Experience dining at its best

EAT AND DRINK

Located in the middle of western Victoria’s food belt, Ballarat and the Pyrenees are renowned for their plentiful produce and cool-climate wines. With the region’s leading eateries sourcing their products from local farmers and producers, you can be certain that a visit to Grayling’s Gift will result in a rich paddock-to-plate dining experience.

Cafes

1. Pyrenees Pantry, Beaufort.
   Locally owned and operated, Pyrenees Pantry brings together a wide selection of the region’s finest produce within a relaxed cafe atmosphere. Featuring a menu of delectable dishes and superb coffee, the café also houses giftware, hampers and local produce so you can find yourself and your loved ones a souvenir or two.
2. The Olive and Lavender Store, Avoca
   A family-owned business run from a charming yellow and purple shopfront, the Olive and Lavender Store will bring much warmth to your day, serving up coffee, lunch and a refreshment selection.
3. Webster’s Market and Café, Ballarat
   Located in one of Ballarat’s most coveted streets, Webster’s is definitely a local favourite. Providing customers with an elegant yet relaxed café experience, this eatery combines good coffee, local produce and wholesome, homemade fare.
4. Johnny Alloo, Ballarat
   Named after the owner of Ballarat’s first Chinese restaurant owners from the 1850s, Johnny Alloo serves up contemporary dishes within one of the city’s historic buildings. Laden with art-deco design, dining at Johnny is more than a culinary experience.
5. 1816 Bakehouse, Ballarat
   One of the city’s favourite bakeries, 1816 is known for its artisanal sourdough, delectable pastries and donuts, French baguettes and locally-roasted Hellbilly coffee. If you’re in need of breakfast on the run, or simply want to take some baked good back to home base, look no further.

Restaurants

1. Avoca Hotel, Avoca
   The award-winning Avoca Hotel is one of the Pyrenees’s most-loved restaurants when it comes to dishing up fresh, local produce. With a seasonally changing menu, weekly specials, and a bar menu that honours traditional pub fare with a modern twist, The Avoca has something for all tastes and budgets.
2. Mr Jones Dining, Ballarat
   Ideal for a romantic night out, Mr Jones specialises in contemporary Asian fare. The third restaurant of chefs Damien and Danielle Jones, this sleek, modern eatery brings together the Jones’s combined experience from a Michelin restaurant in London to their hatted restaurant in Ballarat.
3. Lola Restaurant, Ballarat
   Featuring a wholesome, European-inspired menu, Lola Restaurant is located in one of Ballarat’s most iconic buildings – The Provincial Hotel – and provides a dining experience sure to traverse your tastebuds across the seas
4. Moon and Mountain, Ballarat
   Another firm local favourite, Moon and Mountain prides itself on creating flavor-some, contemporary Asian cuisine. From dumplings to curries, bao buns to crispy chicken, this eatery is one to write home about.
5. Skinny Sisters, Beaufort
   If you decide to stay close to home, Skinny Sisters serves up a mean dine-in or takeaway menu of pizzas, burgers, and more, sourcing the freshest in locally-sourced produce. So throw on your loungewear, grab yourself a drink, and complete the evening with a scrumptious woodfired pizza.

Wineries

1. Blue Pyrenees Estate
   Established in 1963, Blue Pyrenees Estate was among the modern Australian wine industry’s first ventures into cool climate viticulture. 100 per cent Australian owned, the winery produces all its wines from grapes grown in its own vineyards, producing award-winning, world-class wines that are luxurious yet affordable.
2. Summerfield Winery
   Run by father-and-son team Ian and Mark Summerfield, Summerfield Wines has been forged through a passion for winemaking and the firm belief that wine should be enjoyed on any occasion with family and friends.
3. Dalwhinnie
   Growing grapes for more than four decades, Dalwhinnie is a fully mature vineyard, producing wines that are distinctive, elegant and full of complex fruit flavours. But it’s not just the wines that make this vineyard worth visiting. The winery itself exists as a natural amphitheatre with panoramic views of the stunning Pyrenees ranges.
4. Mitchell Harris
   A small yet thriving family-run winery, Mitchell Harris Cellar Door and Wine Bar has gained a loyal following in the Pyrenees and Ballarat over the last several years. With its wines finding their way into more restaurants, bars, stores and glasses across Australia, this winery prides itself on leaving a small footprint in winemaking and letting the fruit, the region and the vintage speak for themselves.
5. Taltarni
   Taltarni combines old-world traditions with innovative new-world techniques to produce a diverse range of high-calibre still wines and traditionally crafted sparklings. Boasting a diverse folio, you’re sure to discover the perfect wine to round off your holiday