280 Skenes Creek Road, Apollo Bay, Victoria, Australia.
+61 3 5237 6411.
Did your mother warn you about restaurants with great views? Telling you the food wouldn’t be any good because it didn’t need to be? In this case, she’d be wrong, and would be the first person to admit it. Beacon Point has an amazing view over one of Victoria’s great assets, the Great Ocean Road. It’s also a remarkably handsome restaurant, unassuming and spacious, and its food owes much to the flavours of Greece and southern Victoria as interpreted by owner/chef Chris Talihmanidis, who has been part of the scene here for many years. Mussels and crayfish are especially good – but the lamb dishes (perhaps a clever twist on souvlaki, depending on the season) are superb, the desserts richly flavoured and perfumed. The wine list is very good, too. Perhaps it’s wise to book accommodation and sleep over. That way you also get to enjoy an excellent breakfast.
Open: breakfast, lunch, dinner daily. Licensed. Mains (dinner) $34-$55.Source:
Qantas The Australian Way May 2008
Updated: August 2008
The location alone is worth the journey: set high in the Otways surrounded by bush and farmland, with a seagull’s-eye view of the ocean. Chris Talihmanidis has been part of the food scene of the Great Ocean Road for decades and he’s still around in the restaurant, all wide smile and Greek accent. The restaurant
is spacious and airy, with immense windows to capture the view from breakfast onwards. The food shows some Greek influences – look out for egg and lemon sauce, modern dolmades, excellent lamb, rabbit and fish dishes, and baklava to finish. In season, it’s hard to go past the local crayfish. The wine list is well chosen, balancing regional with other Australian and imported wines.
Open: breakfast, lunch & dinner daily. Licensed. Mains $36-$42. www.chriss.com.au Source:
Qantas The Australian Way January 2010