Sunday lunch: The Store Cafe

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This was published 12 years ago

Sunday lunch: The Store Cafe

By Tricia Welsh
Commnity feel .. The Store Cafe.

Commnity feel .. The Store Cafe.

THE STORE CAFE, SOMERS GENERAL STORE, SOMERS

AS WE enter the sleepy seaside township of Somers on the Mornington Peninsula, we pass a sign that reads: "Slow down koala crossing". That sign says a lot about the 850-strong community who voted recently not to have postal deliveries, opting to continue to collect their mail from the post office as they've done since 1927.

And since 1927, there's always been a Somers General Store to which the post office is attached. It's the only retail business in town, so when it closed a few years ago, local resident and glassblower Leisa Wharington stepped in.

Today, the revitalised store and cafe has injected new life into the community where not only locals come in for a coffee and a newspaper, but perhaps for breakfast or lunch inside, outside on the front deck, or in the sunny rear garden.

Today's specials are whitebait with chilli salt and aioli, a couple of soups, seasonal roast vegetable salad and the Sunday roast — chicken with all the trimmings ($23).

Being near the beach, I choose the whitebait ($14) that is topped with a tangy tomato and onion salsa while my husband opts for the vegetable salad ($13) — both just fine with a glass of Foxey's Hangout White Fox Bianco ($6 a glass, $25 a bottle), which has become the house white.

My husband's classic fish and chips ($21) come with a terrific home-made tartare sauce, while my spinach and ricotta gnocchi ($19) is individually pan-fried and tossed in a decadent burnt butter, almond and sage sauce.

We don't even consider desserts, since the serves are so generous.

But being such an integral cog in the community, there is something for everyone here: a great breakfast menu offered daily until noon, an a la carte menu with revolving blackboard specials and popular "kids" dishes, afternoon coffee and cake, and, till the end of the school holidays — dinner from Wednesday to Saturday.

Reviewed by Tricia Welsh who was hosted by Mornington Peninsula Tourism

Somers General Store, 2 The Boulevard, Somers, 5983 2070. Store opens opens 8.00am-5pm daily, cafe 8.00am-4pm daily, 6pm-9pm Wed-Sat. See somersgeneralstore.com, Melway 194 B10. To stay: nearby options include Spindrift Beach Retreat (spindrift.boutiqueretreats.com.au), Easton Grey (eastongrey.com.au), Erawan B&B (erawan.com.au).

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