Pub diners among country's finest

Several pub restaurants have been included in The Australian newspaper's list of the country's Hottest 50 Restaurants, highlighting the increasing role of hotels in providing serious dining options.

Taking top honours for Victoria was Andrew McConnell's Moon Under Water in the Builders Arms Hotel – as profiled in the August issue of Australian Hotelier.

McConnell also made the list for the hotel's bistro, with the judges paying tribute to the 'whipped roe, dressed with caviar and served with Turkish bread fingers'.

Colin Fassnidge unsurprisingly makes the list for his signature cooking at Paddington's Four in Hand Hotel, which has been making waves for a few years now, and similarly is featured in the August issue of Australian Hotelier's new supplement, Pub Dining.

St Kilda's trendy Newmarket Hotel boasts 'tastes of California with a wink to the South' in its nuevo Latin interpretations.

Also the Royal Mail Hotel brings food and wine expertise and European gastronomy to rural Victoria in Dunkeld.

Not to forget the small bars, El Publico serves up modern Mexican, Izakaya Fujiyama offers Japanese and Casa Cuiccio produces a 'hip-hop version of Spain and Portugal', with all offering complementary first-class bar and cocktail service.

Source: The Shout, 30 July 2012