11 of the best Bendigo pubs and bars to let your hair down at

Chloe Cann Chloe Cann
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Cheers Central Victoria’s remarkable gold rush heritage with a solid session at the most rocking Bendigo pubs and bars.

Contemporary draws readily lurk among Bendigo’s historic streets, and chief among them, arguably, is its captivating cocktail o’clock scene. From grand old pubs restored to their former glory, to basement dive bars, sun-licked beer gardens, rooftop cocktail bars and piano bars with drag queen hosts, parties kick on right across town. Here, we collate the best Bendigo pubs and bars for your go-all-night amusement after a day of exploring the city.

1. The Dispensary Bar & Diner

a bartender pouring tap beer into a glass at The Dispensary Bar & Diner, Bendigo
The Dispensary Bar & Diner pours top-notch beer. (Image: The Dispensary Bar & Diner)

You’re a fair way from Melbourne but Victoria’s laneway life is alive and kicking in Bendigo, home to The Dispensary Bar & Diner. Complete with artistic murals, fairy lights, outdoor heaters (thank goodness) and local homebrew, this Bendigo bar is about as quintessential-culture capital as they come in Central Victoria. If it’s a super special occasion, an extensive champagne list, where a 1996 Cristal has been known to frequent and sparkling wines also show face, will sort you. Otherwise, there’s signature cocktails, excellent wines, all the spirits and a load of beers to choose from. Sensible patrons will also line their stomachs with picks from the food menu, which offers a $56 Lucky Seven selection of Modern Australian dishes, as well as a $79 Dispensary Experience set menu curated entirely by the expert team.

2. Wine Bank On View

a look inside Wine Bank On View bar in Bendigo
The dimly lit heritage-style bar is housed in a former bank. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Stellar drops served inside the heritage-listed walls of a former bank? Sign us up for vino and bites at Wine Bank On View, a Bendigo bar built in 1876. The space also serves as a wine merchant, so it’s where you go to grab the really special stuff, but stick around to knock back quality vintages from the likes of Heathcote’s Jasper Hill, Western Australia’s Cullen Wines and Mount Langi Ghiran in the Grampians, on site. There’s also a lovely menu of main meals to wash your vino down with, plus Wednesday ushers in regular wine tastings with a rotation of weekly features.

3. The Social

alfresco setting at The Social Bendigo
The Social Bendigo is a prime setting for a relaxed afternoon. (Image: Supplied)

Pick your poison from more than 400 spirits at The Social, a Bendigo bar and eatery located in the middle of town opposite Rosalind Park. Too early for the hard stuff? 12 tap beers, a host of cocktails and a tight edit of local wines will edge you in gently. If you’re visiting on a Saturday, launch your festivities from midday when a bottomless brunch, which includes food, swings into gear. You’ll also find a large food menu on hand, inspired by Asian flavours, like house made dumplings, Karaage chicken bao buns and Thai pork skewers designed to generously share.

4. GPO Bar & Restaurant

GPO Bar & Restaurant
Indulge in Modern Australian bites paired with elevated cocktails.

A local’s haunt shaking up some of the most smashable cocktails in town, GPO Bar & Restaurant is always on fire. Festoon lights hang from the ceilings as dim mood lighting sets a slick adults-only scene while various nooks and alcoves provide plenty of opportunity for intimate catchups. All your classic tipples are on the menu, some even laced with rainbow-hued confectionery, while local craft beers and wines also do the job. When hunger strikes, share plates like stone-baked pizzas, tapas and giant paella pans provide mouth-watering fixes. These guys also love a boozy bottomless brunch, rolling out a $69 deal every Saturday and Sunday from 12pm.

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5. Rifle Brigade Hotel

empty stools at the timber bar of Rifle Brigade Hotel, Bendigo
Rifle Brigade Hotel offers a warm welcome to visitors and a taste of local heritage. (Image: Rifle Brigade Hotel)

Every city needs a failsafe pub where you can return again and again, safe in the knowledge you’ll eat well, drink well, and enjoy the setting. Rifle Brigade Hotel is Bendigo’s go-to. A Victorian-era boozer that occupies a sizable corner block, there’s nothing ground-breaking about this spot, known by locals as the ‘Gun Club’, but that’s all part of the charm. On the food menu, you’ll find standard pub fare (think burgers, pizzas, steak and seafood), while the drinks menu pays homage to Victoria’s wine scene. There are several spaces to choose between depending on your mood (and the weather), from the sizable courtyard at its rear to one of the tables spilling out onto the pavement out the front. Or just pull up a stool at the beautifully worn timber bar.

6. Handle Bar

the interior of Handle Bar with festoon lighting
Enjoy drinks al fresco at this laidback Bendigo hot spot. (Image: Handle Bar)

When the sun’s out, there are few better spots in the city to idle with a drink in hand than Handle Bar. The main calling card at this rustic, laidback Bendigo bar is its sizable, string-light-festooned backyard. Featuring a mishmash of astroturf, and brick and timber flooring, the piecemeal beer garden is a charming spot for sundowners with friends. Handle Bar’s origin story is equally appealing, the result of a 2014 crowdfunding campaign that brought together more than 30 local donors who co-founded and now own the space. Handle Bar’s raison d’etre is simple: a relaxed setting that offers independent beer and regular free entertainment.

7. Piano Bar Bendigo

friends enjoying wine at the Piano Bar Bendigo
Piano Bar Bendigo is loved for its cosy, stylish setting.

A run-of-the-mill watering hole this ain’t. If a night spent propping up the bar down the pub feels a touch too pedestrian for you, might we recommend Piano Bar Bendigo? There’s perhaps no other Bendigo bar that boasts the same intoxicating mix of cocktails and carousing as this joint, which promises piano and vocalists, with songs played at your request, plus an alluring roster of drag queen-led events, from bingo to trivia and comedy sketches, with audience involvement very much encouraged – sing along and dance to your heart’s content. If you’re keen to give it a real nudge, head upstairs to Rumours Upstairs, a club on the top floor of Piano Bar that’s open every Saturday from 9pm. It’s the place to dance all night — trust us.

8. Babylon Lounge & Garden Bar

iced beer bucket at Babylon Lounge & Garden Bar
Sip craft beers and local brews.

Gunning for the title of Bendigo’s most hipster bar (until the sun sinks where it’s a whole new venue, practically) is Babylon Lounge & Garden Bar, a central oasis. The greenhouse-style ‘garden’ area is drenched in greenery and bathed in natural light, while the lounge area is as snug as can be, featuring forest green velvet sofas, dim lighting and a few quirky touches (hello faux fireplace and mannequin swinging from the ceiling). There’s a mezze menu for when hunger strikes, and a solid range of craft beer, both on tap and in tinnies. Once night falls, prepare to rage as this Bendigo bar is renowned for its dance floor and DJs, open all the way until 3am on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

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9. Nimbus Rooftop

friends hanging out at Nimbus Rooftop bar, Bendigo
The rooftop offers city views and stellar cocktails. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Bendigo’s first rooftop bar, Nimbus offers sweeping city views, as well as stellar cocktails. You’ll find all the garden variety concoctions at this third-floor haunt (pina colada, moscow mule, bloody mary, margarita etc) as well as a couple of off-kilter options. The fluorescent Japanese Slipper, for example, encourages serious fun – a heady mix of Midori, triple sec and lime. Keep an eye on their Instagram page, as the venue often hosts masterclass events and live music.

10. Gold Mines Hotel

the building exterior of Gold Mines Hotel, Bendigo
The historic Gold Mines Hotel dates back to 1872.

Few other Bendigo pubs boast a setting as stately as the Gold Mines Hotel. With its fretworked verandahs dripping with wisteria, a grand cedar staircase, Baltic pine floors, archways embellished with gold-leaf, stained-glass windows, and nearly a dozen fireplaces – this National Trust-listed property is a fine spot to linger over a drink. Come summer, nurse a glass of Pimms in the expansive, leafy garden. When winter rolls in, cosy up by one of the many fireplaces with a bottle of shiraz. This historic two-storey edifice, built in 1872, moves beyond an impressive beer and wine selection, as a decent array of cocktails, warm and friendly country hospitality, and a red-meat-heavy menu (think beef burger, confit duck leg, grass-fed porterhouse, and lamb rump to name a few past hits) keep crowds returning.

11. The Foundry

an open-air cocktail lounge at The Foundry, Bendigo
Grab a chair at the open-air cocktail lounge. (Image: The Foundry)

Another easy-going pub where locals love to gather, The Foundry is the place to catch live sports given the 20-odd big screens that line the walls. Its dedicated Mister Bobs sports bar is probably going to offer the most electric atmosphere, but it’s rivalled by an outdoor courtyard where games are also streamed live and loud. Miss Molly is the Bendigo bar’s cocktail lounge and if you’re there on Saturday between 4pm and 5pm, take advantage of Martini Madness which offers three delicious variations for just $15 a piece. The Bistro, a little more family-friendly than Miss Molly with its own kids’ menu, is the place to find a feed as pub classics are nailed with flair.

Originally written by Chloe Cann with updates by Kristie Lau-Adams

Discover the best restaurants in Bendigo

Chloe Cann
Chloe Cann is an award-winning freelance travel and food writer, born in England, based in Melbourne and Roman by adoption. Since honing her skills at City St George's, University of London with a master's degree in journalism, she's been writing almost exclusively about travel for more than a decade, and has worked in-house at newspapers and travel magazines in London, Phnom Penh, Sydney and Melbourne. Through a mixture of work and pleasure, she's been fortunate enough to visit 80 countries to date, though there are many more that she is itching to reach. While the strength of a region's food scene tends to dictate the location of her next trip, she can be equally swayed by the promise of interesting landscapes and offbeat experiences. And with a small person now in tow, travel looks a little different these days, but it remains at the front of her mind.
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Taking the route less travelled along the Great Ocean Road

    Megan Arkinstall Megan Arkinstall
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    The Great Ocean Road has captured the hearts of Australians with its astounding scenery since 1932, but going off-course can enrich your experience with untouched nature, foodie delights and charming towns. 

    It’s a chilly 16 degrees. My husband pulls on a steamer and jogs – as all seasoned surfers do – into the water. We’re at Bells Beach, the legendary break on Victoria’s Surf Coast that’s home to the Rip Curl Pro, the world’s longest-running event in competitive surfing. Each year, over the Easter long weekend, up to 40,000 people descend on the region for the event. Today, though, we have the beach almost to ourselves, and the less-than-favourable temperature doesn’t deter my husband from surfing this famous break.  

    Bells Beach
    Bells Beach is known for its epic surf break and is at the start of the Great Ocean Road. (Image: Tourism Australia)

    Torquay to Anglesea and Aireys Inlet 

    Split Point Lighthouse
    The red dome of Split Point Lighthouse in Aireys Inlet. (Image: Tourism Australia)

    The nearby surf town of Torquay marks the starting point for the Great Ocean Road. Unfolding our map, which we have marked out with a highlighted route for our children to follow, we set off for lesser-known Anglesea, a chilled-out town 20 minutes south of here. Its wide, sandy beach is a gentler swimming option for our young family. Groms can learn to surf here with Go Ride a Wave, which also runs stand-up paddle boarding on the Anglesea River.  

    Split point lookout
    The lighthouse overlooks the Shipwreck Coast. (Image: Tourism Australia)

    After a couple of nights in Anglesea, we hit the road again, first stopping at Aireys Inlet. Here we stretch our legs at Split Point Lighthouse, which was made famous by the 1990s television series Round the Twist, before driving under the Memorial Arch that welcomes us, officially, to the Great Ocean Road.  

    This 243-kilometre coastal road was built by returned First World War servicemen and serves as a permanent memorial to those who fought and died during the war. Carved into rock using hand tools and horse-drawn carts, it was a huge engineering feat and provided much-needed access to isolated coastal communities. 

    Lorne to Birregurra 

    Lorne is a delightful beachside stop for lunch and browsing boutique stores. It’s also the gateway to Great Otway National Park, which comprises a varied landscape of old-growth forests, cool-temperate rainforests, heathy woodlands and rugged coast. With the highest rainfall in Victoria, the region is home to many waterfalls – 10 of which are within 10 kilometres of Lorne.  

    Turning slightly off the main drag, we wind along a gum-shaded road to Erskine Falls. Here, our son leads the way through the hyper-green rainforest and down 200-plus stairs to the cascade that drops 30 metres into a lush fern gully. We hop over large boulders to get closer to the falls, enjoying the entire place to ourselves; it’s worth the return climb.  

    From Sheoak Falls Picnic Area, there are walking trails to Henderson Falls, Phantom Falls, Won Wondah Falls and Kalimna Falls, some of which follow an old timber tramway from forest-logging days, which only came to an end in 2008.  

    Erskine Falls
    Erskine Falls is one of many falls within a day trip of Lorne. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    You can follow your appetite north to the town of Birregurra, which is part of the Otway Harvest Trail that connects farm gates, markets, wineries, breweries and distilleries. It’s home to three-hatted modern Australian restaurant Brae, helmed by celebrated chef Dan Hunter, set among native gardens and an organic farm, and Otways Distillery, which produces small-batch spirits using local produce and botanicals.  

    Brae restaurant
    Brae is a three-hatted restaurant in Birregurra. (Image: Tourism Australia)

    Apollo Bay to The Otways 

    Back on track, the cliff-hugging stretch between Lorne and Apollo Bay is breathtaking. At Teddys Lookout, we overlook the winding road ahead and St George River spilling into the ocean. We spend languid days in Apollo Bay, a buzzy seaside town that boasts a three-kilometre-long, crescent-shaped beach with a backdrop of rolling green hills. One evening, as the sun sets, we take the steep 10-minute walk to Marriners Lookout, which affords panoramic views of the ocean, hinterland and town.  

    A 15-minute drive along the road, Maits Rest is a lush rainforest gully that has been protected since the early 20th century. Wandering along the 800-metre boardwalk, we inspect the delicate moss-covered forest floor and the gnarled roots of 300-year-old myrtle beech trees, then crane our necks to see their canopies, some 50 metres above us. It’s therapy in nature.  

    Cape Otway to the Twelve Apostles 

    Twelve Apostles
    One of the famous Twelve Apostles, limestone sea stacks that rise from the Southern Ocean. (Image: Ben Savage)

    The southernmost tip of Cape Otway is a delightful detour, home to the 1848-built Cape Otway Lightstation, the oldest surviving lighthouse on mainland Australia. We climb the narrow winding staircase to the gallery deck, explore the keepers’ quarters and telegraph station, and enjoy a coffee and some ‘famous’ scones at the charming onsite cafe.    

    It’s a pinch-me moment to finally see the Twelve Apostles in person. This unmistakable cluster of limestone stacks rising abruptly from the sea were never 12, however. When coined this in the 1890s as a marketing ploy, there were only nine; today, only seven remain after two collapsed in 2005 and 2009. We admire these Aussie icons from the viewing platform, in awe of Mother Nature’s ever-evolving artwork.  

    The Grotto
    The Grotto is another natural attraction within Port Campbell National Park. (Image: Carmen Zammit)

    Edging the wild Southern Ocean, this part of the coast – dubbed Shipwreck Coast – is made up of many sea-carved natural wonders including London Bridge, The Grotto and Gibson Steps. After exploring the lookout trails of Loch Ard Gorge/Poombeeyt Kontapool – its English name taken from the site of the 1878 shipwreck – we nestle into the sandy beach encircled by towering sandstone cliffs, as our children splash about on the water’s edge, and soak it all in.  

    Port Campbell to Timboon 

    Timboon Fine Ice Cream
    Timboon Fine Ice Cream is part of a regional foodie trail. (Image: C McConville)

    Just north of Port Campbell National Park, the region of Timboon is part of the 12 Apostles Food Artisans Trail, filled with purveyors of delicious foodstuffs such as Timboon Fine Ice Cream, Timboon Railway Shed Distillery and Apostle Whey Cheese. As an antidote to the indulgence, the 20-kilometre Poorpa Yanyeen Meerreeng Trail is a self-guided ride or walk between Port Campbell and Timboon through tall forests, over historic bridges and past sparkling lakes and farmland with grazing cattle.  

    Warrnambool to Port Fairy 

    Warrnambool building
    A 19th-century building in Warrnambool. (Image: Peter Foster)

    In Warrnambool, a town rich in maritime history, we take the four-kilometre Thunder Point Walk that traces the coast. The kids squeal when an echidna shuffles out from beneath the wooden boardwalk, and we stop to admire a seal lazing on a rock at the port.  

    Further along, the streets of quaint fishing village Port Fairy are lined with 19th-century cottages, old stone churches and Norfolk pines. Follow the historic walking trail to see some of the 60-plus National Trust buildings. Port Fairy is also home to Port Fairy Folk Festival (6-9 March), one of the country’s longest-running music and cultural festivals. You could time your road trip with the event for a fittingly celebratory end to any journey.  

    The Great Ocean Road can easily be done in three days, but we’ve spent a week on the road. The highlighted line on our now creased and well-worn map doesn’t follow the famous route precisely. It has sprouted branches in many directions, leading us to untouched rainforest and charming rural towns filled with culinary delights, and where we experienced some of our most memorable moments on the Great Ocean Road.    

    A traveller’s checklist 

    Staying there

    Oak & Anchor
    The Oak & Anchor in Port Fairy.

    The Monty is a highly anticipated, newly refurbished motel with a chic Palm Springs-inspired aesthetic set across the road from the Anglesea River. Basalt Winery in Port Fairy grows cool-climate wines such as pinot noir and Riesling in rich volcanic soil. Stay among the vines in its tiny home, complete with a kitchen, lounge area and outdoor firepit. 

    The Oak & Anchor Hotel has been a Port Fairy institution since 1857. Cosy up by the bar in winter or bask in the sunshine of the Lawn Bar in summer. The rooms are beautifully boutique with considered details, such as luxe baths for sinking into post-road trip. 

    Eating there

    The Coast in Anglesea is a modern Australian restaurant focused on local ingredients. Grand Pacific Hotel has been a local landmark in Lorne since 1879 and recently underwent a restoration. It serves a mix of traditional pub and Italian fare alongside ocean views.  

    Graze is a cosy 40-seat dining room in Apollo Bay with a modern Australian menu complemented by regional wines. Apollo Bay Distillery offers tasting flights, a gin blending masterclass and serves woodfired pizzas.