Bar Merenda – Daylesford, Victoria

In past years we got to know Andy Ainsworth due to our constant appearences at the bar 10 William Street, one of our favourite venues in Sydney. Andy was a commanding presence behind the bar with a great knowledge of the amazing wine collection held by that venue.

A couple of years ago he and his partner Clare O’Flynn moved to Daylesford in Victoria and opened a bar in the main street which was very popular and very good. More recently they moved to another venue a couple of blocks away and have now settled into this venue with a bar downstairs and a restaurant upstairs called Bistro Merenda.

It is interesting to see what they say about their two venues as it gives a feel for what to expect. First the downstairs bar:

Bar Merenda is a small wine bar in Daylesford, Victoria serving an a la carte menu full of the best locally grown produce, a deep cellar full of our favourite wines from near and far, classic cocktails, aperitifs, beer & digestifs.

The weekly blackboard menu is derived from the very best produce that is available in that moment from local, ethical farmers, gardeners & producers as well as sustainable Australian fisheries.

So from their explanation you can see that they serve meals using sustainable produce from the surrounding producers and they have a deep cellar of wines to accompany the food.

And now to the Bistro upstairs which seats 18 diners.

Bistro Merenda is our peaceful little dining room, above the hum of the wine bar, where guests are treated to a gently paced and generous set menu that pays homage to the special produce of our region and those neighbouring.

Each week, our kitchen team works closely with our network of small local farmers and producers to source the best produce available at that moment.

The menu for the evening we were there is shown below.

We will be posting some photos of the food we ate shortly! Needless to say, the dinner we had with friends was amazing and the wines were also wonderful including a cracking Champagne with which we started the evening.

We have also included this venue in our story about where to eat in central Victoria here.

You can read more about this venue on their own Website here.

115 Vincent Street, Daylesford, Victoria