The Perch at Lavers Hill

The menu provides great options for almost all diners. Our party of four all traveled about an hour to share a meal together and have enjoyed The Perch every few months

We arrived a little early and had our booking accomodated when we arrived. We then watched as the two floor staff sat 4 additional tables while already having a full upstairs and 15 other guests in the downstairs area. Noticing only one chef, we decided to leave and dine elsewhere. The two staff that were on were lovely and did attempt to attend us, they were just severely understaffed...and that's on the owners/management.

Delicious food, very fresh and full of flavour. Book to ensure a place otherwise it gets busy so you might miss out. Highly recommend.

A delicious meal with perfectly cooked seafood. View from the restaurant was amazing.

Second time eating here and both times were excellent. My partner had the steak. He is South African and said the texture and taste were just like eating top quality biltong. Melt in the mouth steak done properly. We had the fries with it and they were also seasoned beautifully. I had the pulled lamb pita which was light and super tasty. We shared the honey carrots which we also had last time and they were exactly as we remembered. For drinks my partner chose from the beer list and tried something called hard lemonade which was dangerously good. I had the mock tail “black cockatoo” which I had last time as well. It’s bloody good. We don’t eat out much these days because we got sick of being disappointed (I’m a chef so want to experience food that I don’t make at home). Really, the Perch is the only place we will go out to for special occasions. Consistently great food which we very much appreciate. Do yourself a favour and go there.

The description of the main dish, the lamb, could have been more descriptive of what I was getting. My expectation was different. The lamb was thinly sliced, fatty, and cooked well-done. Nothing else was served with it except a sauce. Everything else was good.

Had a great lunch at the Perch. All the food was great and we especially enjoyed the cabbage! The decor and vibe was stellar. Aptly named, there were many birds enjoying their perches outside the restaurant - had a good time bird watching after the yummy food :).

Unfortunately all 5 of us were disappointed with our meals. The fish was overcooked and the “slow cooked” lamb was barely edible, tough and flavourless. Disappointing for the money!

Bad service. Food very good but let down by the fish.

Food was lovely and staff brilliant. Definitely Would visit again

We were not at all impressed with the quality and quantity of food that we were served. For the entree, the house Turkish bread was limp, and the smoked butter was far too cold and hard to be usable. The sirloin steak was well-cooked but we were not a fan of the sauce that was served along with it. There was nothing "slow roasted" about the Otway lamb; it wasn't at all tender and succulent and was served with an odd green sauce.

Amazing food and very friendly service, will definitely be back!

Absolutely loved our dining experience here, food was delicious and the environment perfect!

It was okay. The service was good. The food not that good. The steak was hard.

Enjoyed an excellent lunch in lovely setting in the Otways

Such a tranquil setting and delicious food and drinks. The service was really efficient and welcoming. A must stop on your Great Ocean Road adventure.

It was really nice, quite and nice music. Food is interesting and tasted very good. Waiter was really nice and the surroundings cute :)

We enjoyed the atmosphere in the restaurant but found the food just ok or disappointing. On the positives, the side dishes were delicious! The mains were served in a very small plate which was quite awkward as it was hard to fit any food from the side dishes onto it. The fish was ok but not particularly flavourful and the lamb was thin cuts and quite fatty. Could improve by choosing better quality meat or fish and make servings smaller to keep price same but improve quality. Quality over quantity!

Lovely place, great food, friendly team and delicious food and drinks

Meals were a mix of flavour and delicious surprise; vegetable sides balanced main dishes, and little extras made an enormous difference. The friendly staff were kind and met our needs with an energetic approach. The perch is a delightful spot to watch birds flitter or perch on the garden feeding platforms. We were fortunate to dine on a Sunday afternoon and catch Cam Henderson, who played guitar with an authentic style and voice. A fantastic long lunch after a lovely rainforest walk, and particularly good as we entertained family visiting from London. Many thanks, and I look forward to visiting again.

Delicious food, great portions, friendly staff, cozy atmosphere 😊 we live in Apollo Bay and this is hands down the best restaurant in the area. Highly recommend!

All round great destination restaurant with excellent food at very reasonable prices. Waiters took a tad too long to provide menu at the start, but after that, everything went smoothly. Would thoroughly recommend the drive to The Perch at Lavers Hill. We will be back again for sure.

Loved seeing beautiful birds up close and the food was delicious….great staff too!

Nice environment and delicious food, highly recommend for family feast

Beautiful place, wonderful food and lovely staff. Thank you for the perfect and cosy dinner tonight!

Delicious food, a lot of dogs running around and live music, and the venue itself is very pretty!

We were rushed to order and the dishes were expensive for what was on offer. The restaurant was nicely presented.

Very good food, lovely decorated en spectaculaire birds, like kakatoo’s , red and green parrots, there is a small walk through the rainforrest, you can find glowworms. Absolute must go!

Mediocre food and thumping music. Not value for money. Would not return.

Great food and friendly service all at reasonable price eh

It was Fabulously delicious, service ok, but not very refined

Great service from the Belgian backpacker!! Amazing food and catered to gluten free

Excellent Food - staff spot on also - couldn’t fault

A birthday dinner evening with great service and most enjoyable food.

Had a lovely lunch for 5 with a good selection of small plates and dessert. Thank you

Wonderful food and service. The music inside was a little loud for me so we sat outside in the vine-covered area which was delightful and cool on a hot day.

Great food but not sure of the ambience. It ok

Visited The Perch for Christmas lunch. Extremely overly priced- $120 a head plus public holiday surcharge. Food was buffet with few selections of food; fried battered fish, pork, ham, a couple of salads, roasted potatoes and two desserts. Either a pudding or mince pie tarts. Service was terrible we were taken to a table not offered drinks. There was once very nice waitress who was very attentive but aside from here it was a bad experience and overly priced

We were there for Christmas lunch. From the moment we drove onto the property the experience was fantastic. Beautiful building set in a lovely green surroundings to be explored and Gabby greeting us with a smile from ear to ear with such a happy disposition. Dean was clearly taking absolutely pride in cooking and serving his food, this occasion a buffet, which did not disappoint, in one word, “Outstanding “!For me the potato salad and the cauliflower bake were the favourites with the ham also tasting great! A wonderful relaxed atmosphere also. Gabby, Dean and their team made this lunch a lasting memory, a big thanks! We’ll be back, no doubt.

Having moved to the area six months ago we were loath to spend our money anywhere other than at home due to the appalling food experiences we had when first arriving. We finally decided to try the perch and thank goodness we did because none of us were disappointed. As a chef I am always aware that my expectations may be too high however, when you come across somewhere that actually knows how to cook, it reminds you that your standards are not too high after all. You basically just want what you’re paying for. We ordered four mains and five sides and we could not fit dessert in. Everything we had was amazing. As a non-meat eater, I had the chard cabbage with mushroom Bammel and it was amazing. The absolute handsdown best meal since we moved to Victoria. If I had to say something negative, it would be that the table was sticky and the baked potato as a side was not quite cooked properly and came out semi warm. That’s me being totally honest however the rest of the meal was absolutely Outstanding and we look forward to visiting again

Great food and friendly service, not enough staff on for the weekend influx, but they did well with what they had.

Absolutely great food, service and vibe would definitely make a point to come again.

Klebriger Tisch (Lack?), schales Bier vom Fass, überteuertes Essen: Kohl-Achtel, oben verbrannt und unten kalt mit Sauce Hollandaise, zäher Antarctic Toothfish, Rösti mit Aioli (!!!) und langweiliges gummiartiges „türkisches“ Brot mit saurer, schmieriger Baba Ganoush. Unterwältigendes teures Essen, für das wir eine Stunde Anfahrt in Kauf nahmen. Ein schlechter Witz zum 15.Hochzeitstag.

Was told we must have a meal at the Perch by a friend who lives near me in Northern Rivers NSW. So glad we did and we highly recommend to anyone doing the Great Ocean Rd

Everything delicious and the surroundings are beautiful ! Thanks for a great experience

Had a beautiful lunch here! Amazing food, great service and gorgeous location. Highly recommend!

Always a pleasure to return to The Perch, fantastic in every way as always.

Stunning spot with a venue that blends into nature. Delicious food and friendly service.

Delicious meal. The 🥑 dessert was a standout ✨️ Service could do with some fine tuning. I felt we needed more time to settle into the lovely space before being asked if we were ready to order a few minutes after being seated. Multiple staff members then came to ask if we were ready every couple of minutes. Feeling rushed detracted from what otherwise was a lovely restaurant.

Loved the outlook, and the starter and mains were excellent. Desserts were a little disappointing. Service good but a bit slow. However, overall a good experience.