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Food

Ocean Beach Pavilion Launches in Sorrento with GINGERGIRL offering

A local oasis has descended on the shoreline of Sorrento, and inside, an atmospheric culinary experience like no other awaits. Ocean Beach Pavilion is Mornington Peninsula’s newest retreat – a casual, family-friendly restaurant and bar where shoes are optional, salty ocean air comes complimentary, and a fresh coastal-inspired menu featuring locally sourced produce is the main act. We at The World Loves Melbourne were invited along to experience the exciting new concept, and were impressed with the Hawker style street food as well as local wines and fine cocktails.

Boasting a variety of indoor-outdoor atmospheric spaces and food outlets, each with a personality of their own, Ocean Beach Pavilion is a laid-back eatery/bar where everyone feels like a local.

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Grab a quick bite on the palm-adorned deck, or choose to post up in its spacious modern coastal mess hall (which we did).

We ate our way through the menu including-

Steamed prawn and ginger dumplings with green nam jim (3 pieces)
Wagyu beef dumplings with smoked korean red chilli dressing (3 pieces)
Master stock pork belly gua bao, spiced hoi sin, cucumber (2 pieces)
Seafood with Asian slaw salad, nouc cham dressing
Shitake mushroom vegan XO steamed buns (2 pieces)
Red duck curry steamed buns (2 pieces)
Wagyu beef sliders, breakfast pickles, gruyere cheese (2 pieces)

Tapioca pudding

For families with children in tow, venture beyond the mess hall into expansive open-air terrace, and here, enjoy free entertainment with your meal as you overlook the Sorrento Ninja Warrior Course – OBP’s signature playground for the kids (and the kids at heart) designed Matt & Monica Thom, 7-time World Fitness Champions.

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A thrill to meet Teague Ezard, who I have seen at many events and been to his restaurants many times.

On a mission to bring high-quality Asian-style cuisine to the peninsula, Ocean Beach Pavilion has cemented an ambitious partnership with one of Australia’s most acclaimed chefs and restaurateurs, Teage Ezard, mastermind behind iconic Melbourne CBD dining destinations EZARD and Gingerboy, and Ezard at Levantine Hill in the Yarra Valley, among others.

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Master stock pork belly gua bao, spiced hoi sin, cucumber.

Ezard’s thoughtfully designed casual, all-day menu offering – GINGERGIRL – features a vibrant array of flavourful Southeast Asian-inspired dishes, echoing the hawker-style street eats of Gingerboy.

As for the inspiration behind the collaboration, Ezard notes, “I have been spending the last few months developing a spin-off on Gingerboy – a concept adding buns and bao, small courses all easily shared and something I feel will cater for all… I really want to focus on supporting regional local producers and their award-winning produce,” adding, “it’s a fantastic opportunity to provide the peninsula with some new, different and exciting food that isn’t down there.”

Ezard is also championing the breakfast offering, a casual menu featuring modern Australian cuisine with an Asian twist.

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 Wagyu beef dumplings with smoked korean red chilli dressing.

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Seafood with Asian slaw salad, nouc cham dressing.

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Wagyu beef sliders, breakfast pickles, gruyere cheese.

Starting later this year, OBP’s prawn shack will be running in tandem with its all-day menu, where their ‘prawn stars’ will be serving buckets of prawns straight from Mooloolaba at wholesale prices direct from the boat, to eat in or takeaway.

For a pre or post-meal treat, continue the gastronomic journey at OKAY LUCY’s pop-up shop where Mornington’s crowd-favourite gelateria is scooping up creative flavours of hand-made gelato and fresh sorbet from locally sourced ingredients, straight from its traditional Italian-style Pozzetti. As for refreshments, OBP’s drinks menu is celebrating a curated list of local wines, craft beer, spirits and refreshing cocktails, as well as a range of non-alcoholic spritzes to keep the whole gang hydrated.

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Japanese style whisky cocktail was impressive. Check out our Best Mornington Peninsula Wineries.

The tale of Ocean Beach Pavilion goes like this. Once upon a time, a few mates from Mornington (enter Jerome Borazio, Mark Hinkley and Scotty James) caught up at the round table one night, and faced the upsetting realization, once again, ordering dinner from their favourite dining destinations would require a trip to the city. On a mission to bring high-quality Asian-inspired cuisine to the peninsula, enlightenment struck and the concept for Ocean Beach Pavilion was born.

Just four days later, OBP found its home in Sorrento. Jerome Borazio is a hospitality entrepreneur widely recognized for his notorious roster of CBD venues, event spaces and creative experiences including St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival, St. Jerome’s – The Hotel, Ponyfish Island, Back Alley Sally’s, The Line, and more.

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Earl grey infused into a cocktail.

Mark Hinkley, Director of Tadcaster Holdings, has delivered the most unique hospitality experiences worldwide. From Singapore to Australia, Mark has built a distinctive range of 20 venues across a very diverse background including the 3 times Nightclub of the Year winner ‘The Emerson’ in Melbourne, Café Melba and The Exchange in Singapore, to the family-friendly entertainment venue Kryal Castle in Ballarat and many more.

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Pork belly bao.

Finally, Australia’s very own World Champion Snowboarder Scotty James. Scotty is a pioneer of his sport and is currently ranked no.1 in the world for the Men's Halfpipe. Scotty has been intrigued by the hospitality industry and through his travels and experiences in Japan he was inspired to bring a little slice of his adventures to OBP.

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Negroni with Sichuan subtle nuance.

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Steamed prawn and ginger dumplings with green nam jim.

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Bun heaven with Shitake mushroom vegan XO steamed buns, as well as Red duck curry steamed buns Shitake mushroom vegan XO steamed buns.

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Refreshing tapioca pudding.

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A coastal retreat for the locals, by the locals. For more information, visit: http://www.oceanbeachpavilion.com.

Wagyu beef dumplings with smoked korean red chilli dressing