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Torquay

Barrett describes the 60-seat dining room as "an intimate, homely space".

Former Good Food Guide Chef of the Year swaps bowlo for revamped motel restaurant

Two years after closing her hatted Lorne bistro Little Picket, Jo Barrett is back cooking in a different Great Ocean Road town.

  • Dani Valent and Emily Holgate
Assorted pastries from Born and Bread in Newtown.

The Good Food Guide to a road trip through Geelong and the Surf Coast

From wine bars to bakeries, pub meals to cocktails, here are our top picks for spending a delicious few days in this rapidly changing coastal region.

  • Emily Holgate and Good Food Guide reviewers

Gooley’s

Hole-in-the-wall sandwich joint just back from the beach.

The Torquay Farmer’s Market takes place each Saturday within a sunny council car park just off the Surf Coast Highway.

Torquay Farmer’s Market

Matcha, Tibetan momos, giant spring rolls and more in a sunny council carpark.

The exterior of Mortadeli in Torquay.

The Age Good Food Guide 2026: Best places to eat and drink in Geelong and the Surf Coast

From wine bars to bakeries, pub meals to cocktails, here’s how to spend a delicious few days in this rapidly changing region.

  • Emily Holgate
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Mussels with macadamia “tofu” and fish-eye crackers.
Good Food hatGood Food hat16/20

Samesyn

A study in deliciousness and social responsibility.

Mortadeli’s meatball sub with basil pesto and parmigiano.

Mortadeli

A sandwich shop, deli and pasta bar under one roof.

Mortadeli is a pasta bar, deli and grocer in one.

Mortadeli Pasta Bar

Cheery hotspot for first-rate pasta and quirky vino.

Potato churros with fermented capsicum puree.
Good Food hatGood Food hat16/20

This newly two-hatted Torquay restaurant delivers zero-waste and maximum enjoyment

Chef Graham Jefferies’ compelling, startlingly creative waste-not cooking sees his rejigged Samesyn restaurant gain a second chefs’ hat.

  • Dani Valent
Mortadelis is a pasta bar inside a European deli.

The Good Food guide to eating and drinking in Torquay

It had always been the centre of every Victorian surfer’s universe. But now Torquay is riding a food and drink wave too. Here’s what you need to know.

  • Ellen Fraser and Good Food Guide reviewers