right outside the kitchen (or close by) define many of these venues.

In the past five years, the number of hatted regional restaurants has almost doubled, from 24 in 2019 to 46 in the last edition.

The number of award-winners from regional Victoria is also growing. Last year, for example, Bar Merenda in Daylesford won Bar of the Year, a category normally dominated by Melbourne venues.

Many pundits trace the excellence of regional dining to pioneering Daylesford fine-diner Lake House, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. Farm-to-table cooking, destination dining, sustainable practices, kitchen gardens, and a chic yet arcadian look are hallmarks of today’s top regional restaurants. All these characteristics have long been part of Lake House’s DNA.

Founded by Alla Wolf-Tasker and her late husband Allan, Lake House is one of five finalists for The Age Good Food Guide 2025’s Regional Restaurant of the Year award. To get even more out of your visit to these road-trip-worthy restaurants, we’ve suggested casual spots nearby, from cosy cafes to well-stocked delicatessens.

Vittoria Coffee Regional Restaurant of the Year finalists

Bar Midland, Castlemaine

In a charming deco dining room – a timber-panelled sliver of a former
temperance hotel – Bar Midland is intent on showing you a good time. Over flames and coal in a tiny open kitchen, the team conjures umami-ful bites, using ethical produce and drinks sourced only from Victoria.

Shop 1, 2 Templeton Street, Castlemaine, barmidland.com

While you’re there:

There’s just one month left to catch roving Ratbag Food and Wine in the grand surrounds of Temperance House hotel. The rustic Euro menu changes often, but you should definitely begin with focaccia and an Italian cocktail, and you should definitely book.
68 Mostyn Street, Castlemaine, ratbagfoodandwine.com.au

Couple Phi Ly and Mary Macintyre run a tight operation at Super Hero banh mi shop. They have to, so popular are their rolls, bowls and bao. The couple grow herbs, citrus and other veg for the menu, and their fruit is used in each day’s sweet treats (perhaps brown-butter and raspberry tartlets), all baked by Macintyre. Pre-ordering is recommended.
12 Hargraves Street, Castlemaine, superherobanhmi.com

Lake House, Daylesford

Four decades ago, Lake House’s culinary director, Alla Wolf-Tasker, pioneered the hyper-seasonal, ultra-local movement, and today her handle on all things home-grown is as impressive as ever. These days, much of the produce comes from the restaurant’s nearby 15-hectare farm, and plays well with lake views from the recently refreshed dining room.

4 King Street, Daylesford, lakehouse.com.au

While you’re there:

There’s fresh energy coursing through The Daylesford Hotel, now in the hands of the Cliffy’s Emporium team. Former Merricote and Quay chef Rob Kabboord’s menus for the public bar and bistro tick plenty of boxes. Find pub favourites such as beer-battered fish and chips, Euro plates, and universally loved items such as club sandwiches.
2 Burke Square, Daylesford, daylesfordhotel.com.au

The gold standard for regional cafes might be cosy Pancho. Staff cheerily handle the weekend crowds while ferrying kimchi and cheddar omelettes and salmon gravlax to tables. The cheese and salad roll is one of many dishes showcasing ingredients from local growers.
117 Vincent Street, Daylesford, panchocafe.com

Messmates, Warragul

To elevate a regional shopping strip to destination status is no mean feat, but Messmates has done just that. Exceptional service redefines country hospitality, from the bright greeting to the wooden wine boxes overturned to hold handbags. And restrained plates are calmly consigned from the terrazzo-topped kitchen-island pass.

15 Palmerston Street, Warragul, messmatesdining.com

While you’re there:

Don’t plan a picnic or holiday house meal without a stop at Stella’s Pantry. Shelves are crammed with Mount Zero olive oil, fancy hot sauces and even fancier potato chips. International and Gippsland cheeses are cut to order, as is charcuterie. The take-home lasagnes are bestsellers, and, if you’re just looking for lunch, there are house-made sausage rolls and St Ali coffee.
5/12 Victoria Street, Warragul, stellaspantry.com.au

Open seven days, Main Street Cafe is a home away from home, serving classic cafe breakfasts, steak sandwiches, salads, home-style baked beans and more. Coffee is top-notch, and the space is light and bright.
2/43 Smith Street, Warragul, mainstreetcafe.com.au

Re’em, Gruyere

In a sea of same-same winery restaurants, Re’em in the Yarra Valley is shaking things up. Menus weave in elements honouring the Chinese heritage of owners Joey Zeng and Helen Xu, as well as head chef Abe Yang’s Korean background, in dishes such as buckwheat dumplings in mushroom ragu laced with
doubanjiang, the Sichuanese spicy fermented bean paste.

12-14 Spring Lane, Gruyere, helenandjoeyestate.com.au

While you’re there:

It’d be hard to find a more quintessentially Aussie pub than the Launching Place Home Hotel (2170 Warburton Highway, Launching Place). It’s got wide verandahs out front, a lush beer garden and even a place to tie up your horse. Food is more far-reaching, with halloumi fries, mussels in green sambal-spiked broth, and the usual suspects like parmas. launchingplacehomehotel.com.au

Browse the rich bries and snowy goat’s cheeses of Yarra Valley Dairy (70 McMeikans Road, Yering) right where the animals were milked 100 years ago. The refurbished milking shed is an essential stop to stock the Airbnb fridge, and the cafe serving cheeseboards and Yarra Valley wines is an easy lunch option for road-trippers. yvd.com.au

Samesyn, Torquay

Samesyn spent much of last year closed while owner-chef Graham Jefferies transformed it into a for-purpose enterprise that gives profits to a local charity, cooks with rejected imperfect produce, and aims for a zero-waste kitchen. The mission may be marvellous, but is the food any good? It’s better.

Shop 3, 24 Bell Street, Torquay, samesyn.com.au

While you’re there:

Mortadeli and its neighbouring pasta bar cover just about every mood and moment. Slide into a coffee-coloured booth for house-made pasta from Thursday to Sunday, or rock up any day of the week for great Everyday coffee, hefty sandwiches and hot pastizzi, the savoury Maltese pastry, to snack on while you browse the shelves for holiday-house supplies.
Shop 8/4-6 Gilbert Street, Torquay, mortadeli.com.au

You’ll need to drive 15 minutes further down the coast, but one bite of Fish by Moonlite’s palm-sized potato cakes confirms this place is worth a detour. Local catch is grilled or fried, supported by a daily salad big on crunch and herbs, the requisite chips and dimmies, and, of course, a potato cake (or two).
Shop 4, Anglesea Shopping village, 87/89 Great Ocean Road, Anglesea, fishbymoonlite.com.au

The winners of The Age Good Food Guide 2025 Awards will be announced on November 18, presented by Vittoria Coffee and Oceania Cruises. The Age Good Food Guide 2025 will be on sale from November 19.