The crew behind Daylesford’s much-loved food store and bottle shop Winespeake Cellar & Deli have opened Leggatt St Wine Bar, an all-day indoor-outdoor spot overlooking Lake Daylesford.
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crew → love → Daylesford
“It’s a place for people who enjoy thoughtful produce and wines, like we do at Winespeake,” says owner Jen Latta.
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Latta → ’ → Winespeake
“We’re bringing that energy to the lake.”
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We → bring → lake
The menu is snacky, with wood-fired focaccia, gildas, cheese platters and mortadella skewers with fior di latte and pesto.
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menu → fire → latte
“We work with producers we love, and the snack menu will be forever rotating,” says Latta.
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Latta → work → producers
A two-level room steps down towards the water with warm timber finishes and textured brick walls giving a vintage country cottage feeling.
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room → step → feeling
“We’ve captured the view,” says Latta.
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Latta → capture → view
“It’s the perfect place to watch the sun go down or finish your walk around the lake with a glass of wine.
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sun → ’ → wine
On cold days, a fireplace will keep the interior cosy, and a wood oven will be used for braised dishes as the team beds in.
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team → keep → dishes
The 40-seat bar is in the timber building that housed the beloved Bookbarn, a second-hand bookstore which closed in 2019, after which the building slowly fell into disrepair.
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building → house → disrepair
“A lot of people have fond memories of the place back to the 1990s,” says Latta.
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Latta → have → 1990s
“I saw a ‘for lease’ sign in the window in May and a week later it was signed, sealed and delivered.”
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it → see → May
Then the hard work began.
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work → begin → ?
“It was very dangerous, hanging by a thread, shingles falling off, a project where you correct something only for something else to be uncovered.”
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something → hang → something
An experienced team, led by venue manager Marty Hinck (also from Winespeake), can talk visitors through the offerings in a friendly manner.
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team → lead → manner
Her husband Owen was born into a wine family and makes wines under the Latta Vino label, as well as his family’s Eastern Peake brand.
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Owen → bear → label
But it definitely wasn’t wine that brought the couple together.
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that → bring → couple
“I met Owen when I was living in a share house, drinking from goon boxes,” she says.
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she → meet → boxes
“The first time he showed me the Eastern Peake chardonnay, I poured it in a glass and added orange juice.
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I → show → juice
It’s amazing he stuck around.”
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he → ’ → ?
Open daily 11am-sunset, from Thursday, September 17
1 Leggatt Street, Daylesford, instagram.com/leggatt.st.bar
Also new in Central Victoria
Table Bar & Bistro, Castlemaine
Ali Currey-Voumard (ex-Agrarian Kitchen) has turned her pop-up at Table Records into a restaurant, open Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.
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Voumard → open → restaurant
A recent spring offering leaned southern French, with moules frites and a trio of ice-creams, including Meyer lemon sorbet.
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offering → lean → sorbet
16 Hargraves Street, Castlemaine, instagram.com/table.bar.bistro
Ruhe, Kyneton
Esteemed chef Rob Kabboord (ex-Quay) and restaurateur Daniel Saligari have opened Ruhe in the space that was the latter’s Marchesa.
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that → open → space
Ruhe (say “roo-eh”, it’s German for “quiet” or “peace”) is a 20-seat bistro for seasonal dining with European leanings.
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it → say → leanings
We love the BYO rule: corkage is $50 and if you bring a (special) bottle, you must buy a bottle too.
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you → love → bottle
58A Piper Street, Kyneton, ruhe-restaurant.com
Dear Eliza, Ballarat
Ballarat has a new laneway wine bar or, as its owners say, “adult sanctuary”.
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owners → have → bar
Hidden down a laneway beside the old George Hotel, you can snack on croquettes and dumplings while sipping cocktails like the Golden Hour, with gin, bourbon and chocolate bitters.
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you → hide → gin
Games include darts, pool, shuffleboard and cards.
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Games → include → darts
The Aporia
