Lake Coolangatta Café

By Franz Scheurer

The end of Norman Road has been known for years as an easy access for cars onto the beach, and the handy kiosk selling ice creams and drinks as a welcome refreshment stop after a good day’s walk, surf or laze in the sand.

Enter Shane Ortis (ex Star of Greece) and Meredith Riley to fit out the brightly coloured corrugated iron shed and convert it into a wonderfully relaxed dining space with tables and chairs spilling onto the sand dunes, serving seriously good food. They are licensed and have Heineken on tap, a simple but appropriate wine list and a short, eclectic and appetising menu.

Specialising in locally caught, fresh seafood, their ‘Salt and Pepper Squid with Lemongrass, Chilli and Ginger’ ($16) is a must eat, while the ‘Grilled Chorizo Sausage with warmed Chiabata, Poached Egg, Rocket and Garlic Mayonnaise’ ($15.50) is fantastic. The crunchy, spicy sausage perfectly complemented by the cool greens and the oozy, runny egg with the earthy mayo. The ‘Whitebait with Garlic Aioli’ ($13.50) is a bit of a let-down. They’re using quite large fish and this in turn makes them a little soggy and floury. In my opinion unless you can get the really small ones (neonata) this dish is not worth pursuing. A ‘Coopers Beer Battered Flathead with Salad and Chips’ ($18.50) is heaven on a plate. The ‘Crispy Chilli Tofu with a Shitake Mushroom Broth’ ($14.90) presents very well, is spicy and succulent but lacks salt and uses firm tofu. Personally I’d like to see them using silken tofu instead. A fish special of ‘Spiced Atlantic Salmon with Dahl, wilted Spinach, Tomato and Nigella Seed Raita’ ($26) arrives cooked just right, perfectly pink in the centre. The ‘Chocolate Pot with House Made Honeycomb and Hokey Pokey Ice cream’ ($14.50) is a fitting finish to a terrific meal in a picture book location with what must be the friendliest staff in the universe. Portions are generous and value for money is excellent.

Try it; you might never want to go back to the big smoke…

Score: 7/10

For more information or bookings:

Lake Coolangatta Café

1 Norman Road

Aldinga Beach SA 5173

Tel.: 08 8557 4000