Cliffy's Wine Bar

Ph: 5348 3279; 28 Raglan St, DAYLESFORD 3460

Cliffy's Emporium, $
Open Sun-Fri 9am-5pm Sat 9am-late; Licensed, BYO outdoor seating; MC V EFT

Mietta's Review
Small, cluttered and terrific, Cliffy's combines cafe and larder in an atmosphere of eclectic madness - pink wall, masses of colourful cushions, chandeliers and old persian rugs with the menu written on paper bags. But it works. So does the simple country food which ranges from good charcuterie to a lamb pie.

Other published opinions

Age Good Food Guide 2009 "Cliffy's has a singing waitress. Her ebullience can be irritating or charming, but it typifies the determined quirkiness of the place, where short menus are written on paper bags and candles light the gloom even at noon"

Age Good Food Guide 2008 "Sick of slick? Cliffy's is about as homespun as a cafe can get, combining higgledy-piggledy foodstore with ramshackle cafe and weaving it together with casual service and a fondness for local produce"

The Age Dani Valent, 12-3-2007 "Cliffy's is a six-year-old cafe and food store a good 10-minute walk from the centre of Daylesford. As soon as you walk in - past a rickety stack of biscuit boxes, higgledy-piggledy jars and a large tub of tomatoes - you know this place is a little bit different. It feels like you've walked into an appealingly crammed pantry. ... Eating in means sitting under the veranda out front or in the store's cave-like anteroom, a kooky blend of harem and junk shop with mismatched furniture, menus scrawled on paper bags, jars of cutlery and vintage oddities."

The Age Cheap Eats 2007 "Many a food-o-phile on a weekender has blown the holiday budget on green tomato relish, elderflower cordial and Istra sausages in Cliffy's shop. Those who stay to eat sit under the chandeliers in the shabbychic dining area."

The Age Good Food Guide 2006 "Suddenly we're kids again, hiding in grandma's pantry, gazing at preserves and plum cakes. But far from being met with the back of a ladle, we're ushered into a lavender-scented dining room with rustic, childproof furniture and told of treats to come."

The Age Good Food Guide 2005"COMBINING cheerful country attitude, an eccentric decorating aesthetic and an expert eye for great local produce, Cliffy's strikes thc perfect balance between quaint and canny."

The Age Cheap Eats 2005 "WANDER the wonderland of cliffy's larder - through precarious piles of wines, oils, pickles and cheeses - to the enchanting cavern within. Ensconce yourself by the faux fire, amid aged Persian rugs and gilded cushions, and order from the paper bag menu hanging from the candelabra."

The Age Cheap Eats 2004 "WIND your way through the cluttered produce store filling a basket with pickled walnuts, elderf lower cordial and farmhouse cheese, or stop at the bar for a great espresso. Best of all, slide on to a bench at one of the communal tables, prop yourself up with colourful cushions"

Age Good Food Guide 2004, 14/20

Herald Sun, Weekend, 3/1/04, Simon Plant,'they also serve some of the freshest, finest country fare in Victoria'

Vogue Entertainment & Travel, March/April 2003, 'the weatherboard cafe, wine bar and food store where they won't serve tomatoes until local ones are good and ripe-order strawberries and someone will mosey out back and pick them for you.

Herald Sun, sundaymagazine, dining, Graham Pearce, 13/7/03, Score 7.5/10. A produce store that also serves meals using local ingredients. "Great simple country fare"