Super sangas to hidden dining rooms: Six of the Great Ocean Road’s best eats

Mortadeli, Torquay

Mortadeli Pasta Bar.Credit: Nick Watson

International border closures during the pandemic forced former travel agent Jake Cassar to pause, pivot, and embrace his Maltese heritage by opening this snappy deli in Torquay. Mortadeli serves up European-style sandwiches alongside flaky pastizzi and freshly sliced cold cuts.

Browse the selection of imported Mediterranean pantry items from the grocer. In July, Mortadeli expanded to include a Roman-style pasta bar next door offering traditional aperitivi alongside fresh linguine. See mortadeli.com.au

Santara, Aireys Inlet

Santara Restaurant at the Sunnymead Hotel.

Inspired by his early travels through India, Sunnymead Hotel co-owner Damien Cerantonio took the opportunity to convert a tired event space into a moodily lit contemporary Indian restaurant. Chef Adam Cooke does classic dishes and street snacks with a twist, like crunchy bite-sized pani puri stuffed with prawn and yuzu then topped with Yarra Valley caviar, or a makhana curry studded with ruby pomegranate seeds.

Pani puri stuffed with prawn and yuzu and topped with Yarra Valley caviar.

The expansive drinks menu runs the gamut from sparkling to natural wines, craft beers and cocktails inspired by the subcontinent. See sunnymead hotel.com.au

Le Comptoir, Aireys Inlet

Le Comptoir, Aireys Inlet.

Blink and you’ll miss this narrow but charming Gallic-inspired restaurant and deli in Aireys Inlet. Le Comptoir is a hive of activity thanks to the guests who dine in as well as the stream of locals who stop in to buy wines, cheeses and an assortment of goodies from the cake counter. The menu draws from co-owner Samuel Roig-Sclafer’s mixed French and Catalan heritage, with a mostly imported wine list boasting vintages from the Loire Valley, Alsace and Bordeaux. Towards the back is a small deli where you can gather a picnic to take to the beach, as well as artisanal granola, coffee and chocolates. See lecomptoiraireys.com

Timboon Railway Shed Distillery, Timboon

Timboon Railway Shed Distillery.

Half an hour inland from Port Campbell is Timboon, a township settled by Irish migrants who farmed the land and made bootleg whisky. Today, Timboon Distillery is producing a varied (and legitimate) range of single-malt whiskies using Victorian ingredients.

Originally a cattle farmer, owner Josh Walker supplies the kitchen with grass-fed beef from his farm down the road. Stop in for whisky flights and sharing plates, then take a tour of the cooperage. The distillery will add barrel-aged rums to its line-up from 2024. See timboon distillery.com.au

Little Picket, Lorne

Unpretentious food by a hatted chef.Credit: Eddie Jim

Set in a homely weatherboard bowls club, with handwritten menu and faded memorabilia on the walls, is Little Picket. Here, chef Jo Barrett is applying a zero-waste approach to cooking using ingredients sourced from the community garden across the street and a nearby farm. The restaurant recently picked up its first chef’s hat in the Good Food Guide, winning over judges with its refined yet unpretentious menu and Victorian wine list curated by Berrett’s partner, David Osgood. See littlepicket.com.au

Tae Rak Aquaculture Centre & Cafe, Breakaway Creek

Try the eel tasting plate at Tae Rak Aquaculture Centre & Cafe.

Before European settlement, the Gunditjmara were guardians of a complex aquaculture network at Lake Condah, which included channels and pools carved to catch kooyang (short-finned eels). The lake was enshrined as part of a UNESCO World Heritage List site in 2019 and eel farming is in the process of being revived, but visitors can still get a taste of the slippery fish at the Tae Rak Aquaculture Centre. Treat yourself to smoked eel arancini balls and eel salad, or go the whole eel with a tasting plate that features the lot, including eel pate and smoked eel with coils of crispy crackling. See budjbim.com.au

The writer travelled as a guest of Visit Great Ocean Road. See visitgreatoceanroad.org.au