The Bellarine Peninsula is lined with treasure. I love treasure, so that’s perfect. The jewel in its proverbial crown, in my humble treasure-loving opinion, is Wallington’s Elk Horn Roadhouse. Owned and operated by the beautiful Terri Bitton and Julie Taylor, the café/restaurant/general store was born out of a vacant tin shed in the middle of a horse paddock. There are still some horses in the back for effect.

Elk Horn is reliably fantastic. It may just be the only place on the Bellarine that serves coffee at a standard that a Melbournian would be impressed by, and locals from every surrounding town pour in by the busload for it every morning. All the baked goods are silly delicious. They’re made fresh on site daily, along with endless batches of seasonal jams (Peach and Vanilla or Strawberry and Lemon), chutneys and honey & seasonal fruit granola. In addition to their own products, the ladies have a rotating selection of local handcrafts, mostly kitchen related, for sale.

Elk Horn is about to reach its first anniversary and it runs as smooth as a seasoned pro. The ladies keep their fingers on the pulse and are constantly making improvements, tweaking and refining so that they can accommodate the burgeoning demand.  

Surrounded by some of Victoria’s richest farmland, they focus on using their neighbours’ products. The tasting plate of local and house made produce is the perfect way to get a sense of the immediate diversity.

And their efforts haven’t gone unnoticed. The ladies at Elk Horn and their in house chef, Nathan Veach, were recently awarded The Golden Plate award for ‘Best Menu of Local Produce’ as well as ‘Best Unlicensed Café’. They are actually licensed now and offer some of the peninsula’s best wines and beers. But watch out for the Bellarine Blonde, you might end up going home with one of them.


Elk Horn Roadhouse is open Monday to Sunday, 8.00am - 5.00pm.
420a Wallington Road, Wallington, VIC 3221
Phone (03) 5250 6056