West Beach favourite Oceanique is the winner of two big titles at this years SA Restaurant & Catering HOSTPLUS Awards for Excellence, taking home the crown for ‘Best Breakfast Restaurant’ and ‘Best Contemporary Australian Informal Dining Restaurant’.
The waterfront restaurant, tucked away at The Adelaide Sailing Club is owned and operated by Lucy Dunning, her brother Sam and his wife Leticia Dunning, Leticia’s mum Tina, and Tina’s partner Giuseppe (Joe). There’s more than 150 years’ experience between them: Sam and Joe ran The Store in North Adelaide together, Lucy and Leticia both worked in events at the National Wine Centre, and Sam worked on reopening The Stag and Maid and Magpie, to name a few.
With Sam and Joe bringing in their brunch game from The Store, it’s no wonder ‘Best Breakfast Restaurant’ was one of the honours they earned. Their delicious brekky menu is proudly locally sourced and freshly prepared as you sit back and take in its breath-taking West Beach views.
Their sustainable fresh seafood and impeccable service is no doubt a contributor to their new title of ‘Best Contemporary Australian Informal Dining Restaurant’. With menu items including battered Greenly Island Ocean Jacket, shellfish risotto and house-smoked Trout, there is plenty for seafood enthusiasts to indulge in.
While ocean jacket is often stigmatized, Oceanique prefers the species because it’s better for the environment, an ideal upheld by head chef Toby Gush and the restaurant’s owners.
“Sustainability and the environment are really important to us; This is such a beautiful setting, and we want to make sure it’s here in the years to come,” co-owner Sam Dunning tells us.
“We use ocean jacket because everything else is overfished, so this is the most sustainable and local fish.”
Land lovers are catered for too, with different locally sauced steak and meat options, fried chicken and house-made burgers (to name a few) available to devour.
With something for everyone, and now a couple of accolades to add to its name, if you haven’t yet been to Oceanique, there’s no better time than the present.
Find Oceanique at 9 Barcoo Road, West Beach.