In recent years Geelong’s dining scene has boomed with dozens of new and exciting venues opening up all over the city and surrounds bringing new tastes and an exciting atmosphere to our city centre. The Geelong city centre now boasts some great dining options ranging from a whole array of international cuisines , fine dining, new and innovative modern styles and the good old fashioned hearty meal.
There is a dining experience for everyone, from the casual and affordable right up to gourmet experience with five star silver service. Some of our chefs are world renowned and our region’s produce is second to none, with the freshest of seafood, vegetables, dairy and meat right at our doorstop.
There are some Geelong institutions. Some dining experiences that are uniquely Geelong, like the exquisite Le Parisien our premier French restaurant overlooking the Corio Bay. Fisherman’s Pier or ‘Fishos’ also found on our waterfront, a restaurant that has been serving Geelong with spectacular seafood dishes for decades. There’s the Rheingold Bavarian Restaurant which is more of an experience than just a night out. The Rheingold puts on a amazing smorgasbord that even features a parade of a spit roasted pig followed by a festive German floor show, a popular place for a breakups and special night out with groups.
For a late night eat in Geelong there is no better place to get a delicious pizza than the Wood Oven on Mercer Street or a giant burger a few doors down at Texas Burgers.
Over recent years the vibrant Geelong waterfront has seen a wide range of dining experiences open, there’s the ever popular Wharf Shed below Le Parisien, plus several great choices under Edge Tower including the delicious Tuptim Thai, Burgers, Pizza, Seafood and the of course the Edge Bar. The most dominant building on the waterfront is Cunningham Pier, once known as Smorgy’s the entire venue has recently been refurbished into a range of dining experiences with great food and amazing bay views.
A new breed of innovative and tasty dining experiences are popping up all over the city centre, with names like There There on Malop Street, Jack n Jill on the Moorabool Street hill and the tasty Southern US styled Pistol Pete’s in Little Malop Street. The bay end of Moorabool Street also has some great new choices, with Italian inspired dishes at Denny’s Kitchen above Lamby’s, The Black Bull Tapas Bar and the modern Mexican street food of Mojo Mama.
Under the new pedestrian flyover at Westfield in Yarra Street is another new strip of dining, there’s the Hog’s Breath Cafe serving burgers and curly fries, The Groove Train with some tasty pizzas and the like. You will also find Japanese, Vietnamese street food and Geelong’s best ice cream at Loves.
The city centre also has a great range of Cafes, Coffee Houses, and of course Asian restaurants, with Indian, Thai and Japanese leading the way, see our separate stories.
Our pubs are also a great place for a meal with many around the region offering not only great choices but special deal nights including the traditional Parma & Pot nights or schnitzel nights and the like. There is a deal at one of the pubs just about every night of the week.
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