From a glorious eatery that feels like nothing matters outside its walls, to an unmissable Sri Lankan restaurant in wine country and a homey bistro, this is a snapshot of the state’s best.
Lemon curd rolled in chewy meringue. Sri Lankan pork fragrant with coconut vinegar. Baguette baked that very morning. Dining in Victoria’s regions right now combines the best parts of slow living with the flavour fireworks people associate with the big smoke.
That was the report over and over this year as a fleet of reviewers deployed across the state for The Age Good Food Guide 2026, scouring Victoria in the name of flavour.
We are just days away from the release of The Guide, and it’s set to be one of the more mouth-watering newspaper supplements of recent times. This year, your physical Guide takes the form of a free liftout published in The Age on Tuesday, October 28. Brimming with hats, reviews, destination guides and more, it will also reveal Victoria’s Regional Restaurant of the Year.
The winner will be plucked from what might be history’s strongest field of contenders. There’s a chic Sri Lankan restaurant hidden in a sleepy shopping strip, an ambitiously low-waste venue that donates profits to feed those in need, and three very different expressions of farm-to-table dining.
For diversity of cuisine, for outright tastiness, for service that goes above and beyond, and settings that beggar belief, there has never been a better time to eat outside city limits.
Barragunda, Cape Schanck
Located on 405 hectares, Barragunda spans restaurant, regenerative farm and native bushland. Chef Simone Watts transforms the farm’s produce into gorgeous dishes on a bargain of a five-course tasting menu. Animals, too, are raised here: hogget, which is smoked for kofta, and black Angus, used for steaks, ossobuco and more. Several estate-grown apple varieties power an unforgettable Appletini, and staff are happy to chat about wines from small Australian producers and European cult labels as you bask in the room that overlooks a market garden.
While you’re here: Sidle over to Pt. Leo Estate for an afternoon wine tasting and lose yourself in its otherworldly sculpture garden.
113 Cape Schanck Road, Cape Schanck, barragunda.com.au
Du Fermier, Trentham
Chef Annie Smithers hopes that people leave her homey bistro feeling nurtured – and she delivers in spades. She’s up at first light harvesting vegetables from her nearby farm, baking bread and working alone to transform that produce into gorgeously rustic dishes. Garbure, a Pyrenees vegetable and bean soup flecked with shreds of duck breast, is served at the table with a copper and brass spoon. Western Plains pork loin is charry while the belly is slow-cooked; both swim in green peppercorn sauce best appreciated with extra bread. Experienced waitstaff match the charms of the snug weatherboard shopfront.
While you’re here: Nab a spot at Tony Tan’s cooking school and supercharge your dumpling game.
42 High Street, Trentham, anniesmithers.com.au
Many Little, Red Hill South
Whether you’re seeking craft beers under towering gums or delicately spiced cocktails in a moody dining room, this Sri Lankan restaurant can do it. The most joyous moment? Seeing a table-spanning platter of colourful curries headed your way. Sour black pork is fragrant with black pepper and the tang of coconut vinegar, and masala fish is bright and fiery. Hoppers, the bowl-shaped pancakes, are delicate and lacy vessels; distinctive sambols bring extra hits of shallot or chilli. Many Little would shine anywhere, but in a sometimes predictable winery region, it’s truly unmissable.
While you’re here: From November to January, the riches of Ripe N Ready Cherry Farm are yours for the picking. And in cherry off-season, the farm gate sells other fruit.
2-5/159 Shoreham Road, Red Hill South, manylittle.com.au
Tedesca Osteria, Red Hill
The room is cosy and humming; wide windows look out over vast gardens; the pace is languid. A single savoury doughnut arrives with a salty anchovy at its centre. Then, softly smoked bonito: supple and slick, abutted by a creamy daikon remoulade. There’s a sense that nothing matters outside these walls, where chef Brigitte Hafner and sommelier James Broadway serve what might be the perfect long lunch. Wander around if the mood strikes you, through the gardens that flatter the plates you’ve been eating from.
While you’re here: Try snowy chevres and creamy marinated goat’s feta from Main Ridge Dairy at its gorgeous on-site eatery Billies, or pick up some to take home.
1175 Mornington-Flinders Road, Red Hill, tedesca.com.au
Samesyn, Torquay
Heaven is a plate of roasted Jerusalem artichokes and crisp chicken skin served in a restaurant at the water’s edge. Welcome to Samesyn, where your kitchen team also runs the floor, and there are precisely zero bins. Owner-chef and wine man Graham Jefferies might point you to an oxidative white from the Jura, in eastern France. Steak, dry-aged for 100 days and cut moments prior, is available by the 100 grams and sauced with garum butter for extra funk. An inch of scorched Italian meringue tempers passionfruit in the ice-cream that lies beneath. Maximum flavour, minimal waste.
While you’re here: Swing past Mortadeli for a bowl of pasta and come away with a grab-bag of Mediterranean pantry goods.
3/24 Bell Street, Torquay, samesyn.com.au
The winners of The Age Good Food Guide 2026 Awards will be announced on Monday, October 27, presented by Oceania Cruises and T2 Tea. The awards ceremony will be live-blogged via The Age from 3pm, and the 2026 edition of the Guide will be available on the Good Food app from 8pm. A free 80-page Good Food Guide liftout will be inserted in The Age on Tuesday, October 28.
The home of the Good Food Guide, the app is free for premium subscribers of The Age and is also available as a standalone subscription. You can download the Good Food app here.
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Frank Sweet is editor of The Age Good Food Guide 2026 and a former food and drink editor at Time Out Beijing.
