Das Kaffeehaus is found at The Mill in Castlemaine.

The Age Good Food Guide 2026:Best places to eat and drink in Castlemaine

Once better known for galleries,gardens and gold rush history,highly walkable Castlemaine is now also one of Victoria’s most fun places to dine,thanks to keen diners and tree-changing tastemakers.

  • Dani Valent

More on Castlemaine

Inside Love Shack brewery in Castlemaine,now a full-blown bar and bistro.
13.5/20

Love Shack

Proving the best country pubs are no longer the oldest.

It’s set within a Castlemaine winery.
14/20

Boomtown Cellar Bar

Hitting the sweet spot between rustic and refined.

Spinach,dill and goat cheese pasta with honey-candied walnuts
Good Food hat15.5/20

Bar Midland

Come for the ethics,stay for the hospitality.

Inside the Castlemaine restaurant.
14.5/20

Voor Ouker

Pop-up turned resonant residence – at least for now.

Baked ricotta,lemon and almond cake,quince,burnt honey custard.
Good Food hat15.5/20

This hatted tasting menu can’t use sugar,pepper,chocolate or coffee. But it’s still a treat

Bar Midland,a 16-seat country restaurant,serves food and drink strictly from within state lines.

  • Dani Valent
Advertisement
There’s a nostalgic feel to the interiors.

This gold-rush town has plenty of pubs. But there’s a lot to love at this nostalgic brewpub

From a tiny craft brewing operation to a full-blown bar and bistro,Love Shack proves the best country pubs are no longer the oldest.

  • Dani Valent
Wild,housed in a former country fire station,has generous windows that open to the street.

Wild

Crowd-pleaser for locals and daytrippers alike.

Peter Dunn and his 20 month old daughter Eleanora on the Dunn’s North Blackwood spud farming family farm in Central Victoria. They’ll be part of the Trentham Spudfest,a festival celebrating all things potato.

Goodbye music festivals,hello food festivals? Where to plan your next regional road trip

From community-led harvests,to cheese and bread workshops with Australia’s best,regional food festivals have a lot to offer – and they’re booming. Here’s our pick of five to visit this autumn.

  • Bianca Hrovat
Temperance House,where Ali Currey-Voumard has a summer kitchen residency.

Is this regional town now up there with nearby Daylesford in the quality dining stakes?

There’s a top chef serving farmhouse French food in heritage digs,another cooking affordable public bar dishes in a cosy space on the main street,and a much-needed pub in a picturesque small town nearby.

  • Emma Breheny