Best Restaurants in Ballarat | Local Food Guide

Ballarat's food scene combines the heritage of the goldfields era (the extraordinary civic investment in the 1850s-1870s created the grand public buildings, parks, and civic infrastructure that now host some of Ballarat's finest restaurants and cafes) with the contemporary influence of Melbourne food culture (Ballarat is 70 minutes from Melbourne by V/Line train, and the city has absorbed significant Melbourne food influence over the past two decades). The result is a regional food scene that offers more genuine culinary interest than its Victorian counterpart cities of Bendigo, Wodonga, and Shepparton.

Armstrong Street and the Ballarat Food Precinct — Armstrong Street (Ballarat's main restaurant and hospitality street, running north from Bridge Mall through the city's most active commercial precinct) and the surrounding streets (Sturt Street, the broad tree-lined main boulevard, and the side streets off Armstrong) contain Ballarat's finest concentration of restaurants, cafes, and wine bars: the Mitchell Harris Wine Bar (one of regional Victoria's finest wine bars, with outstanding natural and minimal-intervention wine selections and excellent food), the Forge Pizzeria (Ballarat's most beloved pizza institution), and the growing number of excellent breakfast and brunch cafes create a food precinct that rewards a full day's exploration.

Daylesford and the Macedon Ranges Day Trip — Daylesford (50km north-east of Ballarat, in the Hepburn Springs mineral water region) provides one of Victoria's finest day-trip food and wine experiences from Ballarat: the Daylesford Sunday Market (one of Victoria's finest artisan and produce markets), the Lake House restaurant (one of Victoria's most acclaimed regional restaurants, with outstanding local produce and an extraordinary wine cellar), the Hepburn Springs mineral baths and spa culture, and the extraordinary Macedon Ranges wine country (immediately north of Daylesford) create an outstanding food and wellness day trip from Ballarat.

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