Fish Creek Hotel

The Fish Creek Hotel is a site to behold. Firstly, it’s a looming 1939-built Art Deco building. Secondly, there’s giant fish sculpture (a 20-foot mullet by Venus Bay artist Colin Suggett to be exact) reclining on the hotel roof. Fish Creek is quite fond of its fish motifs, which you can learn by taking a quick stroll around town.

Arrive in the hours between meals, and the pub (and town) feel a little deserted. But as soon as the oven is fired up, the dining rooms fill with locals and travellers alike. Brothers Terry and Simon Peavey took over the ageing beauty in 2013 and gave this community pillar a solid refurb.

There’s a beer garden for warmer weather, and a sports bar for those just interested in drinking a pint while watching a game. The wine list offers many locals by the glass, so you can work your way around the region without needing to visit each cellar door. There are also some top-shelf spirits on hand (for enjoying by the open fire, of course) and Rutherglen-made ports that the pub has kept in small oak barrels and aged for a minimum of 10 years.

The kitchen serves handmade pasta with an assortment of traditional sauces, and paddock-to-plate Gippsland porterhouse and scotch fillets. Pub favourites such as garlic bread, chicken parmigiana, and fish and chips are all here too, with options for vegetarians and coeliacs. Close with a trio of Gippsland cheese, Prom Coast ice-creams or a classic sticky date pudding.

There’s accommodation upstairs and out the back if you care to stay longer.