5 Best Restaurants in The Gold Country, Victoria

Taking its name from the Swedish word for coffee break, this sleek contemporary café decked out with blond wood and industrial light fittings serves excellent coffee. There's also a light meal menu with a healthy twist, including macadamia chia pudding for breakfast and a caprese salad for lunch—counterbalanced with BLAT sandwiches (bacon, lettuce, avocado, and tomato) and single-origin coffee.

It's worth the country drive from Bendigo to this bakery to taste an Australian obsession---the vanilla slice---and Bridgewater Bakehouse is twice-winner of the annual, fiercely contested, national competition. The perfect slice is a thick slab of firm custard, wedged between two slivers of flaky pastry and iced with a glossy fondant. Happily, they also have an outpost in central Bendigo, which also bakes quality pastries and pies, buns and tarts.

This low-lighted local institution serves modern Italian classics for breakfast and lunch daily, with specials like linguini alla Bolognese; or a risotto with beets, walnuts, and goat cheese. The corn fritters with salmon are a great way to start the day, as is the classic Aussie breakfast dish of smashed avocado with feta cheese and poached eggs. This was a popular record shop back in the 1970s, and decades later you can still buy blues, jazz, and interesting contemporary music here.

This former industrial building now houses a pizzeria that serves top-notch wood-fired pizzas in a big dining room with long timber tables, wooden beams, and exposed brick walls. The pizzas are excellent, with light crusts and tasty toppings; try the Volcano (hot salami, chili pepper, Gorgonzola, feta, olives, and anchovies) for an entrée with a zing. An unusual appetizer is the Oliver Twist, a stack of baked pizza strips bearing olives, chili pepper, and Victorian goat's cheese.