KAM is cool. He was always one of the popular kids in school who got chosen for all the top sports teams and was constantly surrounded by lots of friends. I am the total opposite, never getting picked for anything except the school musical and was a ballerina in my spare time. Very uncool.
But if there was ever a place where everyone is cool, it is the Beach House at Port Macquarie. It doesn’t seem to matter if you are a tourist passing through, a regular local or a mum with 2 Kids in her gym gear walking the kids and dogs along the waterfront – everyone is welcome.
We stumbled across this place by accident on our very first trip to Port and since have experienced breakfast, lunch and dinner sitting out on the long communal tables watching the world go by and listening to whatever music they happen to have on that day. There is something happening here most days, but their live and local sessions by acoustic artists on a Sunday afternoon is my favourite. You’re sitting there with a glass of bubbles and a beat up old car pulls up. A guy gets out of the car with his guitar, plonks himself on a chair, plugs himself in and just starts playing. Easy, breezy and ever so cool.
Open from 7.00am and located in one of the best spots in Port, you can stare out over the water and watch the dolphins gilding past as they start their day along with you. This is a busy little waterway with multi-million dollars yachts anchoring at the jetty or seaplanes coming into land on water that resembles glass. But it never feels rushed. Everyone here just takes there time, and life seems to be more about enjoyment than caring about running late for a meeting. In fact, I have seen a number of business meetings held here – guys arriving and striping off their suit jackets and ties to sit for a casual beer over what looks like a relatively serious meeting.
The breakfasts here are massive and I recommend the Beach House Big Breaky which at $25 is more than adequate for 2 people to share. Pair it with a bottle of Taltarni Blanc de Blach ($55) and you have a breakfast made for champions. This is the way to start a day!
The girls here also know how to mix a mean Martini and on a Friday evening they are $7 each at their Martini Club event, accompanied with live DJs out on the veranda.
Every time we are in Port (which is not often enough), we visit this cool place and the last time we were there, the girls behind the bar remembered us and our order – and we hadn’t visited for over 3 months! That’s cool!
Time moves slower in Port Macquarie and everywhere you look its like a moving postcard. This is the place you want to go to chill out and feel like a local even if only travelling on through. Be warned though…. Once you are here, you will find it very hard to leave. But the Beach House is a staple and will always be there when you feel the need to slow it down, relax and just be a bit cool.
The Beach House
2 Horton Street,
Port Macquarie NSW 2444
Ph: (02) 6584 6011
http://www.thebeachhouse.net.au/