It’s been a very long time since I’ve added to my Pubs for Vegetarian series, and I can’t believe that Stomping Ground hadn’t got a mention yet! To call it a pub does it a bit of disservice, it’s actually a brewery with an attached beer hall – but that’s just semantics!
Stomping Ground is somewhere I have visited countless times since it opened, it’s a favourite to visit with friends, family – you name it. Actually, I even went one Friday night when they were doing drinks in the actual brewery before the beer hall even opened! It doesn’t hurt that it’s in the backstreets of Collingwood, not far from where I live.
The beer hall is large, with lots of tables on either side of a central bar. One side even has a retractable roof for when the weather is good, and a cubby house for kids to play in (as well as a kids food menu). Unsurprisingly it’s an incredibly popular spot to visit and it attracts a pretty diverse crowd, so it can be tricky to nab a table in peak periods. It’s worth it though!
So, on to the food! Much of the menu changes seasonally, and it is made up of snacky things, sharing dishes, mains, salads, woodfired pizzas and desserts. There a number of vegetarian friendly options across the whole menu, including some excellent grilled haloumi and some very good chips which seem to make their way on to our order every time.
The salads are always excellent as well, with hearty grain salads and more light options usually featuring. We usually order at least one for the table to balance out the beer drinking and the heavier food!
Stomping Ground updated their pizza menu a little while back so now every pizza can be made vegetarian, which was a much appreciated change. There’s at least one vegan option, and others that can be made vegan, and over the last few visits we’ve been making our way through trying them all!
I’m yet to pick a favourite, and yes I did order one with pineapple on it – I won’t hear the dissent!
The vegetarian mains often feature dishes like ricotta dumplings, or a roast vegetable dish of some description and I’ve enjoyed all the ones I have tried thus far. The one thing the menu is missing from my perspective is a vegetarian burger – sometimes that’s exactly what I feel like with my beer.
The food is decently priced too – it’s not a cheap pub, but it’s definitely good value for money. For example, pizzas are around the $20 mark and I definitely can’t eat a whole one to myself (especially not with chips on the side!).
The beer menu changes frequently as well and it always has new, interesting things to try. I have done a tasting paddle on more than one occasion when I just couldn’t decide what I wanted to drink! Thankfully you can also pick up some beers to take home with you which helps prolong the whole experience.
As has probably become very obvious, I’m a huge fan of Stomping Ground, and I highly recommend you give it a visit if you’re a fan of delicious beer, great food and an excellent atmosphere!