Village Belle Hotel

202 Barkly St
St Kilda VIC 3182
(03) 9534 2200
www.villagebelle
For many years the only thing missing from the Barkly Street end of St Kilda was a decent pub. The Village Belle was a monument to lousy pubs: unfriendly regulars, boring drink and food fare, and indifferent staff. A few years ago that all changed, and now the Belle is a superb place. Everything was changed, from the floor plan to the staff to the people who frequent the place. Some might attribute this to the demise of St Kilda, the yuppification of the area and the way it’s gone from being a place where people could live cheaply to a trendy, high-rent tourist town. All this is true, but that doesn’t detract from the Belle being a first-rate pub. The restaurant is good and affordable and the drinks selection is OK, especially in the attached Doulton Bar, although let down by a below-average wine list. It can get pretty crazy on sunny weekend afternoons, but during the week it’s a fine place to spend a few hours.

Daylesford Hotel

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2 Burke Square, Daylesford, Vic 3460
Phone: 03 5348 2335 or 03 5348 3723
http://www.daylesfordhotel.com.au/
This is the most convenient pub is Daylesford, located right in the centre of town. For this reason, it is also the most disappointing as it has consistently remained just average in every facet of pub-ness. It's a great old-fashioned pile of a place, full of rooms and corridors and nooks and crannies, including accommodation (I haven't stayed there so can't comment). There is a wide upstairs veranda around two sides, ideal for warm-weather hanging out. So what's the problem? Well, for one thing, the public bar (with pool table) is not an especially friendly place. They usually have something nice (non-Carlton Draught) on tap, but the locals who hang out there aren't the most welcoming to strangers, or even semi-strangers. Service in the various bars and food areas also tends to be lacking in hospitality. The country-pub meals being served can be fine one time and less-than ordinary the next. Also on the plus side, it is the drive-through bottle shop for Daylesford so the selection of wine by the bottle is good.

News from Britain

Robin Millard reporting from London for AFP writes: "While Britain is in the grip of a recession and its world-famous pubs are closing at an estimated rate of 52 per week, the traditional craft beer industry is celebrating its annual bash in a cheery mood. Despite a poor year for the pub and brewing industries, cask ale sales performed comparatively well, dipping by 1.3 per cent, compared to 8 per cent for the total beer market. Meanwhile The Society of Independent Brewers estimates its members' sales are growing by 10 to 11 per cent a year. About 60,000 beer lovers were expected to attend the event organised by CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, which was founded in 1971 and has just passed the 100,000-member mark. As well as fighting the incoming lager tide, CAMRA is fighting high pub prices, pub closures, beer taxes and the dominance of global brands. 'The good news is that real ale brewers are doing very well and some companies have been reporting double-digit growth,'' CAMRA chief executive Mike Benner said. 'There's a real, genuine move by consumers back to local products and people are looking for drinks with provenance that actually mean something to them. Consumers are getting fed up with having these huge, global, over-marketed brands shoved down their throats.' ''

Dooley's Old Hepburn Hotel

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236 Main Road, Hepburn Springs VIC.
Phone: 03 5348 2207
oldhepburnhotel.com.au/
If you're exploring around the Daylesford/Hepburn Springs area, the Old Hep, or Dooley's, is the last outpost on the way out of town on the way to Lavandula. Jason Dooley and his crew run a friendly, comfortable neighbourhood pub that does most everything right, from well-cooked traditional country-pub cuisine to a tap-beer selection that of late has included Squires Golden Ale and Coopers pale. There's also an impressive wine-by-the-glass list and a good choice of beer in stubbies. They also specialise in some fairly exotic-sounding cocktails. There's a pool table, dart board, and plenty of big windows with nice views. It's in frequent use as an entertainment venue, a good place to listen to live music or, as we experienced recently, some bush poetry (not as bad as it might seem). They also operate a shuttle bus into Daylesford and back.

Savoia Hotel

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69 Main Rd,
Hepburn Springs VIC
(03) 5348 2314
This is a true local pub in the tourist town of Hepburn Springs. It is also a pub struggling mightily to keep going. It hasn't been done up or changed to attract tourism; it's a big pub with lots of room but not a huge amount of business. It is spotlessly clean and serves good traditional pub food. On a recent Friday night the kitchen delivered a couple bowls of salt-and-pepper squid for bar snacks that was some of the best I've ever tasted. Beers on tap are Coopers pale, Guinness and, of course, Carlton Draught. It is also the local (drive-through) bottle shop so the selection of wine and packaged drinks is good. There are two pool tables - because space is not an issue here - and a massive open fireplace. This a friendly place where the locals are happy to welcome strangers into their pub.

The Albion Kyneton

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http://www.thealbionkyneton.com.au/
41 Mollison StKyneton VIC 3444
(03) 5422 2066
This is a pub with consistency issues. Hopefully the new owners will correct this. A year ago the pub was pouring Newcastle Brown on tap, a great point of difference and a reason in itself to visit. This was downgraded to Redback, an OK choice, wheat beer being a lovely refreshing drop, and now they've got Kilkenny, which is not one of my faves but beats the Carlton Draught alternatives. They do waste two taps on Carlton, but there is also a tap for Guinness and one for Stella Artois. We haven't eaten here but the new owners have an Italian-themed menu that looks good. There is a woodfired pizza oven out back but this is being phased out of use. The list of wines by the glass is good and features local labels but is expensive. The selection of beer in stubbies used to be outstanding but has also been cut way back to just all right. The pub was completely refurbished a few years ago and whoever looked after it did a pretty good job. Kyneton has its share of bucket-of-blood pubs but the Albion has a clean, comfortable feel about it - if slightly sterile. This comes back to the matter of consistency as I don't think anyone has been able to really make a go of it.

Hotel Spencer

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475 Spencer St
West Melbourne VIC 3003
(03) 9329 7755
www.hotelspencer.com.au
This is one of Melbourne's best pubs. I mentioned the former association with Farmers guy Simon Bevanda. This one has it all: a great wine list, excellent beers on tap (last time I was there they had Mountain Goat and Little Creatures to name just two), a good bar-meals menus and a dining room for more formal meals. It's a friendly, comfortable place. It's also popular and can get a bit crowded.

Royal Hotel

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27 Vincent St
Daylesford VIC 3460
(03) 5348 3225
http://www.daylesfordroyalhotel.com/
Unless playing the pokies is your thing, I can't think of any reason to go to this pub. It's a generic pub with nothing to recommend it, no unique character. The meals are average, the wine and beer selections are dull, the ambiance is not inviting. As I said, the only reason for stopping here is if you're a gambler. It's where the local punters go to get their bets on, and it's the local pokie palace. Carol and I stayed here once 10 years ago before we'd moved to Daylesford and found the room to be fine. Don't know if it's changed, but maybe that's one thing in the Royal's favour.

Radio Springs Hotel

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High Street, Lyonville, Victoria
(03) 5348 5562
This is a wonderul thing, a pub that has been reborn. It was closed for many years and now it's a pub once again. It has been lovingly restored and includes accommodation along with good food and an excellent selection of libations. Tap beer includes James Squires Amber Ale, Coopers pale, Guinness, Boags draught, and - this is indeed special - Holgate ale on the pump, not gassed, served at cellar temperature. The people who run the pub have taken the very brave step of excluding CUB products, and the drinking selection is much improved because of it. The wine selection is good, of mostly local produce. There is also a handy choice of whiskeys. This is a small pub, cozy in winter and with a lovely veranda for sitting outside when the weather is good. The people running the Radio Springs (also known as the Lyonville pub) are very friendly and the locals are welcoming. This pub is a labour of love the owners. There are no pool tables or TV sets, just lots of warmth and comfort. We love this place.
Highly recommended.

The Farmers Arms Hotel

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http://www.farmersarms.com.au/
1 East St
Daylesford VIC 3460
(03) 5348 2091
When Carol and I moved to Daylesford in 2001 the Farmers was a rundown old-fashioned pub but still an OK place to go for a quiet drink or adequate pub meal.
In around 2003 it was bought by Frank Moylan and Melissa McFarlane, who did an amazing transformation, turning the tired old place into a thriving destination, while keeping most of the local flavour. It must be said that Frank and Melissa are geniuses at pub restorations (see comments on their next project, the Royal George in Kyneton).
The next owners at the Arms were Simon Bevanda and Vanessa Kalamistrakis. They took what was now a good pub and made it great. Simon is one of the outstanding pub men of Australia, having previously run the All Nations and the Spencer, two icons of Melbourne pub life.
Frank and Melissa turned the Arms into a "gastro-pub", introduced great wine and improved the tap beer selection (Carlton Draught is not good enough). Simon added a bar-meals menu (in itself a key improvement) and put in more beer taps. They usually pour James Squires Golden Ale, Coopers Pale Ale, Guinness and Carlton. A most welcome addition is a wonderful Beechworth Brewery pale ale on tap as of January 2010.

The Arms was sold to another almost a year ago and their style is markedly different to previous owners. Prices have gone up and bar service has yet to find its comfort zone. Tourists will still love the atmosphere, but for some locals a lot of the warmth has gone out.

In praise of pubs everywhere

Pubs are among the finest places on earth. There are some pubs that let down the side, however, and this blog seeks to inform readers of where they can find good pubs and also which pubs should probably be avoided, to minimise disappointment. After all - so many fine pubs, so little time.
Of course, some people like dingy pubs filled with poker machines and pouring old slops beer. I don't and will be saying so in these posts. But there's room for all types in pub world, so let's hear from you too.