SALT & PEPPER
Visits The Avoca Sands Cafe
As I put pen to paper (or more precisely fingers to keys) for this second edition of Salt & Pepper I cast
my mind back over all the fabulous places I have eaten in the last three months. There have been so
many bars, cafés and restaurants, all with great meals that make it very difficult to select just one to
write about. We really are spoilt for choice here on the coast!! That said, my decision was helped by the
arrival of some very playful dolphins, frolicking in the waves off Avoca Beach while my friend and I dined
on the terrace of Avoca Sands Café at 2/85 Avoca Drive, Avoca Beach. So I took that, and the fact that
I had the tastiest steak sandwich I have had in a long time, as a sign …… and here we are together again.
I stumbled across this café while showing my
friend (visiting from Victoria) all the great
beaches the Coast has to offer. After a leisurely
stroll through the Avoca Markets, we ventured a bit
further south and found the Avoca SLSC whose
carpark adjoins the Avoca Sands Café, Mojito Joe’s,
The Point Café (under the SLSC), and Avoca Beach
Seafoods. And, after scoring a carpark (no mean feat
on market day when the sun is shining) we settled on
Avoca Sands Café for our leisurely afternoon meal.
We dined on the sunny terrace on what was an
unseasonably warm day – considering it was
relatively late in the afternoon. As I have already
explained, the view was breathtaking. There are only a
handful of eateries on the coast that offer the
luxury of beachside dining, so that alone on a
sunny day is particularly spectacular. Add to that
the benefit of being entertained by man’s best sea
friend, and you have a lifetime memory in the making.
Avoca Sands Café is not ‘styled’– just your basic
café setting (no industrial edge here), but given its
location it doesn’t need to be. It has tables, chairs
and cutlery and that is enough! The cafe has indoor
and outdoor dining, opens for breakfast, lunch and
well into the afternoon (it is closed in the evenings).
Of course this article is not only about the setting,
but the food, and on that note I can say that we both
agreed the quality of the food lived up to the view. Our
table order included a Steak Sandwich and an order
of fish, both served with those nice chunky chips. My
Steak Sandwich was incredibly tasty. The steak was
tender and cooked to perfection, there was just
the right amount of sauce, lovely caramelised
onion, delectable tasty cheese and all served on a fresh
damper roll. A truly delightful experience. My friend’s
fish was fresh and coated in a crispy batter. It crunched
when cut, and was a lovely golden brown. There was
nothing “greasy” about this dish w