Royal Hotel Daylesford

Editor’s Note: Two days after we visited the Royal Hotel Daylesford, a tragic car accident took the lives of five people in the pub’s front beer garden.  Several others were injured in the incident. We were very conscious that this post not have the tone of being about us having a ‘near miss’, even slightly or implicitly. So this post will be like any other and solely focus on our visit to the pub, and the time we had in Daylesford and Hepburn Springs. But at the same time, we couldn’t not acknowledge the tragedy that occurred and that, even months later, our thoughts are still with the families of those affected.

After leaving the Royal Hotel Sunbury with a little bit of time still left on the happy hour, we headed for our final Royal of the day: the Royal Hotel Daylesford.

We actually stayed just up the road from Daylesford in a town called Hepburn Springs.  We got a nice little AirBnb. Because we’re all super mature and stuff (and because the Royal Hotel Dayelsford has a 2-night minimum stay). It ended up coming with some great reading material as well.

Daylesford has a bit of a reputation as a foodie weekender destination. So we were looking forward to some good local wares when it came to food and drink.

We were meeting my good mate Nibs at the Royal for dinner but had some time to kill.  And as there happened to be a brewery right there in Hepburn Springs, it seemed like a pretty easy decision as to how to kill that time.  That decision (easy or not) turned out to be a very good one.  Hepburn Springs Brewing is a great little brewery.  We sat out on the deck and worked our way through a few tasting flights. The Irish Red and the Cold IPA were particular standouts for me personally. 

But I don’t think I had a bad beer there.  And the owners are extremely friendly, passionate, and definitely know what they’re doing.

Eventually, the time came for us to head to the reason we were in Daylesford (/Hepburn Springs) in the first place: the Royal Hotel Daylesford.  This Royal is a classic old Royal right on the corner of the main intersection in town.  The exterior is all classic, old school, slightly on the fancier side country Royal.  The inside is divided up into a giant dining area, a front sports bar area, and an odd kind of in-between area with tall tables.  We opted for the odd kind of in-between area with tall tables.

We ordered some food and shortly thereafter Nibs tracked us down and we got into the beers. The food was pretty good. Anthony’s chicken Kiev was probably the pick of the lot. The beer was just ok. Both Nibs and I got suckered into ordering pints (this was our first Victorian Royal to stick to the pot/pint system) of the ‘Daylesford Lager’.  With Daylesford’s foodie reputation, a brewery just up the road and a second one right in Daylesford itself, we figured that must be a local craft brew.  Unfortunately it turned out to be a generic lager of some sort with the only ‘local’ aspect being the label on the tap. Also it was eye-wateringly expensive. But you live, you learn.

But that’s really the only explicitly bad thing I can say about this pub. It doesn’t necessarily excel at anything, but everything about it is done pretty well.  Plenty of screens in the sports bar area for sports viewing purposes. Food is decent without being great.  Good ambiance and character (while it was definitely a bit done up, it didn’t fall into that kind of generic-chic trap that some pubs fall into).  I can safely say I would go back.

After finishing dinner we headed up the road to the other brewery (the aptly named Daylesford Brewing Co) for a night cap.  The Daylesford Brewing Co is a bit more trendy and a bit less homey than the Hepburn Springs Brewing Co. But still had some very good beer.

So with some takeaways in hand, we waited for the one taxi in town to take us back to the AirBnB to watch some late night cricket (and learn all about women in hats).

Royal Stats

• Town/Suburb: Daylesford, VIC
• Population: 2,781
• Date Visited: Friday, November 3, 2023
• Visited By: Cory, John, Anthony, and Nibs
• Beer Sponsorship on Sign: None
• Beer Consumed at Pub: Daylesford Lager (Pint)
• Price of Schooner of Said Beer: $17.50
• Unique Award: Hardest Royal to Find a Cab Home From
• Tour Progress: 30.9% (42/136)