Paperbark House — Best Restaurant with a Casino Hall
Step through the old workshop doors on Main Street and you’ll find sawdust-coloured floors, six felt tables under the tin roof, and a kitchen sending out a short seasonal menu most evenings. Paperbark House grew out of a joinery that built chairs and tables for half of Bairnsdale for sixty years, and the same wide doorway that once let timber through now lets guests in from half past five. You’ll find five hundred, euchre, rummy, canasta and crib most nights, plus a friendly poker table some Saturdays. A table for dinner and a seat at the cards are booked separately, so you can come for either one, or both.
A Joiner’s Bench, Six Card Tables
Sawdust in a beam of afternoon light, a row of half-finished chairs against the back wall, the smell of timber oil under something baking — that was the workshop on Main Street for sixty years before it became Paperbark House.
Six felt tables now stand where the workbenches used to run, and the same wide doors that once let timber in for the joiner now let guests in most evenings from half past five.
Est. 1958
The joiner’s workshop opened on Main Street
Six tables
Felt, chips and a house dealer most evenings
A Short Menu From the District
Paperbark House’s kitchen keeps a short list — usually six or seven dishes — built on what’s coming off the farms and market gardens around Bairnsdale that week.
A Gippsland beef and vegetable pie is the standing main most evenings, with a pumpkin and ginger soup or a seasonal greens tart to start.
Dessert leans on two things the kitchen won’t take off the list: lamingtons, made fresh each morning, and a pavlova finished with whatever fruit is in season.
Beef and vegetable pie
Gippsland beef, slow-cooked, on the menu most nights
Pumpkin and ginger soup
A starter that changes little through the cooler months
Lamingtons and pavlova
Two desserts the kitchen never takes off the list
Paperbark House, 118 Main Street
Address
118 Main Street, Bairnsdale VIC 3875
Phone
+61 3 5152 6340 · table@paperbarkhouse.com
The workshop floor opens Thursday to Monday from half past five, with cards continuing until half past midnight.
The Working Week on the Floor
Pumpkin and ginger soup on the list
Beef and vegetable pie, the busiest night
Full menu, lamingtons made fresh that morning
A lighter menu, pavlova to finish
A short menu, kitchen closes earlier
The Workshop Floor and Beyond
Five Rules for Every Table
- You must be eighteen or over to play at any table; ID is checked whenever there’s doubt.
- Every hand at Paperbark House is dealt in person on the workshop floor — nothing here is played online.
- Chips are worth points only; there is no wagering and no cash prize at any table.
- You won’t find a poker machine anywhere in the building, and you never will.
- You can book a dinner table and a seat at the cards separately, whichever suits your evening.
Casino Hall: Six Tables on the Old Workshop Floor
The workshop floor is wide and open, exactly as a joiner would have wanted it for turning long pieces of timber; six felt tables now sit where the workbenches ran end to end.
Five hundred and euchre take up most of the room on a typical evening, with rummy and canasta on the smaller tables near the old tool cabinet, and a friendly poker table with no buy-in most Saturdays.
A house dealer moves between tables through the evening; chips are worth points only, and nobody at Paperbark House plays for cash.
Five Hundred
Two large tables, most nights
Rummy and Canasta
Smaller tables near the tool cabinet
Friendly Poker
No buy-in, most Saturdays
What You’ll Want to Know
How do I book a table?
Ring, email or use the contact page; dinner tables and card seats are booked separately, so let us know which you’d like.
Is there parking nearby?
Main Street has parking directly outside, and the council car park behind the old post office is a two-minute walk and free after five.
What should I wear?
Smart casual suits Paperbark House well; there’s no strict dress code, though singlets and thongs are better saved for the beach.
Can children come along?
The dining room welcomes families before seven; the card floor itself is for adults eighteen and over only.
Do you take walk-ins?
Yes, most nights, though a booking is worth making on Fridays and Saturdays when tables fill quickly.
Is the venue accessible?
The main entrance and the card floor are step-free; please let us know ahead of your visit if you need any particular arrangement.
How do I pay?
Card and cash are both accepted for dinner and tea from the counter; chips themselves are never bought or sold.
Three Shelves From the Bench
A glass cabinet by the door still holds pieces from the joiner’s workshop that once stood on this site — kept behind glass, not for sale, just for looking.
Book a Table or a Seat at the Cards
Dinner and cards are booked separately at Paperbark House, so tell us which you’d like — or both — and we’ll set aside your evening on Main Street.
+61 3 5152 6340
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