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Bar Merenda

22 Howe Street, Daylesford

When I said I was visiting Daylesford, it was like a chorus of people started telling me “Bar Merenda”- “You have to get into Bar Merenda” seemed to be the number one thing anyone wanted to tell me. As soon as I stepped inside, taking in the European rustic vibes, art on the walls, many posters of previous specialty nights they’ve hosted with art done by their owner, Claire – I too started calling through my phone book to see who I could gush to. 

Just an hour and a half’s drive (or a two-hour train ride) from Melbourne, Bar Merenda is both refreshingly unpretentious and quietly ambitious. It’s the kind of spot that draws locals in for a casual glass of wine and keeps visitors lingering much longer than planned. And while wine is certainly the soul of the place, it’s the food that makes it sing.

They are moving 500m away from their Howe Street location soon into a bigger, better location sometime in the next month or so. They’ve got plans to make the two-storey 1850s building something special

The menu is refreshingly short, dictated by what’s fresh, what’s ripe, and what’s coming in from the surrounding farms that week. It reads like a handwritten love letter to local producers: Jonai Farm, Mt Franklin Organics, Istra Smallgoods, and Butterfly Factory cheese all make regular appearances. The food is driven by ingredient quality, not embellishment- simple, elegant, deeply satisfying.

We visited on a Monday night, when the team offers a set menu for $75 per person, and it might just be one of the best-value dinners in Victoria right now. The meal started with warm olive focaccia, chewy and aromatic with a crunchy crust, served alongside generous slices of rare roast Warialda beef. The beef was buttery-soft and layered with anchovy and pecorino; salty, sharp, and umami-rich without being overpowering.

Next came panisse, which are chickpea flour fries – think polenta chips if polenta didn’t suck. Crisp on the outside, silky within, and begging to be dragged through a dollop of garlic aioli. Fried food that somehow still felt light, balanced, and snacky. The main event was a perfectly pan-roasted snapper, served with beurre blanc and Meyer lemon. The fish was cooked just to that gentle flake, the beurre blanc rich but not heavy, and the lemon bringing a floral citrus lift that kept everything in check. It was served with roast potatoes – golden, crisp, comforting.

Dessert brought a chocolate hazelnut torte, dense and nutty with a good balance of bitter cocoa and toasty richness, topped with a spoonful of tangy crème fraîche to cut through it all. It felt indulgent, but not over the top. A perfect ending that echoed the rest of the meal: considered, honest, and just a little bit elegant.

Alongside dinner, we tried a bottle of the house Grenache – A+C Ainsworth, made by the owners Andy and Clare themselves. In 2021, the same year Bar Merenda opened, they decided to take their connection to the land one step further and start making wine in small batches. Sourcing fruit from organically managed vineyards across Central Western Victoria, they teamed up with Joshua, Alan and Nelly Cooper to produce a truly handmade vintage. The grapes are fermented and matured in the cool cellars of Cobaw Ridge in the Macedon Ranges, and the result is a bright, supple Grenache that drinks beautifully with the food they serve. 

Outside of Mondays, you’ll find a rotating selection of bar plates and larger dishes available à la carte – think charcuterie, pressed terrines, seasonal vegetables cooked simply, and the kind of cheese and wine pairings that could easily stretch into a long afternoon. The menu shifts weekly (sometimes daily), but the vibe stays constant: soulful food made with care, built around the best of what Daylesford and its surrounds can offer.

Bar Merenda doesn’t do flash or fuss. Instead, it serves food with purpose, wine with joy, and an atmosphere that feels like you’re exactly where you’re meant to be. Be sure to book as they only open Friday – Monday, open for lunch and dinner through the weekend and just dinner on Friday and Monday.

Images: Supplied.