The Best Daylesford Restaurants for Every Foodie’s Bucket List

From lavish lunches to a true farm-to-table experience, these top restaurants highlight Daylesford’s burgeoning dining scene.

In Victoria’s stunning spa country, there are endless incredible things to do in Daylesford, including indulging in its renowned dining scene. With a focus on fresh, locally sourced produce, many restaurants boast their own kitchen gardens or partner with nearby farms to create seasonal line-ups bursting with flavour.

Whether you’re seeking a lavish lunch with breathtaking vistas, a modern twist on pub classics, or an Asian-fusion degustation experience, Daylesford has firmly established itself as a haven for food lovers. Here’s a round-up of some of the best restaurants to explore during your visit.

The shortlist

Fine Dining Gem: Lake House Restaurant
Best Date Spot: Sault Restaurant
Best Farm-to-Table: Du Fermier

Lake House Restaurant

Overlooking the tranquil waters of Lake Daylesford, Lake House Restaurant exudes sophistication and serenity, under the leadership of Alla Wolf-Tasker AM. The multi-course fare is crafted from the finest Australian ingredients, much of which comes directly from their nearby Dairy Flat Farm (think: lemon thyme gnocchi with pine mushrooms, broad beans, and brown butter). Guests can opt for an additional farm tour, deepening the connection to your meal.

For a complete escape, indulge in rejuvenating treatments at the onsite spa—one of Daylesford’s top things to do. Better yet, extend your visit by staying in the venue’s luxurious accommodation, surrounded by peaceful nature.

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Average price: $$$$$

Atmosphere: Refined

Review: 4/5

Location: 2 Leggatt Street, Daylesford

Kadota Restaurant

a Japanese meal at Kadota, Daylesford — Each meal is served in a traditional Kaiseki style.

Blending Japanese precision with local flavours, Kadota Restaurant exemplifies the Japanese concept of omotenashi—offering honest service and food. Helmed by Chef Aaron Schembri and Front of House Director Risa Kadota, Kadota beautifully reflects Aaron’s Daylesford roots and Risa’s Japanese heritage. The restaurant curates an intimate dining affair that combines the best of both worlds.

Kadota’s menu features traditional kaiseki-style dining, with six-course classic and seven-course luxury dinner options. A reduced five-course selection is also available for lunch, with add-ons, sake pairings, and curated beverages to enhance the experience.

Cuisine: Japanese Cuisine

Average price: $$$$$

Atmosphere: Refined

Review: 5/5

Location: 1 Camp Street, Daylesford

Sault Restaurant

Framed by gorgeous fields of flowers, Sault Restaurant delivers an exquisite culinary journey with its expansive bay windows framing sweeping views of the countryside. Its refined modern Australian menu evolves with each harvest, showcasing regional produce, much of which comes straight from the restaurant’s own kitchen garden, including herbs, vegetables and trout smoked on site.

Guests can indulge in three to four courses, or opt for the impressive seven-course tasting, complete with wine pairings. Each beautifully plated dish is a feast for the eyes and perfect for capturing an Instagram-worthy moment.

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Average price: $$$$-$$$$$

Atmosphere: Refined

Review: 5/5

Location: 2349 Ballan-Daylesford Road, Sailors Falls

Farmers Arms Hotel

Steeped in history and charm, the Farmers Arms Hotel is Daylesford’s oldest pub, serving locals and travellers alike since 1857. Whether you’re stopping by for a quick drink or settling in for a hearty meal, this revamped heritage-rich venue welcomes you in with vintage features and a warming fireplace—adding to the pub’s comfort and camaraderie.

The seasonal menu offers a creative take on classic pub fare. Signature favourites include the duck sausage with mash or the porterhouse steak with shoestring fries and Cafe de Paris butter. Pair your meal with one of their curated local wines or craft beers.

Cuisine: Classic Pub

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Casual

Review: 4/5

Location: 1 East Street, Daylesford

Bistro Terroir

Bringing a touch of French flair to Daylesford, Bistro Terroir is an intimate neighbourhood gem helmed by Michelin-trained Chef Matthew Carnell. With its moody interiors and a tucked-away courtyard, it offers an inviting space for a relaxed yet elegant dining experience. The menu highlights classic French dishes like duck liver parfait and steak frites, with a focus on in season ingredients and rotating mains.

To elevate your meal, pair it with a selection from their expertly curated wine list, featuring bottles from Victoria and France, perfectly complementing the French-inspired cuisine.

Cuisine: French Cuisine

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Moody

Review: 5/5

Location: 6/8 Howe Street, Daylesford

Boathouse Restaurant

Perched on the banks of Lake Daylesford, the Boathouse Restaurant offers a serene and sophisticated gourmet indulgence with stunning water views from every seat. Whether you’re enjoying lunch or dinner, the venue’s warm indoor space is ideal for cosy winter meals, while the outdoor deck becomes a sun-soaked haven during the warmer months.

Diners can choose from two to four-course dining options, with complimentary dinner rolls and an amuse-bouche on arrival. Dishes include the likes of pork tenderloin with tiger prawn, dutch carrot, potato gratin, and garlic white wine sauce.

For a special touch, their in-house sommelier is on hand to help pair your meal with the perfect wine.

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Average price: $$$$

Atmosphere: Casual

Review: 4/5

Location: 1 East Street, Daylesford

Jackie’s on Vincent

Far from your typical local Chinese restaurant, Jackie’s on Vincent brings a unique fusion of Asian and Western flavours to Daylesford, reflecting Chef Jackie’s Chinese heritage and Australian culinary influences. The cosy, intimate setting, paired with dishes made from fresh, locally sourced ingredients, creates an inviting, homely vibe that keeps diners coming back for more.

Situated on Vincent Street, this well-loved spot is ideal for a delicious meal (think: tempura honey king prawns and scallop and shiitake wontons) followed by a relaxing stroll through Daylesford’s picturesque town centre.

Cuisine: Asian Fusion

Average price: $$

Atmosphere: Casual

Review: 5/5

Location: 1/123 Vincent Street, Daylesford

Du Fermier

Tucked away in Daylesford’s neighbouring town of Trentham, Du Fermier offers a flavourful exploration akin to enjoying a meal in someone’s home. With its cosy, French farmhouse-style ambience, this beloved restaurant is helmed by Chef Annie Smithers, who crafts produce-driven dishes using ingredients harvested from her own garden.

Without a set menu, diners are treated to a surprise multi-course meal, often featuring local meats, fresh vegetables, and classic French flavours. With only a few service days each week, it’s wise to book ahead to secure a spot. Opt for the matched wines for an extra indulgent touch, and be sure to visit during the spring and summer months when the kitchen garden is in full bloom.

Cuisine: French Cuisine

Average price: $$$$$

Atmosphere: Rustic

Review: 5/5

Location: 42 High Street, Trentham

Victoria’s ‘mussel capital’ is the source of exceptional shellfish used by top chefs far and wide. Step aboard a beautifully refurbished trawler to see how these plump and juicy bivalves are sustainably cultivated.

A curtain is slowly winched from the placid, teal waters just off Portarlington , like a floating garland beside our boat. The ropes heave with blue mussels, the star attraction of our tour. But as we reach to pluck our own, it’s quickly clear they’re not alone; a mass of weird and wonderful creatures has colonised the ropes, turning them into a living tapestry. ‘Fairy’ oysters, jelly-like sea squirts, and tiny, wriggling skeleton shrimp all inhabit this underwater ecosystem.

We prize our bivalve bounty from the ropes, and minutes later the mussels arrive split on a platter. The plump orange morsels are served raw, ready to be spritzed with wedges of lemon and a lick of chilli as we gaze out over the bay. They’re briny, tender and faintly sweet. “This wasn’t originally part of the tour,” explains Connie Trathen, who doubles as the boat’s cook, deckhand and guide. “But a chef [who came onboard] wanted to taste the mussels raw first, and it’s now become one of the key features.”

A humble trawler turned Hamptons-style dreamboat

inspecting bivalve bounty from the ropes — Inspecting the bounty. (Image: Visit Victoria/Hannyn Shiggins)

It’s a crisp, calm winter’s day, and the sun is pouring down upon Valerie, a restored Huon pine workhorse that was first launched in January 1980. In a previous life she trawled the turbulent Bass Strait. These days she takes jaunts into Port Phillip Bay under the helm of Lance Wiffen, a fourth-generation Bellarine farmer, and the owner of Portarlington Mussel Tours . While Lance has been involved in the fishing industry for 30-plus years, the company’s tour boat only debuted in 2023.

holding Portarlington mussels — See how these plump and juicy bivalves are sustainably cultivated.

It took more than three years to transform the former shark trawler into a dreamy, Hamptons-esque vessel, with little expense spared. Think muted green suede banquettes, white-washed walls, Breton-striped bench cushions, hardwood tables, bouquets of homegrown dahlias, and woollen blankets sourced from Waverley Mills, Australia’s oldest working textile mill. It’s intimate, too, welcoming 12 guests at most. And yet there’s nothing pretentious about the experience – just warm, down-to-earth Aussie hospitality.

As we cruise out, we crack open a bottle of local bubbles and nibble on the most beautifully curated cheese platter, adorned with seashells and grey saltbush picked from the water’s edge that very morning. Australasian gannets soar overhead, and I’m told it’s not uncommon for guests to spot the odd seal, pod of dolphins, or even the occasional little penguin.

The sustainable secret behind Victoria’s best mussels

blue mussels off Portarlington — Blue mussels sourced just off Portarlington.

Connie and Lance both extol the virtues of mussels. They’re delicious. A lean source of protein and packed with omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B12, iron, selenium, and zinc. They’re cooked in a flash (Connie steams our fresh harvest with cider and onion jam). And they’re also widely regarded as one of the most sustainable foods in the world.

Portarlington mussels with lemon and chilli — Mussels served with lemon and chilli.

“Aquaculture is [often] seen as destructive, so a lot of our guests are really surprised about how environmentally friendly and sustainable our industry is,” Lance says. “[Our mussels] would filter 1.4 billion litres of water a day,” he adds, explaining how mussels remove excess nitrogen and phosphorus from the water. “And through biomineralisation, we lock carbon into mussel shells.”

a hand holding a Portarlington mussel — Mussels are a sustainable food.

Despite their glowing list of accolades, these molluscs have long been seen as the oysters’ poorer cousins. “It was a really slow start,” explains Lance, who says that in the early days of his career, “you could not sell mussels in Victoria”.

But word has slowly caught on. Chefs as globally acclaimed as Attica’s Ben Shewry and even René Redzepi of Noma, Denmark, have travelled to these very waters just to try the shellfish at the source, sharing only the highest praise, and using Lance’s mussels in their restaurants.

guests sampling Portarlington mussels onboard — Sampling the goods onboard. (Image: Visit Victoria/Hannyn Shiggins)

According to Lance there’s one obvious reason why the cool depths of Portarlington outshine other locations for mussel farming. “The water quality is second to none,” he says, noting how other regions are frequently rocked by harvest closures due to poor water quality. “We grow, without a doubt, some of the best shellfish in the world.” And with Lance’s bold claims backed up by some of the industry’s greatest names, perhaps it won’t be much longer until more Aussies uncover the appeal of Portarlington’s mussels.

Top Daylesford restaurants for every foodie’s bucket list

From lavish lunches to a true farm-to-table experience, these top restaurants highlight Daylesford’s burgeoning dining scene.

The shortlist

Lake House Restaurant

Kadota Restaurant

Sault Restaurant

Farmers Arms Hotel

Bistro Terroir

Boathouse Restaurant

Jackie’s on Vincent

Du Fermier

8 incredible hikes just outside of Melbourne

The Macedon Ranges is Victoria’s best-kept food and wine secret

Hepburn Bathhouse reopens with new mineral baths and experiences

The best Daylesford accommodation for a perfect weekend getaway

This luxe trawler tour is redefining Victoria’s seafood experience

Victoria’s ‘mussel capital’ is the source of exceptional shellfish used by top chefs far and wide. Step aboard a beautifully refurbished trawler to see how these plump and juicy bivalves are sustainably cultivated.

A humble trawler turned Hamptons-style dreamboat

The sustainable secret behind Victoria’s best mussels