Overview
Beach season might be done and dusted, but you've just scored a whole bunch of new reasons to keep the Mornington Peninsula on your radar this winter. And they're all sitting under the one roof, within the newly revamped Continental Sorrento.
The hotly anticipated redevelopment is finally complete, with the doors now open to its suite of food and drink venues helmed by Scott Pickett (Estelle, Matilda) and Craig Shearer (The Terminus Fitzroy North, Brisbane's The Plough). And in its latest incarnation, the 150-year-old limestone pub truly has something for every palate.
First up, there's luxe speakeasy Barlow, with its dapper old-world interiors, wide-ranging entertainment program and drinks offering led by the Speakeasy Group (Eau de Vie, Nick & Nora's, Mjolner). It's serving masterful cocktails alongside Pickett's menu of New York-style pizzas and elegant late-night snacks.
Barlow, by Gareth Sobey
Taking a more casual bent are the terrazzo-floored public bar and lofty, glass-ceilinged beer garden, with its abundance of greenery. A large open kitchen services both, plating up a menu of contemporary seaside pub grub alongside a selection of modern Asian dishes you'll recognise from Pickett's Melbourne restaurant Longrain.
Snacks here might include the likes of spanner crab and prawn spring rolls, a heart of palms taco, or beef skewers with ume furikake and sesame miso; while a seafood platter stars goodies like scallop ceviche and Moreton Bay bug.
Elsewhere, there's a range of meaty things cooked on the Josper grill, a lineup of burgers and pizzas, a lively salmon salad featuring ruby grapefruit, a wagyu bolognese rigatoni and an ode to the classic parma. And in the Longrain corner, expect plates like the lamb Penang curry, a punchy green papaya salad and a pad Thai loaded with tiger prawns.
You'll be washing it down with a solid range of craft brews, a slew of signature cocktails and a Victorian-focused wine offering.
The public bar, by Greg Elms Photography
Meanwhile, the Atrium is your light-filled destination for chic all-day wining and dining, complete with its own caviar service. Breeze in for freshly shucked oysters, a club sandwich, spanner crab farfalle or the aforementioned seafood platter.
And if you're aiming even higher, look no further than resident fine diner, Audrey's, which takes its name from Pickett's own grandmother and cooking muse. It's an elegant set menu affair, with a $150 per person offering that heroes plenty of fresh seafood to complement the sweeping bay views. Here, you're in for plates like barbecued abalone, local squid done with shiitake XO and roquette flowers, and King George whiting paired with yellow beans and roast onion.
Rounding out the fun is a series of stunning function spaces, as well as cocktail bar Coppin's Lounge, which is slated to open soon.
Find The Continental Sorrento at 1-21 Ocean Beach Road, Sorrento. For opening hours of each of the venues, see the website.
Images: Kristoffer Paulsen and Greg Elms Photography