D.O.C. Mornington Pizzeria & Delicatessen
The pizza revolution that rippled through Melbourne a few years back thankfully made it all the way down the Peninsula, with Carlton’s paean to classic Neapolitan pizza and mozzarella well established in Mornington. Expect all the pizza classics, along with salumi, air-freighted Campanian mozzarella di bufala and pasta. There’s also an attached deli to put together a picnic or for those choosing to cook in.
Doot Doot Doot
A reference to the head of a pack of native American mythical beasts, Doot Doot Doot is the flagship diner at Luis Li’s glamorous Jackalope (the beast in question) Hotel. Executive Chef Guy Stanaway’s five-course degustation menu is seasonal and overwhelmingly local, with Asian ingredients a major feature. If five courses aren’t enough, you can supplement with oyster, caviar and cheese courses. For a more casual, but no less thoughtful, experience, try the fire-fuelled Rare Hare.
Le Bouchon
Inspired by his heritage and equipped with many years in the industry, notably at Melbourne institution France-Soir, Stephane Saleres set up Le Bouchon in 2013 to bring classic French bistro dining to the Peninsula. Expect all the bistro classics in a Frencher than French environment, with Thonet bistro chairs, mosaic tile floors, Art Deco light fittings and subway tiles. The wine list is relatively compact, with attention focused locally and on France.
Merricks General Store
For many years, the Merricks General Store was the lifeblood of the local community, but it fell on tough times in the early 2000s. It was acquired by the Myer and Baillieu families in 2008. A renovation followed, and a community hub was returned, with the store selling local wine and produce and the café/bistro a favourite spot for more casual eating. Significant art exhibitions are held nearby in the unassuming 1920s weatherboard, Merricks House.
Moke
In 2019, chef Michael Cole and his wife Alex transformed the old Flinders Bakehouse site into an elegant yet casual fine-dining destination. Taking on the renovation themselves, the pair stripped back the interior, leaning on white, rich timber tones and flashes of decadence. The menu takes local inspiration, both sourced and foraged, with an eye to sustainability and low/no waste. The menu is a set-course affair, which changes weekly but is tweaked daily, with the wine list exclusively local.
Montalto
Matt Wilkinson, formerly of Circa and Pope Joan, is currently on the pans in the much-loved restaurant at Montalto, bringing his paddock-to-plate cooking to the Peninsula. It’s a perfect spot for Wilkinson’s vegetable-centric (but not vegetarian) cooking, with the Montalto kitchen garden – including beehives, olive trees and fruit trees – one of extraordinary scope, with a full-time gardener on the payroll.
Paringa Estate
Lindsay McCall’s Paringa Estate is one of the Peninsula’s iconic wineries, and the restaurant, started in 1999, has become one of the region’s most acclaimed. Like most winery restaurants, the dining room opens onto expansive views of the vineyard, but this is unlike most winery restaurants. Simon Tarlington has been the Head Chef since 2019, and with credits on his resumé including Maze in London and Peter Gilmore’s Quay, there’s ample warning that dining is going to be at the refined end of the spectrum. Most produce is local, naturally, with foraged ingredients a feature, while beef comes from Gippsland.
Polperro
Since 2009, Sam Coverdale’s Polperro wines have been making a mark on fans of Peninsula wines, but it was with the opening of his cellar door and restaurant with his wife Emma Phillips that the Polperro name became firmly etched in wine drinkers’ minds. You can drop by for a cellar door tasting, lodge in one of the luxury villas or dine in the 80-seat restaurant, with stunning views across the vineyard slopes of their Talland Hill vineyard in Red Hill. The kitchen is largely supplied by their own vegetable garden, with the menu seamlessly drifting through Italy, France, the Middle East and Asia. Polperro wines feature heavily on the wine list, naturally, but the scope is far broader than that, with Coverdale’s selections spanning the globe. Just around the corner is Polperro’s bistro and bar space, Many Little, with an even more relaxing vibe and ample indoor and outdoor seating.
Pt Leo Estate
Pt Leo Estate opened with something of a bang. And so it should when you spend $50 million on a site. The Gandel family famously made a mint in shopping centres, but Pt Leo Estate is a world away from the kind of commercialism that connotes. The cellar door and restaurant occupy an expansive curved pavilion that looks out to Western Port Bay and the extensive sculpture garden, which contains some 60 works by renowned artists. On the food front, the Gandels recruited star chef Phil Wood from Neil Perry’s just closed Eleven Bridge (the original Rockpool). Wood had spent eight years there, after a long stint at Thomas Keller’s French Laundry and also Tetsuya’s. It was a landmark hiring, and one that is shaping dining not just on the Peninsula, but in Australia. Dine at the Pt Leo Restaurant for a more casual experience, or up the ante at Laura, Wood’s signature fine diner.
Tedesca Osteria
Chef Brigitte Hafner is probably best known for the ground-breaking Gertrude Street Enoteca she founded with James Broadway. Through the simple but always stunning plates downstairs to the more involved private dinners upstairs, Hafner has established somewhat of a following for her unfussy but effortlessly polished cooking, celebrating the best produce while knitting into European cooking traditions. Hafner’s devotion to the craft of cookery is immense, but so has been her long-standing commitment to making her kitchens a haven of peace, with an emphasis on an ethical approach and work-life balance. Tedesca Osteria is a realisation of her ambitions, an arrestingly beautiful space, and one of tranquillity and immense personalised charm, with Hafner cooking from a custom-built Alan Scott wood grill for a handful of diners. Chez Panisse immediately comes to mind, though the style here is all Hafner and architect partner Patrick Ness.
W: tedesca.com.au
Ten Minutes by Tractor
Head Chef Adam Sanderson presides over one of the region’s most celebrated restaurants. Sanderson had worked at the Fat Duck in Brae as well as at Noma before landing on the Peninsula, and the menu takes a similarly serious route. A “concise” tasting menu comes in at $155, with the full show $210. You can choose your own matching wines, or let their sommelier do it for you. And with Martin Spedding breaking the mould for vineyard restaurants over a decade ago, those wines are from all corners, with the 500-strong list celebrating great wines of the world. No parochialism here.
T’Gallant
T’Gallant was a ground-breaking winery in its day, the pioneer of pinot grigio on the Peninsula, and in the country. While the brand was acquired by what is now Treasury Wine Estates in 2003, the label has continued in a similar vein, as has the much-loved cellar door and pizzeria. There’s a bit more of a commercial bent to the wines these days, including “spritzed cans”. The big attraction here is the rustic shed that houses the “Spuntino Bar” and pizzeria, with wine on tap and live music for spirited weekend gatherings.
The Rocks Mornington
Seafood and open-air bay-side dining is the theme at The Rocks. Situated in an old boatshed next to the Mornington Pier, The Rocks is a local institution where local seafood at its freshest is celebrated. Eat in the dining room or get closer to the water on the covered and well-heated deck, making semi-al-fresco dining a virtually year-round prospect.
Wowee Zowee
Named after the seminal Pavement album, Wowee Zowee is Mornington’s temple to hot-brined fried chicken, rock ’n’ roll and beer. Well, wine as well, with Garagiste and Range Life’s Cam Marshall a co-owner, along with chef Simon Tarlington, Something for Kate drummer Clint Hyndman and builder Craig Baum. They’ve got their bases covered there. Good food and easy, fun times are the theme here, with the decor lo-fi and the hi-fi cranked, this is a welcome escape from the peninsula’s plentiful glamour.
W: woweezowee.com.au
