Pelikan Société

by Davin Lee

Pelikan Société is an awesome cafe located at Hastings, Mornington Peninsula. We initially set out to visit a winery in the Mornington Peninsula, but a quick Google search and we were drawn to Pelikan Société instead. I initially had two concerns about this place, the spelling of the name and the fact I had no idea where Hastings was! After visiting twice, I still can’t figure out these two things. We were drawn to the menu, and the pictures of this cafe looked great online. We punched the address into Google maps and off we went.

We parked in the car park and the scenery was pretty amazing. Clear blue water with small boats parked along the pier. There were people fishing along on the bridge also, with decent success. I don’t consider myself an outdoorsy person, but there was something very calming about this place.

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Pelikan Société had massive windows from top to bottom which allowed us to enjoy this view whilst inside. The cafe was filled with natural light and as a result, the wooden furniture was glowing! It had a really comfortable and relaxing colour theme inside, I particularly liked the contrast with the different coloured chairs. The acoustic panels which they have installed on their ceiling, helped immensely with preventing echoing. We’ve been to a lot of places without the acoustic panels, and it can be really hard to talk without having to yell over one another.

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I’ve always had a keen interest with the specials menu of any eatery. The specials allow the chefs to experiment with new dishes and to use great seasonal produce, which I wholeheartedly support. We were rewarded with an exceptional mussels dish from Pelikan Société! A true highlight for any seafood lover, and one of the best I’ve had. The use of royal gala apples with a cider reduction accentuated the natural sweetness of the mussels. The fresh herbs also balanced out the creaminess of the sauce. This sauce would go well with any seafood dish. The mussels itself were not only fresh, but was also cooked perfectly, still plump and juicy. It’s a shame that we won’t get to eat this dish next time.

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“The Cuban” sandwich came out in a Cuban cigar box, very shnazzy! Certainly gets everyone looking and excited as it’s coming out – mobile marketing. Tastes as good as it looks, the pork belly melts in the mouth, with the dijon sauce and sweet pickles making it a very appetising sandwich indeed! Really can’t fault any of the food here, they’ve got the flavours down pat, and they should be very proud of themselves.

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I highly recommend Pelikan Société for any food lover who enjoys a little day trip. You can also visit some nice wineries in the Mornington Peninsula afterwards as they are not too far away from the cafe. Water views plus vineyards all in one day? Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me!

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Pelikan Société
Approx $35 AUD per person
Website: pelikansociete.com.au
Address: 2 Marine Parade, Hastings, VIC 3915
Phone: +61 3 5909 8132

Pelikan Societe Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

The Little French Deli

by Helen Le

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Continuing on with my love for French food, we recently visited The Little French Deli, a place I had bookmarked for quite some time and have been wanting to check out. We decided to head there one sunny day for lunch and they certainly did not disappoint!

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Located along Nepean Hwy, two minutes from Bonbeach, my eyes lit up when we entered the deli area where they had delicious cheeses, cured meats, sausages and lovely dips behind the glass window to take away. We made a mental note to come back after our meal to purchase some goodies for home. The lovely staff directed us next door to the restaurant where we were seated. I loved the decor immediately. It had a really cute and cosy French charm to it.

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We decided to order a sea platter which had beetroot and vodka cured salmon, salmon rillettes, devilled egg and dill crème fraîche. The rillettes, which is similar to a salmon pȃté was exceptional! We also got the charcuterie platter which had duck rillettes, serrano ham, saucisson, pate and baguette bread. This was also really yummy. We also ordered a refreshingly tasty lobster salad with watermelon, cucumber, broad beans and pea tendrils and some rosé wine to boot.

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For dessert there were quite a few options to choose from but we settled on a lemon tart and a coffee eclair to share. Although the lemon tart was delicious, I have to say that the coffee eclair was the highlight. It was not too sweet at all and nothing like the normal eclairs you would get at any bakery. We were lucky to secure the last one as they were selling like hot cakes! They had other eclair flavours too such as chocolate and raspberry which had already sold out.

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Overall the food was exceptional, however the only thing to mention is that the waitress who was serving us on that day was new, in fact it was her first day and so she was a little lost and we had to follow up on a few things. The other staff however were very friendly and accommodating when we followed up with them. Definitely recommend if you’re in the mood for some French!

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The Little French Deli
Approx $40 AUD per person
Website: thelittlefrenchdeli.com
Address: 524 Nepean Hwy, Bonbeach VIC 3196
Phone: +61 3 9776 0855

The Little French Deli Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Rita’s Cafeteria

by Davin Lee

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Rita’s Cafeteria was introduced to me as one of the places to go to for great pizza, funny enough I don’t even rate the pizza that highly. I had stopped ordering the pizza after the second trip. I found the pizzas to be quite thick crusted which I don’t prefer and although the ingredients of the toppings were special, I didn’t think they were worthy of the hype.

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It was actually because of this, that I was fortunate enough to discover their main dishes! They are really tasty with a nice rustic style presentation. Prepared by a trendy hipster in the kitchen, he also uses a lot of micro greens for decoration. The menu is always changing and I love coming back to try out the new dishes on the menu. Prices range from high $20 to low $30.

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Some examples which I’ve tried and loved include the pickled octopus salad, the spatchcock, caprese salad which consists of tomatoes, basil and buffalo mozzarella, radiccio salad, and the risotto with prawn, crab, peas, lemon and marscapone. So simple and yet it tastes so good! As the menu is always changing, you’ll probably won’t get the same dishes. However, it’s great to know that you can enjoy something different every time you come back!

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I really like Rita’s Cafeteria because they provide very tasty dishes, with special flavours that I can’t find anywhere else. I would highly recommend anyone to try out their main dishes, and I hope you enjoy them as much as I have. Oh and their house red deliciously goes well with the food!

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Rita’s Cafeteria
Approx $35 AUD per person
Website: ritasabbotsford.com.au
Address: 239 Johnston St, Abbotsford VIC 3067
Phone: +61 3 9419 8233

Rita's Cafeteria Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato