Yaringa Marina

When it comes to combatting the inner city blues, or simply the desire to satisfy a hunger for something different, there’s nothing better than escaping the city and heading somewhere, anywhere, for a slap-up meal in tranquil surrounds, with or without your nearest and dearest. It’s easy to forget that the towns scattered around Melbourne are home to some fantastic hidden gems for dining. Yaringa Marina Restaurant is one of these, located right on the Yaringa marina down Lumeah Road, near Somerville and southeast of the city, and overlooking at Watson’s Bay. Predominantly a seafood restaurant and steakhouse, the menu is eclectic enough to suit all comers, but the icing on the cake is the log fire come winter, and the year round views of the water.

Once you hit Somerville on your way out from Melbourne – it’s about an hour’s drive – you can breathe a sigh of relief. The end is in sight: Yaringa Marina and Watson’s Bay, and your quaint destination, Yaringa Marina Restaurant, at the head of Lumeah Road right on the water. Locals and visitors alike flock here for the seafood, hauled in fresh as can be, and to dine with views out over the bay to French Island and Phillip Island. There’s something of the New England lobster shack about the restaurant, a kind of charm that’s only emphasised by the casually inspired shaded balcony overlooking the marina, a warm and wood-trimmed interior pillared with stripped beams… but the effect that you’ve arrived at somewhere secret, somewhere special, is really underlined when the wait staff whip out the wine list, packed with premium local varietals, and start laying down the feast.

Yaringa Marina Restaurant is widely acclaimed, both by food critics and the gastronomically inclined public. Without a doubt the major draw here is the seafood, though as a steakhouse there’s plenty of turf to go along with the surf – you can even grab yourself some tandoori chicken. However, the real measure of Yaringa Marina Restaurant’s success is its lavish seafood platter, laden with grilled tiger prawns, calamari, scallops, tempura prawns, mussels, soft shell crab and sides, all for a price you certainly won’t find at a seafood restaurant in Melbourne city. There’s also a seafood platter for two pegged to the fish market – take a punt and see what the kitchen has in store for you on a given day. Somerville and Yaringa residents have the enviable position of being able to pop down to the Marina for a serve of fresh Kilpatrick oysters, if they’re in the mood, a bowl of seafood pasta, grilled wild barramundi or a swordfish fillet. Not wanting to leave the carnivores high and dry, steaks here are premium cuts: MSA-grade Portland porterhouse and eye fillet steaks and certified Australian Angus all served with ample gourmet sides including micro salads and a choice of sauces. Book al fresco if you can, for the best seats in this renowned restaurant.