Gallery Restaurant, Ballarat by Foghorn Leghorn

For a few decades after the gold rush of the 1850s, Ballarat was one of the wealthiest cities in the world. You can still see the wealth in the buildings from that period, and one of the best examples is Craig’s Royal Hotel, built in 1862. Back in the day, it was the hotel of choice for Mark Twain and other celebrities.

Assiette of duck with nettle puree and roast carrots

A few years ago the building was completely renovated with a modern addition: the courtyard was enclosed with a glass ceiling, creating a light and airy space for a modern restaurant. It displays a changing set of artwork on the walls, so it’s called the Gallery.

On a cycling weekend in Ballarat, Mrs Shiraz and I went to the Gallery for lunch. After a morning of strenuous bush-bashing (trying to cycle the Goldfields Track to Creswick - more info on this later) we’d worked up a bit of an appetite.

Hunters & Disciples, West Melbourne by Foghorn Leghorn

I’m a long term fan of Southbank restaurant Tutto Bene, so I was pretty keen when I heard that their former chef Nathan Scarfo has opened up a café in West Melbourne. What’s more, it was a trip to the old neighbourhood, because I lived in West Melbourne for a couple of years in the early 1980s.

The café, Hunters & Disciples, is in a courtyard off Spencer Street. My recollection is that this was a truck depot, and the drivers used to drink at my local, the Moomba Hotel (now a backpacker place). The renovated café space is cool and funky industrial: polished concrete, exposed ducts and cables, with a spacious feeling that comes from the high ceilings of the original building. There’s background music at just the right volume.


Charcuterie board

The menu is café style, mainly muesli, eggs, toast and a few other odds and ends. There’s a specials board with pasta, soup and pizza. The café is still waiting for its liquor licence, so drinks are limited to non-alcoholic.

After a bit of discussion, I went for the spinach and ricotta gnocchi (from the specials board), and Tam O’Shanter chose the Hunter Burger. There’s also a breakfast burger on the menu, but hard experience has taught us to avoid anything with this description. One thing a breakfast burger doesn’t contain is a burger. There should be a law against it, but there isn’t yet.