Some cafes and restaurants are more their location that their food and service. Pier 35 is one such place. On saying this, Pier 35 Restaurant doesn’t only rely on the location for their customers.
Entrance Pier 35 restaurant
The location? Well, there is something fascinating eating opposite a working port. On a fine day, from the outside tables, it is often possible to have a large ship and the attendant tugs glide past.
Pier 35 Restaurant is out of the way and surprising stylish. It is easy to think of a cafe in the area but this a restaurant with a bar, white linen table clothes and napkins and excellent service.
Preparing Pier 35 for dinner
Although this is in Port Melbourne it is about 5kms from the buzz of trendy Bay Street. To get there you wind through a large industrial area. On weekdays the road is cluttered with large commercial vehicles. You make your way under the Westgate Bridge and from the restaurant you can see the continuous stream of traffic crossing the bridge.
Traffic on the Westgate Bridge from Pier 35
This part of the river also services the d’Albora Marina that has a 24 hour diesel fuel service for passing boats. The whole river is a working river here and this makes sitting sipping wine and eating all the more special. It is as if we have been invited to be part of the river action.
The location is fascinating and it is great to be looking at the action and the river traffic but the food is important too. Technical difficulties happen at times and such a difficulty prevented me having photos of the food we ate.
This what I can tell you about the food.
We enjoyed it.
The pan fried Saganaki with poached peppered figs as an entree for $12 was pronounced excellent by a lover of Saganaki and who has eaten it all over Melbourne.
Sizzling King prawns with butter, cracked peppercorn and sea salt at $14.00 looked wonderful and the taste was great but they were a little dry as was the fish from the Lunch Special menu.
These two items came on a hot sizzle plate and they obviously kept cooking after they left the kitchen and this may account for the dryness.
The Tasmanian salmon didn’t suffer this fate and it was delicious with the skin beautifully crispy. It looked good too.
I think top marks went to the chocolate steamed pudding. There was a wait of about 20 minutes for this as it was ‘made from scratch’. It was perfect with oozing chocolate in the middle.
The dessert menu is not available on line it is in your waiter’s head.
Try the choc pudding if it is on his list.
Check the menu for lunch specials.
The restaurant was busy. We thought many of the clientele could be local business people lunching away from their industry.
After lunch we wandered around looking at the view and the boats in the marina and the tourist boats travelling up and down the river. The view is more exciting if a large ship looms up next to and you feel swamped by its size but it is hard to get that right without knowing the shipping news.
View of the working docks from Pier 35
Where:-
Pier 35
263-329 Lorimer St,
Port Melbourne VIC 3207
Phone:-(03) 9646 060
Web:- http://www.pier35barandgrill.com.au/
Opening Hours:-
Monday
Breakfast:7.30-11.30
Lunch:11.30-4.00
Dinner:Closed
Tuesday through Friday
Breakfast: 7.30 – 11.30
Lunch: 11.30-4.00
Dinner:5.30 – late
Saturday and Sunday
Breakfast: 8.30 11.30
Lunch:11,30 – 4.00
Dinner:5.30 -Late
Getting There:-
Public Transport:There are no trams However bus 237 From southern Cross Station stops there
Check this web site for times http://ptv.vic.gov.au/stop/view/4877
Car: There is parking in the Marina area.
