Eat at Whalers, Victor Harbor, is occasionally excellent but not cheap
The white tablecloths at this beachside restaurant are a warning that the menu is overpriced.
The white tablecloths at Eat at Whalers, Victor Harbor, are a warning that the menu is overpriced.
The pitch: Contemporary, relaxed and affordable dining overlooking sedate Encounter Bay, a short drive from the summertime playground of Victor Harbor on South Australia’s south coast.
The reality: Some of us remember the old “Whalers Haven” from the glory days of hotel dining in the 60s, such is the long history of this oft-reincarnated restaurant. These days, the former Whalers Inn has an inviting deck just across the road from the unruffled waters of the bay with its pelicans and rocky, seaweed-strewn beach. There’s nary a spare seat the fine evening we arrive at sunset in holiday season, but inside it’s a different story: the wide, airy room is barely half full. Hmmm, white tablecloths at the seaside? Perhaps they’re part-justification for what comes next. Open the menu and the first item you see is “Baked Turkish loaf with garlic and rosemary”, $12. You’d want it to come airfreighted from Poilane in Paris for that price. Whichever way you spin it, 12 bucks for gussied-up bread sets a new high watermark in this diner’s experience.
The cuisine: Some of the cooking, from a menu that seemingly leaves no cuisine uncovered (Thai beef salad, tempura vegetables, char sui pork ...) is pretty good. Make that excellent, in the case of the salt and sichuan pepper squid with chilli, garlic and spring onion, so light, crisp and more-ish that we do indeed order more. A chicken saltimbocca, too, is competent pub-grub fodder. The squid pops up again on the “seafood indulgence for two” ($85), sharing a platter with grilled local fish fillet (today it’s flathead, a tad overcooked), Hervey Bay scallops, whole (Spencer) Gulf prawns (shell on), chips and salad. Eat at Whalers beats the local-produce drum, though they cast the net pretty wide: Atlantic salmon here, Hervey Bay scallops there.
Drinks: From a compact list of solid-performing South Aussies augmented by a smattering of NZ, we drink a good-value 2014 Nanny Goat pinot noir from Central Otago ($50). Sensibly, you can also BYO.
Highlights: The chef emerged from the kitchen to discuss our table’s dietary requirements issue. We like a caring chef. And notwithstanding the absence of complimentary bread, this is a good place to take a young child. The activity pack was one thing, a sandpit with play equipment — in full view of our table — in another parent-friendly league altogether. The view from the deck is classic, coastal South Australia.
Lowlights: I’m sorry to bang on about it, but how do you not offer bread to a ravenous child? I do bang on about it because it sums up the least attractive aspect of Eat at Whalers. It’s expensive for what it is. An entree of Hervey Bay scallops with wakame and sunomono is $26 for six; small wonder the place is under-patronised. (The next day, we go to another coastal diner, Bombora Cafe in Goolwa. The menu here is full of well-priced, truly local seafood and the joint is jumping.) And the service at Eat is not up to it. The nice girls who wait our table are just that — nice, and untrained. Our plates are left uncleared, entrees are delivered without share plates and we wait an age for mains.
Will I need a food dictionary? Sunomono is a Japanese cucumber salad. You’ll be fine with the rest of the menu.
The damage: More and more, the multimedia-aware diner is focused on value. Beyond the wine list, it’s not that evident here.
The food: Could be better.
Rating: 2 out of 5
Eat at Whalers, 121 Franklin Parade, Encounter Bay, Victor Harbor, South Australia, phone 08 8552 4400, whalersinnresort.com.au