10 of the most beloved Bendigo restaurants for seasonal feasting

Chloe CannBy Chloe Cann
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Bendigo’s dining scene has flourished in recent years, plating up a delicious and diverse spread of farm-focused fare.

A Central Victorian city sitting pretty amid farmland, Bendigo abounds with quality produce, locally reared meat and locally grown grain right at its doorstep. Whether you’re in the market for a long, meandering lunch or a fancy sit-down dinner, this Goldfields city delivers with flair. To further entice, Bendigo and the neighbouring region of Heathcote are strongholds for wine growing, so visiting one of the best Bendigo restaurants will often accompany a knockout regional pour.

When you’re looking for a break between activities in the region, relax at one of these standout restaurants.

The shortlist

Best family-friendly spot: Borchelli Ristorante
Best casual eats: El Gordo
Hottest new opening: Terrae Restaurant
Best for large groups: Malayan Orchid

1. Alium Dining

an arched window at Alium Dining, Bendigo
The upscale restaurant features elegant stained glass windows. (Image: Alium Dining)

If you’ve only got time for one lengthy lunch or dinner, make a booking with Alium Dining . A special occasion standout, this is undoubtedly one of the best Bendigo restaurants, masterfully shining a light on fresh local and seasonal produce while a dedicated and informed team keep the mood light and welcoming. Sink into an inside table or one in the street-facing courtyard to make sure you catch the eye of envious onlookers. The food itself? Delicately balancing flavours and technique to create unfussy, generous plates, the team nails the likes of Confit pork belly with peach chutney, chimichurri and parsnip chips while the grill menu (which is larger at dinner than lunch, FYI) always boasts excellent cuts with Hasselback potato, a salad and your choice of sauce.

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Average price: $$$$

Atmosphere: Warm yet refined

Review: 4.5/5

Location: 17 View Pt, Bendigo

2. Terrae Restaurant

a close-up of a dish with wine at Terrae Restaurant, Bendigo
The menu at Terrae Restaurant is Modern European with meat-focused mains. (Image: Leon Schoots)

Another restaurant championing the region’s renowned produce (including goodies sourced from the team’s own kitchen gardens), Terrae Restaurant is a newer jewel in Bendigo’s culinary crown. Located inside Hotel Ernest Bendigo, one of the best Bendigo accommodation picks, this fine dining, achingly chic restaurant opened in December 2024 to level up the local foodie scene to soaring heights. A minimalistic fit-out allows sensational plates to steal the show, spanning a tight collective of house-made pastas (think carrot agnolotti with rabbit and broad beans), meat-focused mains (like the charcoal grilled beef with dauphinoise potato) and one killer cheese menu.

Cuisine: Modern European

Average price: $$$-$$$$

Atmosphere: Elevated

Review: 4.5/5

Location: 10-12 View St, Bendigo

3. Ms Batterhams

the Gothic-style diner with an alfresco spot at Ms Batterhams, Bendigo
The two-storey red brick Gothic-Revival-style diner is tucked in the historic Mackenzie Quarters. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Ms Batterhams is perched in a plum spot. This slick lounge bar is housed within the historic Mackenzie Quarters – a two-storey red brick Gothic-Revival-style that dates to 1877 and formerly housed a school – within the city’s renowned arts precinct. Head chef Travis Rodwell’s Chef’s Share menu changes with the seasons but frequently pays its respects to European destinations such as France, Greece and Italy. Think Confit pork cheek with pico de gallo and a wagyu M7 scotch fillet with tomato and sherry salsa, sweet potato with chorizo butter and lime. Open since early 2020, Ms Batterhams has established itself as one of the best spots to fine dine in Bendigo.

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Elegant

Review: 4/5

Location: 10-12 MacKenzie St, Bendigo

4. Ghosty’s Diner

the dining interior of Ghosty’s Diner, Bendigo
Nab a cosy spot in the retro booth. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Step into the set of Seinfeld with a visit to Ghosty’s Diner , Bendigo’s all-day eatery complete with retro booth seating, a record player and low-slung pendant lights. All your classic diner cravings are met, including a collection of five hearty burgers and optional add-ons like bacon jam. There are also three-cheese toasties, pastrami on rye, fried chicken, disco fries and popcorn cauliflower. It doesn’t get much more Americana-indulgent than this.

Cuisine: American comfort food

Average price: $$

Atmosphere: Chilled out

Review: 4/5

Location: 35 View St, Bendigo

5. The Woodhouse Bar & Grill

a large share steak spread at The Woodhouse Bar & Grill, Bendigo
Feast on prime cuts at The Woodhouse Bar & Grill. (Image: Leon Schoots)

Get your caveman on at The Woodhouse Bar & Grill —an unapologetic temple of beef. Beamed ceilings, dim lighting, brick walls and roaring fireplace will greet you, as will the smoky scent of redgum blazing on the woodfired grill. Then, you’ll spy dry-ageing loins hanging in chiller cabinets. Offering premium cuts sourced from Australian farms, pure grass-fed scotch fillets and F1 grain-fed wagyu eye fillets are among this Bendigo restaurant’s culinary attractions. Not into steak? You’re also sorted with the menu’s raw bar selection of outstanding seafood delicacies such as yellowfin tuna with apple and mint consommé, plus a market fish and seasonal pasta on the mains menu.

Cuisine: Steakhouse

Average price: $$$$$

Atmosphere: Sexy

Review: 4/5

Location: 101 Williamson St, Bendigo

6. El Gordo

Huevos Rancheros at El Gordo, Bendigo
Huevos Rancheros is a classic Mexican dish with fried eggs and salsa. (Image: El Gordo)

Whether you’re rolling into El Gordo for brunch or pulling up a pew for a booze-laced lunch, this tapas bar delivers the fun. Located on Chancery Lane, it’s a little slice of hipster Melbourne laneway life in the heart of Bendigo. Pick your poison from a rotating menu of authentic tapas plates including dazzlers like the cured meat Bresaola with orange, Jamon croquetas and everyone’s beloved patatas bravas. Signature Portuguese tarts with homemade pastry is a non-negotiable chaser—trust us.

Cuisine: Spanish tapas plates

Average price: $$

Atmosphere: Casual

Review: 3/5

Location: 3/70 Chancery Lane, Pall Mall, Bendigo

7. Harpoon Social Club

Japanese food and drinks at Harpoon Social Club, Bendigo
Harpoon Social Club offers a variety of cuisines. (Image: Harpoon Social Club)

Although this snug Bendigo restaurant hangs its hat on ramen, there’s oh so much more to Harpoon Social Club ’s playful menu, which toys with a number of cuisines spanning Asia and beyond. For example, the half a dozen bao buns crammed with 5-spiced pork, tofu and more, plus the burnt cabbage with homemade sticky sauce. There’s even a hot jam bao with matcha ice cream for dessert. Leave your wheels at your digs to take full advantage of the drinks list, where an extensive array of Japanese beers, saké and spirits should keep you lubricated. It’s also an accommodating spot for vegans and gluten-free diners, too.

Cuisine: Japanese

Average price: $$-$$$

Atmosphere: Relaxed

Review: 4/5

Location: 36 High St, Bendigo

8. Red Smoke Bendigo

While Red Smoke Bendigo ’s street-facing windows earmark the address as a ‘tapas, bar and grill’ restaurant, it’s this CBD hot spot’s barbecue that leaves a lasting impression. Think tender, melt-in-the-mouth brisket with maple sauce, smoky, chargrilled bourbon-glazed baby back ribs, and slow-cooked free-range pulled pork. Expect generous serves and very reasonable prices at this popular spot, which also boasts all the classic barbecue accompaniments you could wish for, like homemade slaw, mac and cheese, cornbread and pickles.

Cuisine: Barbecue

Average price: $$-$$$

Atmosphere: Rowdy

Review: 4/5

Location: 61 High St, Bendigo

9. Malayan Orchid

the restaurant interior of Malayan Orchid, Bendigo
The space is the perfect spot for a nightcap. (Image: Malayan Orchid)

A local institution, Malayan Orchid has been going strong since 1993. What keeps locals coming back for more is the consistently good Chinese and Malaysian staples (that’s a big yes to drunken chicken, honey prawns, thai green curry and san choy bao) paired with warm and friendly service. The house banquets are also a steal (and holy grail for indecisive diners who want to sample the full gamut of dishes). They start from $45 a head if you’re dining with a minimum of three pals, otherwise couples can do the more extensive $75 per person set menu, which never disappoints.

Cuisine: Pan-Asian

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Lively

Review: 3.5/5

Location: 155/157 View St, Bendigo

10. Borchelli Ristorante

Lean into serious comfort food at Borchelli Ristorante , an Italian fine dining establishment in Bendigo where flavours transport you all the way to your favourite European vacay. A two-level Bendigo restaurant with al fresco tables on the pavement and even more on the upstairs balcony, the romantic spot dishes up classics like Pork Cotoletta and pastas of every red-sauce and white-sauce description. Additionally, there’s the wonderful Pasta Misto (which translates to ‘mixed pasta’) platter, filled with any three pastas or risottos that take your fancy. Kids can keep the indulgence rolling with ice-cream and sprinkles, while grown-ups can’t refuse the likes of tiramisu and chocolate Jaffa mousse topped with honeycomb and berries.

Cuisine: Italian

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Family-friendly

Review: 3.5/5

Location: 18 Mitchell St, Bendigo

Originally written by Chloe Cann with updates by Kristie Lau Adams

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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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This geological wonder is hiding in the heart of Victoria

    Michael TurtleBy Michael Turtle
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    Mythical, historical and most of all, spectacularly beautiful, Buchan Caves demands you take your time – and a tour. 

    In the pools of water, so still they could be mirrors, the reflections of the stalactites make these limestone towers seem even taller. Almost 400 million years ago, an underground river carved through the rock to create the Buchan Caves . Now, artworks created by dripping water adorn these subterranean galleries: stalactites hanging from the ceiling, pillars connecting some to the ground, even curtain-like wave formations clinging to the stone.

    Caves House
    Visit the caves for the day or stay onsite in the campground or at the self-contained Caves House. (Image: Ben Savage)

    “This is called the Fairy Cave because it’s full of fairy dust,” a guide tells visitors as they enter a cavern glittering with “calcite that’s solidified into thousands of tiny little diamond shapes”.  Buchan Caves is Victoria’s largest cave system, but Fairy Cave is a highlight and, along with nearby Royal Cave, is accessible only by tour. Naturally cold, naturally dark, these caverns deep below the surface light up as the local experts tell their stories. 

    couple walking in cave
    You’ll need to book a guided tour to see the caves. (Image: Tourism Australia)

    Among the hundreds of caves, some can be easily accessed from the surface. For instance, a casual stroll along the FJ Wilson Interpreted Walk, as kangaroos watch on from beneath acacia trees, leads into the 400-metre-long Federal Cave and its natural steps of white limestone. A slightly longer track, the Granite Pools Walk heads through soaring forest down into moss-covered gullies where the calls of lyrebirds trill through the leaves. 

    A quick history lesson on Buchan Caves 

    Buchan Caves
    Buchan Caves are a must-visit attraction in Gippsland. (Image: Tourism Australia)

    Among the geology and the nature are millennia of history. This part of East Gippsland connects the high country to the coast and was long a place of refuge for the local Gunaikurnai people on seasonal migrations to the mountains. Archaeological studies show humans lived here up to 18,000 years ago, with artefacts such as small stone tools found around the site. But not too far into the caverns – oh no! The Gunaikurnai didn’t dare venture deep into the dark at Buchan Caves, telling stories they were inhabited by gnome-like nyols (small grey-skinned creatures that could steal memories). 

    Buchan Caves Hotel
    The Buchan Caves Hotel was rebuilt after burning down in 2014. (Image: Jess Shapiro)

    By the early 1900s, more people had started to hear about these incredible caves and so the Moon family set up home at the site and started to run tours below ground for intrepid visitors. More than a century later, their historic residence is available as accommodation, with the three-bedroom house sleeping up to eight people and now equipped with modern amenities the Moons could only have dreamt of. 

    But whether you stay overnight or just spend the day here, it’s worth taking your time to explore more than just the main caves, to get a deeper understanding of one of Victoria’s fascinating geological attractions.