It helps to have places like Ipsos flying the flag for Victoria’s Great Ocean Road. As Bells Beach marks 50 years of professional surfing in 2026, the restaurant feels embedded in Victoria’s Surf Coast story. Ipsos is set on the former site of Kosta’s, run by Pam and Kosta Talimanidis until 2003. After a 12-year hiatus, Pam returned with son Dominic to continue the family legacy. The menu delivers homely Greek cooking like taramasalata with seaweed chips and slow-cooked lamb with tahini labneh, parsley and sumac. ipsosrestaipurant.com.au

Mansfield, just two and a half hours from Melbourne, is a nature lover’s paradise. Enjoy a long ride along the Great Victoria Rail Trail, a canoeing adventure on Lake Eildon, or a bushwalk through fields of wildflowers. Then, when the day winds down, reward yourself with an excellent epicurean adventure to The Fields. The menu is a standout, turning dinner into a playful ‘field trip’ of rotating themes, from izakaya-style snacks to Malaysian street eats all served alongside wine from local vineyards. thefields3722.com

An icon 40 years in the making, Victoria’s Lake House remains one of Australia’s defining destination diners. Set beside Lake Daylesford, the experience today is shaped as much by the kitchen as by Dairy Flat Farm, the property’s regenerative growing facility supplying vegetables, herbs, flowers, fruit, honey and olive oil. Four decades on, Lake House still sets the benchmark for thoughtful country dining; it’s a taste-bud-led discovery of the Daylesford region. lakehouse.com.au

Expect a great floor show to go with your dining experience at Wickens at Royal Mail Hotel, which is built for special occasions and offers expansive views of the Grampians. The tight menu led by chef Robin Wickens features a rotating roster of vegetables harvested metres from the pass and beef and lamb that grazed in nearby paddocks. The tables are strategically spaced so you can have an intimate conversation with your dinner date. An elemental experience. royalmail.com.au

Prepare to get a bit of dirt under your fingernails ahead of your dining experience at Brae during a tour of the organic farm. After seeing what’s in season and helping with the harvest, you will get to enjoy the ingredients on the daily set menu at the Birregurra restaurant, just inland from the Great Ocean Road. Be swept away by the delights of the daily tasting menu: think radish and preserved bullhorn pepper, tomato water and rooibos or a baked custard of rainbow trout and saffron glazed with beetroot. Absolutely epic. braerestaurant.com

The Gippsland region stretching from the outskirts of Melbourne to the NSW border is known for its lakes, coastline, farms and forests. And these landscapes are matched only by the produce that has put the area’s pantry on the map. Sardine Dining on the Paynesville waterfront rewards road trippers for clocking up the Ks. There’s confident cooking on show here with dishes like blue swimmer crab, chilli, garlic casareccia and hibachi heirloom carrots. sardinedining.com.au

Messmates’ owners bring decades of experience back to Warragul, shaped by Melbourne fine diners and Michelin-starred kitchens in London and New York. Housed in a church, the name nods to the messmate tree endemic to south-eastern Australia, its timber used for the tabletops. The menu is concise and confident: steak tartare lifted with Bay of Fires cheddar, half a chook glossed with cumin butter and pickled cabbage. It’s a glimpse into why Gippsland has some of the best regional restaurants in Victoria. messmatesdining.com

Hogget Kitchen is emblematic of what the Gippsland region does best: pairing sustainably sourced seasonal produce with a strong sense of place. The restaurant is set on a vineyard overlooking the Strzelecki Ranges where chef Trevor Perkins breaks down whole animals and sources seasonally from local growers. The wine list also spotlights local producers. Expect to see brown cows, black sheep, green meadows, red tractors and tin sheds on the drive to and from Hogget Kitchen. hogget.com.au

Terrae is housed within one of Bendigo’s old banks, its thick stone walls, columns and arched windows a brazen reminder of the city’s gold-rush era. These days, the currency is all about comforting dishes like pastas, slow-cooked meats and impeccable desserts made using ingredients grown in the restaurant’s own farm gardens and orchard. Sitting in the heart of Bendigo’s arts precinct, Terrae feels like a triumph and an expression of what the best regional Victorian restaurants are all about. terraebendigo.com.au

Set within Pt. Leo Estate’s 134-hectare property, Laura is one of the best regional restaurants in Victoria for travellers who like to plan their day around lunch. The light-filled dining room looks across the vineyard to Western Port, with the adjacent sculpture park adding art to the equation. Under culinary director Josep Espuga, the menu favours seasonal Australian produce from the estate’s own garden, paired with a tightly curated wine program overseen by Amy Oliver. ptleoestate.com.au

Take the 40-minute ferry from Melbourne to the Bellarine Peninsula and turn lunch into a weekend away. Everything on the menu at Hidden Frog at Quiddity Place is built for sharing, backed by a sharp, wine-driven drinks list. Founded by the family behind Oakdene Wines, the estate brings together a restaurant, vineyard, cellar door, galleries and accommodation in the one spot overlooking Swan Bay. Quiddity means ‘essence’ and what makes Hidden Frog what it is, is the fact local produce gets top billing. quiddityplace.com.au

Housed in a restored corner store once known for lollies, newspapers and fireworks, East Handy Store in Bairnsdale has become one of East Gippsland’s most interesting dining rooms. The format is simple and social and built around tapas and paella cooked in the courtyard, where a vine has been trellised into a pretty awning. It’s Spanish in spirit but local in execution, drawing on local wild venison, Gippsland seafood and regional producers across the drinks list. easthandystore.com

Bright, in Victoria’s High Country, is most famous as a gateway to Mt Buffalo National Park. But this speck on the map is also a year-round destination for its culinary scene, with Elm Dining one of many eateries that should be on your radar. Set in a beautifully restored Victorian cottage, the setting is both simple and stylish. Head chef Monica Melendez showcases the best High Country producers and suppliers: start with whipped brie with burnt honey followed by pork cotoletta with triple-cooked potatoes. elmdining.com.au

Rutherglen has evolved from pastoral beginnings to gold rush town to one of Australia’s premier historic wine regions. Today, the pull of the town is as much about the food as the cellar doors. And the romanticism of the small town is beautifully realised over dinner at Grace Bar + Eatery run by chef Matthieu Miller and partner Erica Miller. The Euro-centric eatery – all exposed brick, honey hues and ambient lighting – is open from breakfast through to dinner. Book a table for Neighbourhood Nights. milkinkitchen.com.au

If there’s one thing you must do in Milawa, it’s dine out at Brown Brothers Restaurant, one of the best winery restaurants in Victoria. Follow the Pedal to Produce trail as it rolls towards Brown Brothers and you will pass through a patchwork of vineyards, all hastily sewn squiggles and patches of green. Start with Milawa cheeses and house-made charcuterie before settling in on the terrace, Brown Brothers Yuzu Lemon Prosecco in hand. It’s a chill way to honour the estate’s 130-year winemaking legacy. brownbrothers.com.au