Where to eat on the Mornington Peninsula

Good food is half the reason people come to the peninsula, and it's spread right across it: cafés along the bay, seafood on the water at Mornington, and restaurants and cellar doors in the hills around Red Hill and Main Ridge. Cafés, restaurants and opening days change from season to season, so we've checked every place below against its own website, and dropped the ones from our old lists that have closed.

Cafés for breakfast and brunch

Start the day by the water. Most of these sit on or just off the main road along the bay, a short drive from our homes.

Restaurants by the water

For a meal with the bay in view, these are our go-tos.

Long lunches in the hills

Inland, the vineyards around Red Hill, Main Ridge and Merricks are where the peninsula does its long lunches. Many of the best are at cellar doors, from Ten Minutes by Tractor to Pt. Leo Estate, and we've rounded them up in our guide to the wineries. Two more worth the drive:

A pint in the country

Not everything here is wine. St Andrews Beach Brewery pours its own modern beers and ciders on a 92-acre property in Fingal, in a taproom built into old racing stables, with a share-friendly menu. The old private racetrack is now an orchard of apple and pear trees.