Bright Brewery

121 Great Alpine Road
Bright
Victoria 3741

Bright Brewery sits on the Great Alpine Road with a 'hop terrace' backing on to the Ovens river. We visited on a busy early spring public holiday weekend after riding the rail trail up from Wangaratta. The venue was busy and we hadn't booked but managed to grab a table for 2 outside. Inside the large space felt cosy, maybe that was because the evening became a bit chilly later!

I had the quinoa veggie burger with sun-dried tomato and macadamia nut pesto, mushroom, rocket, beetroot and hummus served in a hemp roll with sweet potato fries. The combination of flavours was great, with the only challenge keeping the burger together while eating it.

The Hakaage fried chicken with soba noodles, kewpie mayo and Asian pickle went down well.

On a busy evening we did have to wait a while for our meal, as was to be expected. The brewery is a good spot for a casual meal with lots of outdoor space for the right times of year.

Boynton's Feathertop Winery, Porepunkah

6619 Great Alpine Road
Porepunkah
Victoria 3740

The autumn lunchtime we visited Boynton's Feathertop Winery was beautiful, showing off the location near Mount Buffalo and the colours in the trees.

As it was Easter the restaurant was fully booked, but the cellar door also offers food and it was a perfect day to enjoy the busy outdoor area.

It was busy inside too, with plenty of interest in sampling the produce.

In one corner was the fridge containing a range of dips, meats, cheeses and smoked fish. After selecting the items you are interested in and paying at the counter, they are brought out on a platter. 

We selected a baguette and some dips....

...along with a smoked rainbow trout. The flesh of the fish was moist and only subtly smoky, the better half wasn't a fan of the skin, but I enjoyed it.

The zucchini dip was heavy on the cumin, not in a bad way, but it was the dominant flavour. The olive tapenade had a strong kalamata hit, with occasional hints of the capers and anchovies.

Due to an earlier ride up Buffalo I didn't try the wines, but I was assured they were good. My long black was a good and helped recharge me for the afternoon.

Despite the crowds the service was pretty swift and friendly, possibly helped by the semi self service platter selection process. The components of the meal seemed expensive as we selected them, and our food came to $38, given the setting and the service overall the experience was worth it, and I'd happily head back if we were in the area on such a nice day again.

The Alpine Hotel, Bright

7-9 Anderson Street
Bright
Victoria 3741

We visited the Alpine Hotel in Bright with friends, the building is large with several sections and that's just downstairs, there are also more tables outside. It was very busy on the Easter Saturday we were in town, but we eventually got ourselves a table in the Bistro. The décor inside is classic country pub style, with a few nods here and there to the surrounding mountains.

The menu has a range of cuisines on offer...

...we'd been advised to try the Sri Lankan curry's.

I went for the fish with mustard and turmeric in coconut which was subtly brilliant.

The better half went for the goat curry, with the rich meatiness well complimented by the spices.

Our mates swapped plates halfway through their meal, they both liked the beef with it's chilli base, spices and pandanus leaves.

But their unanimous winner was the tamarind and coconut flavoured chicken.

The service was good given how busy the pub was and featured typical country town friendliness. We were all pleasantly surprised by the quality of the curries, I would normal eschew the option in a pub in town never mind out amongst the hills, but they are well worth a try in Bright and at $22.70 good value too.