Hotel Phillip Island
/
Situated on The Esplanade in the heart of Cowes, Hotel Phillip Island overlooks the historic jetty with stunning views of Western Port, French Island and the Mornington Peninsula.
If you’re expecting regular pub grub, think again. Hotel serves up stunning modern Australian cuisine with an Asian influence. In line with its social setting, the menu items are primarily designed for sharing, with dishes divided into user friendly sections that showcase fresh and local produce as hero ingredients. This is complemented by a premium selection of beer and cider on tap, wines by the glass and innovative cocktails.
A visit to Hotel would of course be incomplete without trying their famous Korean Fried Chicken. And yes, we can confirm they lived up to their hype – moist, juicy and encased in crunchy batter and tossed in an umami-laden, sticky, sweet, gochujang sauce.
The prawn and ginger dumplings were similarly delicious. We loved the addictive accompanying sea of sweet soy, dried chilli and Szechuan pepper which made these dumplings absolutely tantalising.
For steak lovers, do not go past the Southern Rangers eye fillet, which is served with broccolini, heirloom carrots, chips and your choice of sauce. Displaying a mastery in the manner the steak was cooked, our inch thick cut of steak was cooked perfectly from end to end. A light searing ensured that it was lined with a thin crisp layer packed with caramelised beef flavour. Simply sensational.
Hotel’s ever popular pork spare ribs also met our expectations admiringly and were served with Korean BBQ sauce, seasoned chips and sriracha aioli.
Dessert time continues to please at Hotel. The sticky date pudding with butterscotch sauce and vanilla ice cream concluded our visit on a sweet high.
Hotel Phillip Island impresses with smart, contemporary dining that boasts a fun, approachable and communal flair. It is, in our view, a must-visit for foodies when on the island.
Location: 11-13 The Esplanade, Cowes VIC 3922
Phone: (03) 5952 2060
