Forget about the expensive restaurants. If you want warm hospitality and value for money try the $6 bar meal at the Kirstall hotel, a few kms out of Koroit. The bar is small so it is not a big noisy pub. Choose from the table for 2 or the one for 4 people, and follow up with a game of pool if you fancy. In winter there is a blazing fire that will warm the cockles of your heart as well as your body. An example of the $6 option is 2 ham steaks with a ring of pineapple, some chips and a dainty salad. To this you can add vegetables from the bain-marie. On the day we went (for the second time) the choices were mashed potato, roast pumpkin, cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli topped with a delicious cheese sauce. For an extra $2.70 you can have the best Lemon, lime and bitters drink I have ever tasted. There is a menu of several other options at higher prices if you fancy something else. The delight of the ambiance does not come from the walls or furnishings but the layout of the place and the people who pop in. There is a feeling of being able to choose to have a private conversation or to be part of the interaction of others who seem to be part of the Hotel 'family'.

Approximate cost: $6 - $20