With its curved white-sand beaches, supremely rideable waves and magnificent mountainous backdrop, Lorne might be the Surf Coast’s most popular tourist destination – if you don’t count the Great Ocean Road sign on the way in. The bush-meets-beach town is on Gadubanud land, cared for by the Gunditjmara people, and despite decades of development and a reliable summer population surge, it manages to maintain its small-town energy.

On the food and drink front, you’ll find everything from a hole-in-the-wall pizza joint to a heaving hatted Greek spot, a delightfully untouched oceanside pub and a beachside bowlo where The Age Good Food Guide Chef of the Year is serving fancy dim sims.

For a nostalgia hit

Long live the great Australian bowls club. May it survive for generations to come, retaining its vinyl-upholstered chairs, affordable drinks and sacred dagginess. At the Lorne Bowls Club, chef Jo Barrett (The Age Good Food Guide 2024’s Chef of the Year) keeps the dream alive with the charming Little Picket. The menu uses extremely fresh produce – much of it from a nearby farm – and nails the balance between comfort and excellence. You absolutely must start with pillowy potato bread with garlic-parsley butter. Then adorably wonky buckwheat blinis accompanying trout rillettes, and a modern dim sim that comes topped with chilli oil. Pretension is low but quality is high.

35 Mountjoy Parade, Lorne, littlepicket.com.au

For a cold beer

Lorne Aquatic and Angling Club is so close to the water, it’s almost in danger of falling in. Its walls are plastered with pictures of members’ record catches, unusual sea critters, and shells found nearby, and the furniture is at times as rusty as the pylons of the pier. But you’re not here for the decor. You’re here for beer – of the ice-cold variety, and at 1999 prices, and potentially a yarn about a big fish. Don’t miss the seafood raffle and free sausage sizzle on Fridays.

2-10 Great Ocean Road, Lorne, lorneaquaticclub.com.au

For a coffee

Somehow, it’s slim pickings for reliably great coffee in Lorne. But cosy Moons Espresso Baron on the main drag is a safe bet, with beans by Supreme and benches out front primed for soaking up sunshine. To eat there are Reuben or saganaki-tomato pides, molten-centred toasties and a solid selection of vegan and gluten-free options for those with dietaries.

108 Mountjoy Parade, Lorne, instagram.com/moonsespressobar

For fish and chips (and more to come)

Former Longsong and Franklin chef David Moyle has decamped from Byron Bay to bestow The Clam upon the people of Lorne. The all-day 120-seater launches in January on the old Jetty Road Brewing site, with local seafood and hand-cut chips to kick things off and a more extensive menu planned for later in the year. The Blackhearts & Sparrows crew is in charge of all things wine, and operators such as Melbourne dumpling darling ShanDong Mama will take turns popping up in the space.

82-84 Mountjoy Parade, Lorne, instagram.com/theclamlorne

For generous feasting

There are no octopuses strung between fishing boats drying in the afternoon sun, but Lorne stalwart Ipsos embodies the essence of Greek seaside dining, right down to a passion for the local catch. Of course, Ipsos offers taramasalata, the pale, creamy fish roe dip flanked by olive bread. Yes, there is lightly fried calamari, and it comes directly from the sea in front of the restaurant just as it would in Greece. Hilopites, the egg pasta beloved by yiayias, present as long strands threaded with fat Bass Strait scallops and fennel slivers.

Over at Totti’s, you’ll sail up the Mediterranean for fun of the Italian variety. Order a glorious pouf of signature flatbread – as big as a half-deflated basketball, dotted with char and sitting on every table in the room – then a few things to go with it. Maybe Italian culatta ham or thick slices of mozzarella dotted with bottarga. Local seafood (selected by chef Matt Germanchis) comes wood-roasted or crumbed and fried, served simply with lemon and greens, its freshness shining through. Add a bright gin cocktail with hibiscus and passionfruit, and feel the summer spirit.

48 Mountjoy Parade, Lorne, ipsosrestaurant.com.au

176 Mountjoy Parade, Lorne, merivale.com/venues/tottis-lorne

For breakfast

At the northern end of Mountjoy Parade is a nook easily overlooked by those not in the know. This part of the street is home to the low-key Riverbank Cafe, a sunny, greenery-clad escape from all the activity up the road and a short amble over the bridge from the caravan park. Nab a picnic table outside for breakfast served all day: good sourdough with fried eggs, home-made scones, and vegan satay tempeh wraps.

6 Mountjoy Parade, Lorne, instagram.com/theriverbankcafelorne

For pizza

There’s only one thing better than a hot pizza on a breezy Lorne evening, and that’s a hot Pizza Pizza pizza. The hole-in-the-wall spot has been in operation since 2007, turning out thin-crust pies topped with streaky pancetta and roast pear, or fan-fave Bingo Bango made with salami, olives and caramelised onion. Just add a frosty canned chinotto or a latte glass filled to the brim with nero d’avola.

2 Mountjoy Parade, Lorne, pizzapizzalorne.com

For low-key drinks

At the back of In the Skies, a rambling weatherboard shack that’s part gallery and part art and record store, you’ll find this unassuming new small bar. The Painters Arms′ owners, Simon Holloway and Anna McIldowie, crack Melbourne Bitter stubbies and pour Surf Coast wines, and a delivery service from Pizza Pizza, just a few doors up, keeps everyone thoroughly carbohydrated.

8 Mountjoy Parade, Lorne, @the_painters_arms_lorne

For wine

After the 30-minute drive from Lorne, roll up the gravel drive of this minimal-intervention winery and meet Seamus the wiry Irish terrier, who’ll chaperone you to the Heroes Vineyard cellar door. Sip progressive wines made from organic grapes grown on 3.2 hectares and watered “using only what falls from the sky”, according to James Thomas, who owns Heroes with wife Eloise Gannon. If it’s fine out, swing by The Store, a paddock-to-plate cafe and general store in nearby Deans Marsh, and enjoy a picnic on the lawn outside.

495 Murroon Road, Murroon, heroesvineyard.com

For pick-your-own berries

Pennyroyal Raspberry Farm is a short but worthy 25-minute trek from Lorne, just up the road from Heroes winery. On a good day, you can fill a 1.5-kilogram punnet with raspberries, blackcurrants, boysenberries and youngberries in about half an hour, but add a few kidlets into the mix and it’ll keep everyone busy for much longer. Picked fruit is charged by weight, and for an extra $15 you can eat as many as you like along the way. Round out the experience with a berry-banana smoothie from the on-site cafe.

115 Division Road, Murroon, pennyroyalraspberry.com

For a kid-friendly lunch

Say what you will about restaurant mega-group Merivale and its arrival in this sometime-sleepy seaside town, this crew knows how to pull a pub together. Teetering above Totti’s (another Merivale project), the Lorne Hotel Bistro & Beer Garden serves kid-size spag bol, schnitzels and fish fingers, and front-of-house staff supply crayons and word searches on request. A huge beer garden welcomes small friends of the four-legged variety, too, and a cubby house has just been installed.

176 Mountjoy Parade, Lorne, merivale.com/venues/lorne-hotel/bistro-beer-garden

For staying

To sleep in this region on the cheap, your best bet is one of the many campsites in the Great Otway National Park. For a more extravagant stay, try Ocean House, a magnificent five-bedroom beach house by architect Rob Mills. A sea of raw concrete, timber and glass offsets views of the eucalypts and ocean beyond, and there’s an open-air bath, circular bedrooms, rooftop deck and secluded beach 100 metres away.

Address provided on booking, oceanhouse.com.au