Victorian Seafood Lover’s Guide to East Gippsland
The busy fishing port of Lakes Entrance is home to a fleet of small to medium fishing boats that work the waters just off the coast and further offshore around Bass Strait. A colourful array of boats anchor in the sheltered harbour in the heart of this East Gippsland seaside village and bring in a large selection of seafood harvested from the cool, clean waters. While a lot of the catch is sent to markets in Melbourne and Sydney, a good portion stays in the region supplying local restaurants making this one of the best places in Victoria to dine on fresh, straight-from-the-boat, local seafood.
Sodafish
Sitting amongst the Lakes Entrance fleet on Middle Boat Harbour is Sodafish, a floating pontoon restaurant where chef Luke McMenamay-Collins takes flipping fresh fish directly from the boats and can have the seafood on the plate within an hour. The menu at Sodafish was co-designed by Nick Mahlook (formerly Head Chef, Atlantic at Crown) and business partner and sister, Sam Mahlook (Miriam’s, Lakes Entrance). They are from a local multigenerational fishing family that knows how to prepare, cook, and serve fresh, local seafood. While the service is smart and casual, the menu offers a choice of light dishes, family favourites such as deep-fried fish, and a set menu of fine dining dishes. This could include finely diced Bass Strait scallop tartare, and a single boneless fillet of local sardine (harvested by another local family, the Mitchelsons.) There could be delicious, but untrendy, species like gurnard served in a tangy citrus ceviche, or duck fish, smoked, and topped with creamy taramasalata. Look out for chargrilled octopus, delicately grilled King George whiting, or fresh gummy shark grilled over charcoal.
OFF THE WHARF - LEFCOL
What the Sodafish team doesn’t get straight from the boats, they use the local fresh fish outlet at LEFCOL, the Lakes Entrance Fisherman’s Co-op. Off the Wharf is a retail fresh fish shop selling fresh, local fish such as whiting, gummy shark, school prawns, scallops, gurnard, and duck fish, as well as fresh seafood from other ports.
WYANGA PARK
Fresh local seafood also stars on the menu at Wyanga Park, a winery a few minutes out of town. Known for their cool climate whites, the new managers of Wyanga Park are becoming known for their casual lunches which always include local seafood dishes from chowder in winter to deep-fried Lakes Entrance gummy shark when available.
SARDINE DINING
A short drive from the regional centre of Bairnsdale is the award-winning Sardine Dining on the waterfront at Paynesville. Brit-Chef Mark Briggs serves up a Gippsland-focused seasonal menu that might include High Country beef tartare with golden fresh potato crisps alongside Lakes Entrance sardines with the aroma of pine oil and smoked garlic and Bass Strait scallops with Japanese citrus seasoning.
THE LONG PADDOCK
Out on the escarpment overlooking the Mitchell River is The Long Paddock, Lindenow. This is a café run by two award-winning chefs who opted for a tree change in this country town outside of Bairnsdale. Set in an old bakery, the menu reflects what is local seasonally and seafood from Lakes Entrance always stars on the menu. One favourite is fine slices of raw king dory dressed with house-made horse radish and tiny sea succulents and shallots.
WILD HARVEST SEAFOOD FESTIVAL
The seaside fishing village of Mallacoota is home to abalone and sea urchin fishery and the annual Wild Harvest Seafood Festival. In 2022 it was held in November and saw the little town, surrounded by bush, come alive with hundreds of people keen to try fresh abalone, and sea urchin pate, listen to live music, enjoy a sunset champagne and seafood cruise on Lake Mallacoota and enjoy a meal of local banded morwong prepared by Chef Stefano di Pieri. The dates may change, so sign up to their mailing list