I'm a huge fan of this pub. And I do not say that often…read more The food menu really had me at hello and pushed the Bridge to be my top choice pub in Castlemaine. The food was so good in fact, that we came nearly every week for the time we stayed in Castlemaine. There's options for vegetarians as well, it's not your traditional pub food fare. I really liked the feel of the place. It feels familiar and welcoming, vibrant and chill all at the same time. The staff here make you feel at home. It's bustling with locals, there's heaps of live music. And there's a vibin' beer garden back patio. The Bridge Hotel is located right across from the Castlemaine botanic gardens. Just a stone's throw away from the station but away enough from anything that it seems to stand alone. Can't wait to venture back for Mondays in Mexico!

Good food with live music and pleasant casual ambience. Frequented by local community which is…read morealways a good sign.

The thing that first caught my attention with this pub were the girls from a regional netball club…read morerunning around looking for clues for some treasure hunt and whoever had laid out these clues must have done a particularly good job with this place because the girls were absolutely stumped (though they didn't end up giving up and having a beer). It is quite a nice hotel though, with a small beer garden out the back, seating out the front, and a number of other areas which look quite comfortable. There was also an area that is underground, and sticking my nose down there I noticed that there were tables and seats there as well.

Great modernised pub with good tap beer. Bar menu is good but the restaurant menu is WAY…read moreoverpriced. Nice friendly staff.

The Wine Bank is exactly that - a wine bar set in an old bank (on view street). The building is…read moreimpressive both inside and out, with high ceilings and loads of wines. It appears that Wine Bank is targeted to two crowds - those who want to buy a bottle and go through the full list, and a very casual crowd who want to stop in for a cheap drink. Perhaps price sensitivity is an issue for the area, but the wines on pour were nothing special at all. The tacky paper menu and unimpressive by the glass list stop this from being a classy affair or place worth seeking out if you're a wine buff. I'm all for individual expression, but I think the place could really benefit from a work uniform or even just a dress code - another notch that really works against this being some place special. A good spot for a casual drink of sauvignon blanc or cheap champagne, but definitely not somewhere I would recommend to visitors unless you were settling in for a full bottle.

Nice atmosphere. Good beer on tap. Bar meals at good prices. Restaurant meals ridiculously…read moreoverpriced.

This is an awesome pub located in the bushland surrounding Bendigo. Mind you, if you are reliant on…read morepublic transport, as I happen to be, then it really isn't the easiest of pubs to get to, but it still certainly does have a lot of charm. It fact it ws really worth the hike that I made to get here, namely because when I arrived I was literally blown away as to how awesome the pub was. It really does have a true bush feel about it, and in fact it has a real historical charm to it as well, namely because it is one of those old style wooden pubs. Oh, and the beer selection is amazing, though unfortunately they really don't have anything on tap. Still, it is definitely a pub worth checking out.

This place has certainly changed a lot since I was last here. The pub is nothing short of awesome,…read moreif the bar at the back is anything to go by. The staff were super friendly, and quite chatty, and the beer selection was absolutely amazing. In a way I'm glad that I decided to go and revisit all of the pubs that I have visited the last time I was up in Bendigo because honestly, they have changed heaps - especially this one.

This place has a sports bar, pokies and a nice little restaurant. Good selection on the menu. Very…read morelarge servings. They even cater for kids. Food was good and came out fast. Staff are friendly.

Hands down the best pub in Castlemaine area (worth the short drive or gorgeous bush walk from…read moretown). Great ingredients, top noch chef, awesome front of house Scottish hospitality. The locals in Chewton are a tough bunch to please and they're happy! Front bar has classy grub and some hearty AF classics like the pub chips - with gravy & cheese! Treat yo self.

This place looks so inviting and quaint from the outside but inside it's totally different. The…read morelocals stopped and stared as soon as we walked in, mind you, we only live 5 minutes away from here. And it's as though the barman was going out of his way to NOT serve us, serving everyone around us. Oh no! Outsiders? A female? People with tattoos? I don't know, but it was strange. Finally he decided to take our orders but the whole process was confusing. Do we order food from the bar or from around the corner? And there were a couple of different menus for different sized meals. Once we made our order we decided to sit in the beer garden away from everyone glaring at us. We waited ages for our food to come while people who'd arrived after us received their meals - and it certainly wasn't busy. We overheard 2 different tables of people complaining that they'd received the wrong meals. When the food finally came out it was pretty average. I mean, you kind of expect them to step up their game if you're going to wait forever for it but it definitely wasn't worth the wait. After we had finished our meal a waitress actually brought out our meals AGAIN. Somebody in the kitchen was obviously very confused and unorganised. I wouldn't recommend stopping for this pub but if you're in Chewton for some reason maybe just stand out the front for a quick drink and move along.

All I can say was that this place had an absolutely amazing service. Well, it was rather quiet when…read moreI passed through, but that probably was because it was in the afternoon, but still, this was definitely one of those places that I really did like, and it was certainly a place that I could spend some more time at. They had an awesome beer garden, and not only that, there were free lighters for people, no doubt because smokers tend to have a habit of losing lighters (namely because they get leant out and never returned). Sure, the beer selection wasn't too great, but it was still a pretty awesome place.

My husband and I had a lovely evening during Wednesday Steak Night! We both ordered the porterhouse…read moresteak which was well done and juicy along with mushroom gravy. My meal came with generous sides of crispy chips and fresh salad, while my husband opted for vegetables. The $29 deal also included the beer and soft drink. We shared a serving of calamari with tartare sauce, which tasted superb. The restaurant has a casual, friendly atmosphere with a charming rustic vibe. Overall, the service was a solid 10/10!

Great little bistro, nice environment and very family friendly…read more We went there on a Saturday night, no trouble getting a table for six. Kids play area was ok, not much to entertain them. Widescreen Telly and some lego and a ride on motorbike. Food was served quite quickly, looked excellent and was great value for money, the seafood basket was cooked beautifully and presented magnificently. Other meals that I saw looked fantastic as well. The staff recommended the Chicken Surf and Turf which my wife had, she also said how good this meal was. Overall a fantastic place for meal and great value for money.

The curse of the Cumby…read more My partner and I attempted to eat here once before but had to cancel our meals before we received them because he was called out for work. We should have taken that as a sign because our second attempt tonight was a huge let down. We arrived at 8:15 - 15 minutes before the kitchen closed - and we were definitely the last people to order meals for the night. I feel as though $45 for 2 bistro meals is asking a bit much but we grinned and bared it because we were hungry. I orders the blackboard special of grilled flathead and the better half went for a parma - both with chips and salad. There's nothing like looking forward to a nice meal then receiving something so soul crushingly disappointing. Getting battered fish when you've ordered grilled fish SUCKS. Technically after the kitchen had closed so it just wasn't worth mentioning. But even for battered fish it was below average, the chips were soggy and the Greek style salad was served with a mound of bean shoots on top. Who puts bean shoots on a Greek style salad?! I wasn't the only one who wants disappointed. The other half said he was blown away by the fact that his chicken parma tasted as though he was eating air i.e. it was totally tasteless. He basically had to drown the meal in salt and pepper to get through it. I definitely won't be giving the Cumby another try.