Best Restaurants in Geelong | Local Dining Guide

Geelong's food scene is one of Victoria's most underrated regional dining destinations: the city's proximity to the Bellarine Peninsula (the wine and produce peninsula stretching from Geelong to the tip at Point Lonsdale, producing outstanding pinot gris, pinot noir, and chardonnay), the extraordinary Geelong Farmers' Market (monthly, at the Eastern Park foreshore), and the growing concentration of excellent independent restaurants and cafes in the CBD (particularly the Little Malop Street precinct) have created a food culture that is increasingly compelling for day-trippers and weekend visitors from Melbourne. The 70-minute V/Line train trip from Melbourne's Southern Cross Station makes Geelong an extremely accessible food day-trip destination.

Little Malop Street and the Geelong CBD — the Little Malop Street precinct (the block between Malop Street and Ryrie Street, running east-west through the Geelong CBD) is Geelong's most exciting food and bar destination: the concentration of excellent independent restaurants (Le Parisien, Bazzani, the Wharf Shed Cafe on the waterfront), wine bars (Igni, one of regional Victoria's most acclaimed contemporary Australian restaurants, in the adjacent Ryrie Street lanes), and craft beer bars on and around Little Malop Street creates a food precinct that regularly attracts Melbourne visitors. The Geelong Night Market (summer, monthly on the waterfront) provides an excellent outdoor food market experience.

The Bellarine Peninsula Wine Region — the Bellarine Peninsula wine region (the vineyards and cellar doors stretching from Geelong to Point Lonsdale, including the villages of Drysdale, Portarlington, and Barwon Heads) is one of Victoria's most exciting cool-climate wine regions: the Oakdene Winery restaurant (the Bellarine's most acclaimed restaurant), the Jack Rabbit Vineyard (spectacular bay views and excellent contemporary Australian food), the Leura Park Estate (cellar door and restaurant), and the Scotchmans Hill restaurant (one of the Bellarine's longest-established and most reliable vineyard restaurants) collectively make the Bellarine Peninsula wine region an outstanding half-day or full-day food and wine excursion from Geelong.

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