Red Hill Hotel - Elphinstone

We decided to give a local pub a try as most restaurants in town closed for the long weekend Sunday dinner shift. I have not eaten here for many years. We decided to have a lite bite and tried the salt n pepper calamari, saganaki with lemon. Pricing was reasonable at $12 which offer ed a good offering. I thought the squid was just ok as the batter was not fully cooked and no sign of salt n pepper. The cheese was nicely cooked and side garnish broke it up. However the dog was not ok wandering around and the exhaust fan of the kitchen was deafening, not relaxing and music to loud as guests had to yell on large table near us. Would I come back? Only a maybe.

The Red Hill is an old goldfields hotel a few kms outside Castlemaine. I was there one night when it was one of the venues for a jazz festival. On the ground level patrons were seated, drinking and watching the band. On the mezzanine level patrons were eating at tables. (There's also a courtyard to the side of the building, and in mild weather the front verandah with its canopy of vines would be a nice place to sit.) The Red Hill's ambience is casual and family friendly; the décor is 1980s. The blackboard menu looked pretty good as pub food goes, but as I didn't have a meal I can't rate what is served. As at the Five Flags Hotel at Campbell Creek, there are some good local red wines on offer.

As a Jazz Musician based in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, I can say with some authority that we (the band) get to taste a large variety of pub/club food. I have holidayed in the U.K and found the local Pub tucker (food), to be a lottery at best. The Red Hill Pub in Chewton offers a basic "Aussie Pub Food Menu". "Basic" is being unkind! It just happens to have the best pub tucker with a touch of class and a focus on presenting quality local ingredients for their menu.Why do metro/O'seas yuppies come to the goldfields and expect some dish to be cooked and presented in the manner they are accustomed to? I mean - isn't it about experiencing local fare? Why do they visit anyway? Thank's Di & staff - catch you at the next gig. Norm.

There's a charming quirkiness to this historic local country pub that's a rarity even in most country towns. The food is better than you'd expect, especially since the recent arrival of a new chef. This is no slick gastro-pub, and the service, though genuine, can be patchy, but it's always a great refuge, a bit of a time warp for sure. I hope it never changes!

Arrived at the restaurant only to meet by a dog, I mean a dog. One of our party objected to the dog being in the restaurant it was removed. We ordered our meal which took an eternity to be served, plus the dog returned. Ok it's a country restaurant a dog in the bar might be ok but in the restaurant I'm not sure. Apart from that couldn't get the bill. Finally paid and left and yes the food was just ok service some of the worst ever. Take some dog biscuits for the dog might stop Hom begging for food.