Accommodation

A Weekend in Apollo Bay

2/21/2016 10:11:00 PM

Apollo Bay Beach

Earlier this month we spent a fabulous weekend in Apollo Bay. It was a super chill weekend, just lots of relaxing, some beach time, and lots of good food!

We stayed at a cute villa overlooking Apollo Bay; Point of View. I was recommended this place by a colleague and it was really nice - the villa had a gas fireplace, Weber BBQ, a huge jacuzzi, double shower, Foxtel and more! The only (potential) negatives were that the breakfast provisions were a little basic and that there was no wifi - but these weren't dealbreakers for us. The owners were really friendly, and the villa had absolutely gorgeous views across Apollo Bay, Bass Strait and the surrounding farmland!

View from Point of View

We drove across from Melbourne on a Friday after work, and after the long drive down the Great Ocean Road I didn't fancy driving back out for dinner, (especially up and down the unlit winding dirt road that led to the cabin!), so it was lucky that we'd decided to bring some supplies for our first night's dinner! We made a little cheese and charcuterie platter, with Buche d'Affinois, Cabot cheddar, jamon, salami, muscatels and crackers! With the bottle of sparkling wine that was included in our room it was a very civilised way to end the week!

Cheese dinner!

Champagne

The next morning, we had a simple breakfast of toast and tea on the balcony...

Toast and Tea

... because we had a lunch reservation at Chris's!

Chris's Beacon Point Restaurant
280 Skenes Creek Road
Apollo Bay, VIC 3233
Ph: (03) 5237-6411
Website
Chris's Beacon Point Restaurant Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Chris's is a long standing, well-known and popular restaurant in Apollo Bay, with a focus on fresh seafood with Mediterranean flavours.

Sparkling water, bread, olives

Due to the fact that I was driving, and also because it was lunch time, we decided, sadly, to decline the offer of complimentary ouzo, but the house-baked bread rolls and olives were still a nice way to start the meal.

View from Chris's

Blue Eye served on tourlou - braised eggplant, peppers and zucchini, with fetta and broad beans, finished with olive tapenade - $42

I loved the fish dish that I ordered - the blue eye was very fresh and cooked perfectly, whilst the olive tapenade and braised vegetables complimented the fish without overpowering it. It had those wonderful rich Greek flavours of tomato, olive oil, and feta, whilst still being a light dish overall, especially with the fresh pops of broad beans. (One of my favourite vegetables!)

Confit duck leg on caramelised apples with golden raisins, Lyonnaise potatoes and white wine jus - $38

Also impressive was the confit duck leg with buttery Lyonnaise potatoes, caramelised apples and golden raisins. The meat was very tender and fell of the bone. Lovely!

Fat chips - $10

The highlight, for me, was the ridiculously delicious fat chips. These chips were incredibly crisp (I'm sure they were at least double fried), and super fluffy on the inside. They were fried with garlic and had some other spices in the mix. Absolutely wonderful!

We were too full for dessert, so headed straight to the beach for an afternoon of relaxing! Apollo Bay beach is gorgeous!

Apollo Bay Beach

Apollo Bay

After the beach, we got some great iced coffees at Sandy Feet Cafe (139 Great Ocean Rd, Apollo Bay VIC 3233), a cute health food cafe with a little grocery store, and then went to get supplies for a barbecue dinner! We got most of our food from the Apollo Bay Foodworks supermarket (they have a surprisingly good selection of fresh seafood - I got a gorgeous tuna steak there!), and the local fish and chips store, where I splashed out on half a dozen fresh oysters and three gigantic prawns. Woohoo!

Seafood Stash

BBQ

Dinner

The next morning, we decided to check out a cafe in town for breakfast - pre-trip Googling led us to La Bimba.

La Bimba
125-127 Great Ocean Road
Apollo Bay, VIC 3233
Ph: (03)
Website
La Bimba Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

La Bimba

View from La Bimba

Flat White - $4

The coffee was very good, and we both enjoyed the buckwheat hotcakes that we ordered. (Yes, we both ordered the same thing - cardinal sin for a food blogger, but the description just sounded too tempting!)

Buckwheat hotcakes - vanilla ice-cream, berries, syrup, seeds - $15

Three housemade hotcakes (definitely housemade because they were all irregularly shaped), were served in a stack and decorated very prettily with toasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds, fresh and freeze dried berries, flowers, and syrup. I was particularly impressed with the vanilla ice-cream. I'm not sure if it was made in-house or a high quality purchased ice-cream, but it was rich and creamy and a lovely golden colour, which leads me to believe it was made the traditional way, with a base of egg yolks. So good!

And then it was time for the long drive home. We made a little stop at the famous Bells Beach to stretch our legs.

Bells Beach

And even more exciting was the lunch we had at the Hungry Jack's in the Little River truck stop on the way back into Melbourne. It happened to be Valentine's Day as well - super romantic! PS - those Hungry Jack's chicken fries are actually really yum!

Hungry Jacks

And that was our weekend in Apollo Bay! Do you have any favourite spots along the Great Ocean Road? Do you ever order the same dish as your dining companions when eating out? And do you love dirty truck stop junk food meals as much as I do? (Hint: I love them a lot).

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8 comments

  1. What a lovely getaway! Love the look of the chips and pancakes. :D

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  2. Haha it's funny how often wifi becomes a critical factor in accommodation selection, especially overseas! Looks like you had a lovely retreat though. The beach looks amazing - and so deserted!

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    1. Haha, the beach was actually really crowded! I just kept waiting for a good time and whipped out the phone to snap a pic before a bunch of kids ran across my view. :)

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  3. It makes me happy to hear that you enjoy food like Hungry Jacks too, haha! Those prawns are massive, and that tuna steak looked so good

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    1. I don't discriminate! Delicious food is delicious food! :)

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  4. If only I'd found your blog before my friends and I went to Apollo Bay in June! I'll have to remember your recommendations for next time.

    That Foodworks is a seriously good supermarket, though. We went to the IGA on our first night and were a little disappointed but the Foodworks made up for it the next day. We were just sad we couldn't eat ALL of the cheese they had for sale!

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    1. Totes agree about the Foodworks! I'm hoping I can organise another little weekend away this summer! :)

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  5. Lovely to hear you had such a great time in Apollo Bay! :) Chris's is a nice restaurant and the beach is always a nice place to spend your time in the Bay. Seems like you were lucky with the beautiful weather! Please come and visit us at the Great Ocean Road Brewhouse next time! We would love to tell you more about some of the best local brews our region has to offer!
    www.greatoceanroadbrewhouse.com.au

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My email address is sarahcooks [at] hotmail [dot] com.