Bamboo (Restaurant)
We had a great breakfast here sitting outside taking in the view of the bay. Service and food were excellent. This café/restaurant was voted the Peoples Choice Best Restaurant in the Golden Plate Awards for 2006.*Special 3 course dinner with wine available to Blue Moon Cottages guests – please phone us to arrange a booking.**
Location: 2257 Point Nepean Road, Rye Vic 3941
Telephone 59857700
www.departmentofstyle.com.au
Pier 10 (Restaurant and Cellar Door)
A lovely little winery with fantastic food. Great spot to take the kids as they have a very relaxed approach.The café has an outside deck with a grassed area looking over the vines to the rolling hills where kids can run around while you relax with a glass of Pinot. A nomination in the Best Food in a Winery category at the Golden Plate Awards for 2006.Great wine too.
Location: 10 Shoreham Road, Shoreham Vic 3916
Telephone: 5989 8848
www.pier10.com.au
WineLounge (Restaurant and Wine Bar )
The Rye Wine Lounge is just the place for a bite to eat and a glass of wine or a beer. It serves a limited bar menu but what is on offer is good fare. The space is open and is positioned on Point Nepean Road with views of the ocean. We have had many a casual lunch there and our kids have been well cared for too. Go there just for coffee or make a night of it as they have many events happening
Location: Shop 2, 2251 – 2259 Point Nepean Road, Rye Vic 3941
Telephone: 5985 8355
www.winelounge.com.au
Pig and Whistle Tavern (Restaurant and Cellar Door )
This English Style pub is part of the Bayview Estate Winery.Food is very traditional pub style and they have a formal restaurant and bar and garden area where you can have a meal. We tend to go on a Sunday afternoon and there is always some sort of live music.On cold days we sit by the fire and the kids dance. On warmer days we eat outside and take in the stunning view to the sea and let the kids play on the lawn
Location: 365 Purves Road,Main Ridge Vic 3928
Telephone: 5989 6130
www.bayviewestate.com.au/pigandwhistle.htm
Crittenden at Dromana (Restaurant and Cellar Door)
We enjoyed a couple of relaxed lunches here outside under the shade of an umbrella. A plate of very good cheese and a glass of their finest. The kids ate pizza and played within view by the dam and the vineyard.The restaurant comes highly recommended.
Location:25 Harrisons Rd Dromana
Telephone: 03 5987 3800
http://www.crittendenwines.com.au
Max’s at Red Hill (Restaurant and Cellar Door)
This restaurant is in the best location with rolling slopes of vines, a backdrop of sparkling Westernport Bay and Phillip Island on the horizon. Excellent food but very much an up market experience. Probably not the best place to take children (although we did and they spent most of the time rolling down the hill, which was just as well as they were way out of the way of anyone else). Service is super and wine is outstanding but you have to go for the whole experience but mainly the fantastic view. Probably a good idea to book.
http://www.redhillestate.com.au
Portsea Hotel (Restaurant)
Great location on a hot summers night. Be sure to get there early as it is always busy. The food is good but you can’t beat the location.
Location: 3746 Pt Nepean Road, Portsea Vic 3944
Telephone: 03 5984 2213
http://www.portseahotel.com.au
Foxeys Hangout (Restaurant and Cellar Door)
When we visited (Jan 07) we found a small boutique winery offering small tapas style fare in their very relaxed open dining area.There is also an outside deck that looks out over a field to the Cherry Farm next door.We tried the prawn cocktail, bread with olive oil and dukka, zuchinni fritters and avocado salad.Each tasting plate was $10.00. Winner of the Golden Plate award for Best Food at a Cellar Door.A very enjoyable afternoon.
Location:795 Whitehill Road,Red Hill, Vic, 3937
Telephone: 03 9867 5588
http://www.foxeys-hangout.com.au
Marina Cove by the sea (Restaurant)
Nominated in the Golden Plate awards for best café on the Peninsula this is a great spot for breakfast, lunch or dinner. The café is positioned directly across the beach at Dromana with bay views. It has a very relaxed atmosphere and there are lounges if you just want to sit and read the paper and have a good cup of coffee.
Location:329 333 Point Nepean Road, Dromana Vic
Telephone: 03 59872027
http://www.marinacove.com.au
Hickenbotham of Dromana (Restaurant and Cellar Door)
We visited this very laid back winery on a Sunday (the day after St Patricks Day) during the Harvest to Table event in March, where we were entertained by a delightful pair of musicians playing any song you care to request but with a Scottish/Irish sound.The restauarant was wide open to a lovely courtyard area where the kids played in the various pieces of wine making equipment lying around (all kid friendly we hasten to add and some redesigned as play equipment). Some people bought picnics and ate them in the grounds, we tried the restaurant fare and their special beer. We are told that there is entertainment every weekend.What a lovely relaxing laid back venue with emphasis on wholesome food and family values.Their beer was good, couldn’t tell you about their wine as we were nursing hangovers that day and another glass of anybody’s efforts would have been too much to bear.
Location: 194 Nepean Highway (Near Wallaces Road),Dromana 3936
Phone (03) 5981 0355 Fax (03) 5987 0692
http://www.hickinbotham.biz/
The Continental Hotel (Restaurant)
There is nowhere better on a warm autumn afternoon than sitting outside The Continental Hotel in Sorrento overlooking the bay and watching the ferry arrive and leave. We sat outside recently and indulged in a plate of what my husband describes as ‘the best prawns he ever tasted, reminds him of the prawns we ate in Spain many many years ago’ ‘funny you should say that’ says the waitress ‘ the chef is Spanish’.Great food, great location – what more can you say
Location: 1-21 Ocean Beach Rd, Sorrento, Victoria, 3943
Ph 03 5984 2201 Fax 03 5984 4776
Website www.continentalhotel.com.au
TGallant (Restaurant and Cellar Door)
We visited this very rustic winery recently on a very busy Sunday morning, this is a popular place with day visitors but its worth the visit for the food and wine. Sit outside under the fig tree and order the wood fired pizza, it comes in half or full serve (the pizza is rectangular in shape) or as we did half of one flavour and half of another. Have a lovely plate of antipasto and a couple of glasses of their beautiful wine. We try to buy our wine for our cottages from local wineries and if you are lucky you may find a bottle of TGallant hanging around your cottage.
Location 1385 Mornington Flinders Rd
Main Ridge Victoria 3928 Australia
T: +61 3 5989 6565
Websitewww.tgallant.com.au
Montalto Vineyard and Olive Grove (Restaurant and Cellar Door)
This winery has been nominated by the Australian Newspaper as one of 6 Australia wide finalists in the category of 'Best Winery Restaurant' and although on the day we visited we did not eat in the restaurant we had a lovely time sitting in their café and partaking of very basic fare. There is a limited menu but the café is set out amongst the veggie patch and everything on the menu seemed to be derived from the garden. It is such a picturesque vineyard while sitting there partaking of the beautiful wine you really could believe that you are in Tuscany. Lots of rolling hills and vineyards and olive groves in front of you. I believe you can order a picnic and have it delivered in style in a red Morris Minor – what better way to while away the hours. There is a nature walk past a sculpture collection to a pond for those energetic enough to walk the route.
Location: 33 Shoreham Road
Red Hill South
T: (03) 5989 8412
Website: http://www.montalto.com.au
Red Hill Brewery (Restaurant and Brewery Tastings)
We didn’t manage to get here in time for lunch so we had to take some away in a bottle. They have many examples of their fine ales and some change with the seasons. Great spot to visit – must get there for lunch at some stage and let you know how we found it
Location; 88 Shoreham Road
T: (03) 5989 2959
Website: http://www.redhillbrewery.com.au
This café is set out amongst local and other produce. There are many tastings on offer and great gifts to pick up from the region without having to travel far and wide. They have regional gourmet food and wine, gift hampters, complimentary tasting and licensed café all set out in a relaxed atmosphere with a cosy fire in winter. They specialise in wine, cheese, olives and olive oil, dukkah, preserves, conserves, gourmet chocolates and much more OPEN 7 DAYS 10AM TO 5PM
Location:1489 Point Nepean Road
Rosebud
T: (03) 5982 0522
Website: http://www.tastingstation.com.au
The Rye Hotel
Overlooking the Bay, the Rye Hotel provides excellent family facilities for locals and visitors. A centre piece of entertainment in Rye the hotel has live entertainment and function rooms for all occasions. They also have Tatts Pokies facilities and in keeping with its own special style the Rye has a ‘gaming lounge’ with plush sofas and comfortable surroundings.
The bottleshop has an extended range of premium wines and includes many from the Peninsula. And the kids aren’t forgotten with the Ryeders Playzone and there own special menu, this area is a lifesaver on a rainy day or when you want to have dinner without being disturbed by the little ones. The food is fairly traditional hotel catering, an easy location in the centre of town for a quick lunch or dinner. We have eaten here too many times to remember as it is the kids favourite spot
Location: 2415 Point Nepean Road
Rye Victoria 3941
T: (03) 5985 2277
Website: http://www.ryehotel.com.au
At the quieter end of Ocean Beach Road, this renowned Pizza restaurant is a cut above the usual. Not only do they serve great gourmet style pizza but they have a variety of dishes. We went in the height of summer with 3 kids in tow who were all entertained with the colouring pencils and children’s menu. We were lucky to squeeze onto a table but it is probably advisable to book in the busier months or at the weekends. Takeaway available. Highly recommended
Location182 Ocean Beach Road
Sorrento Vic 3943 Telephone:
T: (03) 59841246
The Capel
This new café is situated on Point Nepean Road in Rosebud West. We dined there on a couple of occasions both for lunch and dinner. The food is very good and the service is excellent. Modern cuisines with a wood fired Pizza Oven for dine-in or take-away. Fully licensed bar. Wooden beachy décor and a lovely feel. Reasonably priced we would highly recommend it.
Location: 1625 Point Nepean Road
Rosebud West Vic 3940
Telephone: T: (03) 5986 3191
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