Beechworth Exploring: Vegetarian Food in Beechworth

Over the Easter break we spent a few days in Beechworth on our way between Canberra and Melbourne and managed to squeeze in some excellent dinners. I thought I would share the places we ate in case you’re on the look out for some excellent vegetarian food in Beechworth!

If you haven’t been to Beechworth before I highly recommend popping by for a visit. It’s an amazing historic town full of gorgeous architecture, interesting places to explore and gorgeous scenery. Plus, thankfully plenty of delicious food! We didn’t eat at the highest rate place in Beechworth – Provenance – but it’s definitely one to go back for!

Bridge Road Brewers

If there is a brewery in town I’m always going to be keen to check it out, and given I already love the Bridge Road beers I had tried I was definitely not missing the chance to visit whilst in Beechworth. A tasting paddle seemed the appropriate place to start and it was a great way to try some of the more interesting beers. Who knew chestnut beer would be so delicious!

As for the food – it’s mostly pizzas with a few snacks, salads and larger dishes. My dad went with the beef burger which he spoke highly about, whilst mum and I shared some of the vegetarian options. We started with the Sweet Potato Pizza which was a tomato base with thinly sliced sweet potato, gorgonzola, rosemary, rocket and hazelnuts. It was a super tasty flavour combo with an excellent base. We were off to a good start!

The other dish we ordered was from the specials board. It was a base of hummus topped with local apples, kale, hazelnuts and crispy chickpeas. Given how much I love hummus and crispy chickpeas I knew this would be a winner, and it was! It was an excellent counterbalance to the pizza, and the apples were sweet and delicious.

The combo of the food and beer was spot on and we highly enjoyed our visit. It’s definitely a must-stop spot in Beechworth!

Empire Hotel

All my research before visiting highlighted that a meal at Empire Hotel was a must, so I promptly booked us in. Whilst it’s technically a pub, the room at the back definitely doesn’t feel like one! It was warm, cosy and fairly intimate as it doesn’t have a huge number of tables.

The menu is seasonal and pretty short – there was only one vegetarian option in each section. Thankfully they were excellent options! For entree I had the Cauliflower Cheese Cigar ($22) which came with peperonata, lentils and candied olives. The salty olives and peperonata balanced the cheesy cauliflower really well, and the pastry was flaky and crunchy. It was an excellent way to start!

For my main I had the Autumn Mushroom Gnocchi ($36) which was served with chestnuts and salted ricotta. This was so far from your standard mushroom gnocchi! I lost count of the number of different mushrooms and they were cooked in a range of interesting ways. I particularly loved the crispy mushrooms on the top! The gnocchi and salted ricotta were creamy and rich without being overpowering, and the whole dish was pretty spectacular. It was one of the best gnocchi dishes I have had in a long time!

The Ox and Hound Bistro

The last of our dinners in Beechworth was at The Ox and Hound Bistro. This was another must-book given it only has 12 tables, and I’m very glad we did.

For entree I went with the Goats Cheese Soufflé ($19) which was served with an apple, celery and walnut salad. The souffle was light, fluffy and seriously tasty and the salad was crisp and fresh. The two elements worked perfectly together and made it an excellent way to start my meal.

For my main I decided not to go for back-to-back gnocchi and instead went for the risotto! It was a pumpkin risotto with sage and parmesan ($29) and it was creamy, full of flavour and thoroughly excellent particularly given it was a freezing cold night! Seriously, who knew there was so much delicious vegetarian food in Beechworth!

Pies

And just for something a little less fancy, the other thing I ate a lot of was pies! I love a pie from a country bakery so decided to try as many as I could whilst in country Victoria! Most of them were some kind of cheesy cauliflower or broccoli combo or curried vegetable, and they all made me very happy!

Beechworth Exploring: Vegetarian Food in Beechworth | I Spy Plum Pie

There we have it, my favourite vegetarian food in Beechworth! Have you been before?

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