Silver Sands Beach Club

Silver Sands is a surf life saving club – but not as you know it. The 44-year-old club had to raze and rebuild its restaurant in 2018 after a storm caused severe damage. It then put the running of the dining room – a spacious area with floor-to-ceiling glass windows overlooking the ocean – out to tender. Respected wine critic and Tasting Australia’s beverage expert Nick Stock took the reins along with co-owner Mark Kamleh. Together, they transformed it into the stunning beachside venue it is today.

The seafood-forward menu lists Med-inspired dishes alongside pub favourites. Housemade squid-ink pasta with calamari and bottarga sit comfortably next to the Club Cheeseburger with fries. There are also usually six different pizzas (think prawn and 'nduja; roast potato and confit garlic; and roast-tomato margherita) and scoops of gelato for dessert.

On the back of the menu is a succinct wine list, devoted to drops by local producers such as Alpha Box & Dice. There’s also a hefty list curated by Stock which comes on a clipboard and features premium international labels such as premier cru burgundy and chablis from the likes of Domaine Faiveley, Jean-Marc Bouley and William Fèvre.