The Lonely Planet Gourmet Trails book has just been released, with a Goldfields segment focused on the city and the surrounding area.

Several locations in Ballarat are featured, with the writer saying the region is undergoing "an epicurean renaissance", along with many parts of regional Victoria .

Businesses mentioned include the 16-seat Underbar restaurant on Doveton Street, which is described as "representative of Ballarat's rise as a culinary destination".

It is not the only Doveton Street locale to get a mention with Mitchell Harris also appearing on the same page, described as "one of the best wine bars in regional Victoria."

Co-owner John Harris said: "Ballarat has come a long way in terms of its eating and drinking offering.

"To have been part oft that transformation, we are really proud of that.

"Ballarat has traditionally been a beer and pub town and we thought we'd do something different.

"We knew there were enough people in town that were interested, and we thought we could try to create something fun and capture their imagination - and hopefully that's what we've done."

There is also a nod to two Delacombe-based drink-makers: the Red Duck Brewery & Kilderkin Distillery.

"When it comes to producing inventive, chemical-free beers and interesting gins, the team was well ahead of the game - they've been brewing in their Ballarat tin shed since 2005," the review says.

Kilderkin owner Chris Pratt said the distillery had proved so popular since its launch in 2017 that it was now likely to separate from the beer brewery and move into Central Ballarat. He said he thought the Ballarat [food and drink scene] had "developed considerably over the past few years."

Meanwhile, Plate Up Ballarat, the month-long festival aiming to celebrate Ballarat's culinary scene, is also given a name check in the new guide.

Event organiser Kate Davis said inclusion in the guide was recognition the city's food and drink offering keeps "getting better and better". She highlighted the recent opening of fine dining Italian restaurant Ragazzone on Mair Street as a further example of how the city's culinary scene was improving.

"It's just cemented even more that Ballarat is one of our leading regional dining destinations, and how progressive we are.

"To have this recognition is amazing. We are really proud we have these venues we can bring together."

"The reason we started [Plate Up] is we wanted to create a standalone festival that was all about Ballarat and its surrounds."

Ms Davis also highlighted the challenges still facing the city's hospitality industry, despite the relaxing in restriction that has allowed many to reopen their doors in recent months - but still with strict rules on the amount of people who could be served.

"It's really important venues can allow more people to come in," she said. "Hospitality has always relied on the Christmas trade."

Ballarat business owners will be hoping for a further easing of restrictions this weekend.

If there are no further outbreaks, the state is due to move into a so-called "final step". This would more than double venue capacity up to a maximum of 100 people indoors and 200 outdoors - although limits on number of people that could pack within a space would still apply.

The DHHS confirmed on Wednesday morning there had been no new COVID-19 cases recorded in Victoria for the 19th day in a row.

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