Pier St - From City to Sea: “You Don’t Miss It”

When the pandemic began to take hold in Victoria, chef Peter Roddy and his wife Ebony Vagg were left footing the bill on two rental properties: one in Melbourne and another in Portarlington. They’d been living between the two while running their city restaurant, Noir, as they worked on a new cafe, Pier Street. After just a couple of months of being open, lockdown was looming. They had to make a decision.

“We made the choice to let the Melbourne one go and come here,” says Peter. “Eventually this is where we would have come, but it’s probably made it four or five years quicker.”

Although the family’s move was fast-tracked, Peter hasn’t looked back. On the home front, he says the lifestyle is more relaxed and he loves taking his kids to the beach, while Pier Street has doorstep access to local produce.

“It’s fantastic, I went from a two bedroom house in Richmond to a four bedroom house down here,” says Peter. “I miss nothing; in terms of there’s nothing I feel like you cannot get in Portarlington that you can get in Richmond. It’s got everything.”

The menu at Pier Street showcases local Bellarine products, from seafood and Drysdale Goat’s Cheese to saltbush plucked from the sand, just outside the cafe. Peter is especially complimentary of Jenkins & Son, the fifth-generation fishmonger where he buys the local catch, such as flathead and Portarlington’s lauded mussels.

“It’s not good for Portarlington, it’s good for anywhere,” says Peter of the fishmonger. “His prawns are amazing; he gets local flathead; even just gummy shark – it’s fresh and it’s perfect. He’s really a quality supplier, and that’s such an asset for me, and such an asset for the town.”

Sitting at Pier Street with a mouthful of the Bellarine’s best fish and chips, you can see why Peter says that his sea change was the obvious choice.

“People move down here for the lifestyle, for the chilled coastal vibe, and it’s still in touch with the city. I mean, the ferry goes from there,” he says pointing to the passenger boat, docked 100 metres away at the pier. “It’s an hour, much quicker than driving, and you’re right in the thick of it again. You don’t miss it very much.”