Road trip! Victoria’s 10 best regional pubs of 2023

Is there anything more iconically Australian than a country pub? The beating heart of every small town and a thirst-thwarting beacon for the weary traveller, it’s a familiar outline on the horizon for first-timers and frequent flyers alike.

These destination drinkeries deserve a big tick on your next road trip hit list, from classics untouched by the hand of time – where AFL paraphernalia, open fires and pitch-perfect parmas are as permanent a fixture as the loyal locals at the bar – to a beachside boozer where sandy feet are welcome, a Carlton Draught-free cult favourite, and a tiny-town tavern with 180-degree ocean views.

Gold Mines Hotel

An outrageous amount of natural light, more windows than walls, and overflowing greenery come together to create a greenhouse-like space that’ll warm you in more ways than one. This history-rich Bendigo saloon might lean more restaurant than pub, but its dedication to a few quintessential pub classics on the menu makes it worthy of more time in the sun.

Best for: Walking the pub-restaurant tightrope.

49-57 Marong Road, Golden Square, goldmineshotel.com

Kilcunda Ocean View Hotel

Not a word was minced in the naming of this Phillip Island-adjacent pub: the Killy’s expansive front deck has 180-degree Bass Strait views. It’s the kind of tiny-town tavern where any more airs and graces would steal from the charm; regulars and road-trippers get the same homely hospitality. And the menu spans classic to Cuban (get the ribs).

Best for: Sunset sessions.

3531-3533 Bass Highway, Kilcunda, kilcundaoceanviewhotel.com.au

Kyneton Hotel

Its curvaceous brick frontage has commanded the corner since 1868, and the most recent reincarnation of the Kyneton still harks back to those good old days. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, keeping Macedon Ranges folk filtering through, but Asian influence sets it apart. Spill into the beer garden for more fair dinkum fun and four-legged friends.

Best for: A legit local feel and regular tap takeovers.

98-100 Mollison Street, Kyneton, thekynetonhotel.com.au

Lorne Hotel

The attention has been on transplanting Totti’s – a Sydney import by hospo group Merivale – into the ground floor. But up top, the Lorne Hotel’s bistro and beer garden, which was also bought up, quietly maintains its beach-pub energy. Come for potato cakes as big as hockey pucks, and floor-to-ceiling views through towering gums to the ocean beyond.

Best for: When Totti’s is inevitably booked out.

176 Mountjoy Parade, Lorne, merivale.com/venues/lorne-hotel

Paradise Valley Hotel

With king-of-crisp potato cakes, a deck among the treetops and Puffing Billy regularly chugging through the back garden, this is a paradise worth running to. A 2019 change of hands – to the team behind Fitzroy North bistro The Recreation – has kept the heart of this 1903-founded pub while ushering it into its most delicious era.

Best for: Family feasts with a side of trainspotting

249 Belgrave-Gembrook Road, Clematis, paradisevalleyhotel.com

Portsea Hotel

With the sun shining, the French doors flung open and Port Phillip Bay’s glistening waters mere metres away, you have to ask yourself: is this the best pub view in Victoria? Despite being on the tip of the Mornington Peninsula, the Tudor-style mega-pub has pulling power to match, thanks to its bona fide always-on-holiday vibe.

Best for: A Sunday drive with a postcard-perfect destination.

3746 Point Nepean Road, Portsea, portseaportseahotel.com.au

Radio Springs Hotel

No TV, no pokies, no Carlton Draught. That’s the premise at this cult bar, restaurant, and bed and breakfast, slowly renovated over 12 years by custodians Ken Parfrey and Jackie Airey. The rambling, many-roomed space is decorated with a chaotic jumble of textures and patterns, with handwritten notes and photographs pinned to the bar, and vintage arthouse and B-grade films in the cinema out back.

Best for: Thursday nights for mystery movies and pizza.

1 High Street, Lyonville, radiospringshotel.com.au

Ratbag at Red Hill Hotel

With cowboy-shirted staff, Angel Olsen and Elvis playing overhead, and an ever-changing chalkboard menu, the old Red Hill Hotel suddenly feels new again. All-female kitchen team Ratbag is in residency for a few more weeks, sending out cracking chicken pies and choc-fudge banana splits to diners in the lively and comfortable mud-brick mezzanine dining room.

Best for: A contemporary take on country pub dining.

163 Main Road, Chewton, redhillhotel.com.au

Stanley Pub

The sheer number of Stanley stans means seats here are hot property – it’s high on High Country hit lists. Near Beechworth, a traditional pub facade wound with wisteria belies a league-of-its-own offering that borrows from Asia; in place of hot chips, lotus fries; squid is Sichuan-peppered; and tempura-battered fish comes with yuzu-spiked tartare.

Best for: Unexpected pub fare drawing lively crowds.

6-12 Myrtleford-Stanley Road, Stanley, stanleypub.com.au

Tanswell’s Hotel

A central hallway divides the dining room and bar of this broad, handsome heritage hotel smack-bang in the centre of town. People-watch through leadlight windows and cover your table with relaxed, share-friendly plates with a focus on wild meats – perhaps a dinky pork pie with boar – and interesting sides. The wine list is locals-only, but the warm and welcoming pub is not.

Best for: An afternoon of toe-tapping live music in the front bar.

50 Ford Street, Beechworth, tanswellshotel.com.au

Wye Beach Hotel

The carpet might be reminiscent of the ’80s, and some furniture showing its age, but there’s no use-by date on those sweeping views over the beach below. A preference for small-scale producers keeps it all in the coastal family, so pair that Bells Beach Brewing ale with local fish, beer-battered and fried ’til golden-brown as a summer tan.

Best for: Beachfront brews and priceless views.

19-21 Great Ocean Road, Wye River, wyebeachhotel.com.au