Let your tastebuds lead the way on this driving degustation along the Great Ocean Road. Explore all the culinary delights coastal Victoria has to offer – world famous dining destinations, boat to belly seafood and ocean-front fine dining serving up some of the state’s best produce. Make sure to pack your appetite for this ultimate gourmet getaway.
Prepare to be excited by The Coast’s carefully curated Modern Australian menu and even more so by team’s signature dishes showcasing native ingredients and inspired by bush tucker.
Executive Chef, Evans Magati works in partnership with Aboriginal man Norm Stanley and Aboriginal woman Nikki McKenzie, residents of Wadawurrung Country on new collaborative dishes showcasing native flavours like wattleseed and lemon myrtle. The highlight, kangaroo with locally sourced native spinach and bush tomato jus.
The carefully selected bar menu also serves to promote artisans from the Surf Coast and Great Ocean Road regions. You’ll find a range of locally sourced wines and craft beer and also fine crafted cocktails from Great Ocean Road Gin, Timboon Distillery and Bells Beach Spirits Co. Even the dinnerware is hand-made by Surf Coast artist Angela Nicholson and water jugs by ceramicist, Melinda Solly.
Brae translates to hillside or gentle slope and that’s exactly where chef Dan Hunter’s world-renowned restaurant, guest suites and working organic farm are located — the rolling hills of Birregurra.
Consistently recognised as of the World’s 50 Best, Brae feels less like a restaurant and more like a welcoming country house where guests can be surrounded by nature, walk the farm paths and connect with the sustainable, ethical and regenerative food from the local land.
The ever-changing degustation menu is served like a leisurely long lunch, guests graze on at their own pace with rounds of fresh seafood, meat and veggies, and desserts.
Located at Sunnymead Hotel this bright and sunny new addition brings together fragrant Asian and Indian-inspired dishes to the already booming foodie culture in Aireys Inlet.
Enjoy a social atmosphere with local wines and creative cocktails but most importantly good food. The menu features softshell crab pakora, lamb ribs, and pan-fried murray cod among a variety of other small, medium, and large dishes made for sharing. If you can’t decide then the ‘Feed Me’ menu takes out all the hard work.
Nestled in the lush rainforest of the Great Otway National Park and only half an hour from the 12 Apostles you’ll find a modern contemporary fine dining dinner menu and extensive wine selection that celebrates the produce of this bountiful region. Dine on Blue Fin tuna carpaccio, Burrata Cheese with local fresh figs, confit Great Ocean Road Duck, house-made falafels and cold smoked watermelon ‘tuna’ soba noodles.
The sprawling garden views makes The Perch at Lavers Hill a truly tranquil place for a meal or a drink prepared by the friendly in-house kitchen and bar staff — the team behind Handcrafted Catering. They know how to throw a party too with regular live music, trivia nights, and more.
You can’t stay in a famous fishing village like Port Fairy without trying the local goods! Make sure to check out the relaxed and lively atmosphere of the The Wharf. This iconic Modern Australian restaurant is located on the waters-edge of the Moyne River – only meters from where the local fisherman unloaded their catch only hours ago.
Whether you are looking for classic take-away fish & chips or to dine-in on the innovative, seasonal menu, seafood doesn’t come fresher than this. For a real crowd pleaser order the seafood platter for 2 – with the chef’s generous assortment of oysters (fresh and Kilpatrick), prawns, cured trout, zesty mussels, garlic scallops and seared salmon paired with a bottle of local Riesling. The perfect way to finish a day in Port Fairy.
Around an hour and a half from Melbourne, you’ll find yourself in one of the Great Ocean Road region’s most iconic towns; Torquay, the home of the iconic Bells Beach. While it’s known for its rich surf culture, once you’ve had a dip in the restorative saltwater maybe head a little further down the road and check out the vibrant foodie scene that also calls Torquay home.
There’s no better place to start than at Number One Restaurant, Torquay. Quality local ingredients such as beef and shiitake mushrooms from the Otways region, artisan cheeses, and organic Camperdown garlic feature strongly in the contemporary menu of this elegant restaurant on the RACV Resort Torquay’s second floor. Rest assured knowing you will leave feeling satisfied.
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Great Ocean Road Regional Tourism acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the Great Ocean Road region the Wadawurrung, Eastern Maar & Gunditjmara. We pay our respects to their Elders, past, present and emerging. We recognise and respect their unique cultural heritage and the connection to their traditional lands. We commit to building genuine and lasting partnerships that recognise, embrace and support the spirit of reconciliation, working towards self-determination, equity of outcomes and an equal voice for Australia’s first people.
