Review Balgownie Estate Bendigo Restaurant - Bendigo

We had a fantastic weekend away, staying in one of the cottages. The cottage was comfortable and warm (which we were worried about since we were here in late June). We had a nice dinner in the restaurant. Of the six courses we ordered, three were excellent, two were great, and one was good (the broccoli pasta). The wine was great though :)

Went for lunch today with 8 adults and 9 children and started with a wine tasting. Amazing menu comprising locally sourced pork, duck and lamb. Kids meals were all polished off and then topped off with ice cream and sprinkles. Best winery food experience 😋

We stayed in cottage 1 last night. Lovely winery, wine tasting and very peaceful and relaxing. The cottage overall was great but could do with a new couch. The current one is a futon, very low and uncomfortable. We enjoyed our stay and would recommend.

Poor service. Waited 10 min for table to be available ( happy to do so). Wine tasting was $10 for 6 wines. 4 wines and 45 min later, we gave up, waited almost 25min for our last 2 tasting that never came. Paid and left. Don’t think we will be going back. We did noticed that the couple near us, with the brand named clothing and hand bag were very well served.

My partner and myself stayed in one of the larger glamping tents with the bathroom. Room was gorgeous and cosy and had adequate heating including heat blankets on the bed. Reception staff need to explain things a bit better as we were not informed of our late checkout or included breakfast in the package and we had to go back and ask. Also we had to advise of already used items in room so as to not be charged (bottle of wine opened from previous guests and left in fridge) The restaurant is quite pricey for what you get and not a lot of options for someone who cannot eat seafood. However atmosphere was good as was the service. I would recommend staying in one of the larger tents with bathroom facilities as the shared bathroom facilities for the smaller tents did not look great. Overall it was a nice relaxing stay and the rain on the tents sounded amazing.

Check in was not good at all. Glamping was amazing and great facilities. When we arrived we were told that we would need to go to cellar door asap as it was closing for our free wine tasting. It was 4pm. Food in restaurant was average. Steak was v bad cut and small portions. Great stay but needs to be better for the price.

My wife and I had been gifted a glamping experience off Red Balloon. When we arrived at 1630, we were advised by reception to head to the wine tasting that was included with our stay. When we entered the venue for the tasting the person running the tasting told us that it would have to be quick as they were closing soon (1700), as a customer when you're being given the hurry-up, it makes you feel like you're not welcome. I declined the wine tasting due to this. Then bell tent we stayed in was great, with great amenities. The let down was the restaurant not being open for the guests that were staying at the winery for the night which meant you had to travel into Bendigo for dinner. If you plan on staying here please note that the restaurant isn't open Mon- Wed for dinner. If we had been told this upon booking we would have booked another night to come to enjoy the experience to its fullest. My wife had phoned earlier in the day prior to check in to ask about food options at the venue. My wife was told that most people head into Bendigo. As a customer, for future reference for others, staff should maybe advise of some suggestions for guests given the restaurant not being open and not knowing the area. All in all the glamping side of things was great with some minor customer service oversights.

How good is this …. Wow. Just gorgeous and well laid out. The romance of a tent with the warmth and cosiness the small hotel. But open your zipper in the morning and sit on the deck and face the sunrise and stare into that beautiful scenery, breath in the fresh fresh air. It doesn’t get much better than that. You could do with some nicely built organic outdoor shower block to really spruce up the experience in the meanwhile they have only some commercial portaloos for the toilet and shower but they do the job. We had dinner in the restaurant which was more than adequate nice food very attentive service I wouldn’t say it was spectacular food, but nice nonetheless. We were starving and gobbled down the food immediately it came, but it did take a little over 2 hours for service. We spent more on dinner here than at “The Woodhouse” for example (in Bendigo) yet The Woodhouse is another level by comparison. Overall a lovely stay and great venue.