Royal Hotel, Mornington

Recently we went to a friend's surprise birthday party at the Royal Hotel in Mornington.  This is one of those places that has been a town outside Melbourne but the city has spread so much to the South East that it is now maybe a suburb.  It was a long drive from our home (about 2 hours there and 90 minutes on the way back.)  The hotel dates back to the 1850s and the building to the 1870s when Mornington was a beach holiday town.  The elegant balconies look over Port Phillip Bay which is just across The Esplanade.

We headed in the Entrance. As you can see by the sign above the cute Easter decorations, there were a lot of options for dining spaces.  There was a concierge to direct us to the room where the party was underway.  I had time to peek around at other spaces which are in the next few photos.

This is the elegant space that is encountered upon entering the hotel.  I am not sure what it is called.  There were also tables on the verandah and on the side under umbrellas that you can see in the top photo.  Walter's Dining Hall sounded nice but was in a different area again that I did not go to.  And there is also accommodation in this large building.

The Front Bar overlooks the sea just over the road.  Lovely old bar but shame about the televisions above it.  This is where people can gather to watch sport on tv, which not really my thing!  I'd prefer to look at the views out the windows.

The Tavern with its brick walls had a more casual feel but another gorgeous bar.  A band was playing covers here to an appreciative audience.

The Bistro was where we were eating.  Above a window to the kitchen hung a row of brass pots.  The French doors had beautiful led lighting and between was a fireplace.  There was another old bar which backed onto the Front Bar.

After catching up with friends we sat at one of the large tables and starters were brought around to share.  Here are the Chips with tomato sauce and aioli and the Mozzarella garlic bread.  We were quite hungry by then and happy to dive in.  That garlic bread was very cheesy and butter and so good.  The crostini behind is for the Charcuterie and there was also a plate of Korean fried chicken for the carnivores.

Another starter for the vegetarians was the Cauliflower mac n’ cheese croquettes with jalapeño cheese sauce.  These were lovely and crisp with a slightly spicy sauce.

Then we ordered our main dishes.  I had the Indian spiced cauliflower, tomato dahl, coconut yoghurt, cucumber salad and crispy chickpeas.  It was really nice, though I was surprised at how mild the spices tasted (especially as my tolerance for spicy food is quite low).  I don't usually season my food in restaurants but in hindsight realised I should have added some pepper to my plate.  I loved the combination of vegetables but was surprised it didn't come with a roti like E's chicken curry.  That would have been good to mop up the dahl.

Sylvia honed in on the pasta and ordered the Pumpkin & ricotta agnolotti with white wine cream sauce, fried sage, spinach and pecorino.  She loved it but was surprised that this main dish only had 3 large agnolotti.  With the rest of the starters it was plenty but it was surprising that this dish cost $39.50.

Finally there was the birthday cake.  It was a beautiful White chocolate mudcake decorated with a bike theme.  We were all served a slice after singing happy birthday.  Such a deliciious cake.  We were fed like kings and left feeling royally full after the generous meal.
 

Before going home I had a quick look at the beach opposite the Royal Hotel.  It was lovely to look down on but I did not have time to go down and walk on along the sand because Sylvia was keen to get to an op shop before it closed.  So I left her there with E and had a quick walk along Fisherman's beach past the colourful beach huts.

Royal Hotel
770 Esplanade, Mornington VIC 3931
https://www.theroyal.com.au/