Lorne is shaping up to be Victoria’s hot-ticket summer destination, with a casual beachfront venue from one of Victoria’s most accomplished chefs soon joining the newly opened Lorne Theatre and hatted restaurants Totti’s Lorne and Little Picket.

David Moyle (ex-Longsong, Franklin) is travelling from Byron Bay to slowly build the all-day coastal venue of his dreams at the former Jetty Road Brewing site, mere footsteps away from Lorne’s beach.

The Clam, billed as a seaside tavern, will offer oysters, hand-cut chips, fish sandwiches, bright vegetable dishes and wine curated by Blackhearts & Sparrows, plus a rotating line-up of food vendors hand-picked by Moyle, including Melbourne dumpling house ShanDong Mama.

“It’s eclectic and approachable,” says Moyle.

Opening in stages, The Clam will make its debut in early January with two or three food vendors and a bar serving beach-goers on the 120-seat front deck facing the sea, while the venue’s interiors and kitchen proper are finished. Counter service will keep the vibe very much beach kiosk.

ShanDong Mama is the first confirmed food vendor but Moyle describes the others as “pretty singular, pretty authentic and original”.

His first Victorian project in six years, The Clam is a collaboration with creative director George Barnes, with whom Moyle opened the Salty Mangrove in northern NSW in September. It’s also loosely connected to the team behind Lorne’s revived cinema, which also runs Golden Age Cinema in Sydney.

Located next door to the cinema, The Clam will be a pre- and post-film pitstop as well as an unofficial beach kiosk, evening destination and everything in between. “It’s beach life, really,” quips Moyle.

Barnes, in charge of the design, says greenery will dominate outside, while inside will be about warmth, character and nostalgia for Lorne’s 1960s heyday as a surfing and music destination.

A window on the deck will offer a sneak peek at what’s shaping up inside for stage two, opening in mid-2024, which is when Moyle’s full menu will debut.

Moyle and Barnes describe this approach as “riding the bike while building it”, but believe it gives them the benefit of getting to know the community and its rhythms.

The Clam opens in early January.

82-84 Mountjoy Parade, Lorne, @theclamlorne