Tried and tested, these legends have saved us this lockdown.
Victorian venues have had to revert to a takeaway and delivery model once again, and it’s our duty to do what we can to support them even if it’s from our couch.
We’ve compiled a list of just a handful of Geelong’s venues offering to deliver their offerings independently, so you can support small businesses and enjoy a good feed at home. Please be sure to check the social media accounts of your favourite venue to keep up with what they’re doing.
The Hop Inn
You’re guaranteed to be sitting back on the couch in satisfaction with a meal from the peeps at The Hop Inn in Mount Duneed.
In the spirit of making the best of a bad situation, The Hop Inn have introduced some lockdown combos that are sure to get you through all those extra hours at home. There’s a three-cheese board, a $75 deal that gets you pizza, wings, a side, a bottle of wine and a six-pack of their Hop XPA, or a $69 combo that has pork sliders, a chicken parmi, a side and the wine and beer too. Seems like the perfect meal for one, in our opinion.
If you’re just ordering straight from their menu, we’re tossing up between the finger-licking Buffalo wings (with blue cheese sauce), the Hop Chicken Parmi, pumpkin risotto, and the beef and pork ribs.
If you’re looking for something a bit different, you’ll also find the likes of fresh Otway Fettucine pasta, Hop XPA beer-battered fish, a Jerk marinated roast pumpkin salad, or a classic chicken schnitzel. If you’re feeling a burger, they’ve got a huge veggie burger, The Hop Beef burger, a Nashville hot chicken burger, and a pulled pork burger, all served with a side of their thick cut chips.
If pizza is more your type of circuit breaker salve, choose from the ‘Spicy Santana’, with Napoli sauce, mozzarella, hot salami, chorizo, jalapenos, and roast peppers; the ‘Soundgarden Supreme’ with Napoli sauce, mozzarella, spinach, mushrooms, onion, olives and cherry tomatoes; and the ‘Smashing Pumpkins’ with Napoli sauce, roast pumpkin, spinach, mushrooms, roast peppers, onions and goat’s cheese, among many others. We can’t go past the Queen Margarita.
PS, Wednesday is Wing Night, where you can get one kilogram of hot, crispy wings slathered in your choice of Buffalo, Highway to HELL or Teriyaki sauce for only $16. You’re welcome.
You won’t find takeaway menus like this just anywhere. The team will be out delivering every night in Mount Duneed, Armstrong Creek, Warralily and Charlemont. Simply place your order via the website.
Recess Bar + Eats
Recess is central Geelong’s only gluten-free restaurant and they’ve become one of our favourite spots to go for something a little classy when the cravings hit. With food that is A+ and cocktails that are even better, these guys gave Geelong locals the chance to play at home by pivoting to takeaway and deliveries.
Just one glance at their menu and you won’t even care what you get – it’s all that damn good. Whether it be three cheese arancini, pan-fried gnocchi, or cauliflower mac and cheese, or perhaps even braised beef cheek – we can guarantee you’ll be licking the plate clean. And you’re at home so you probably can.
You can even add on a bottle of vino to really get you through lockdown.
You can order direct from here. They’ll be delivering to most suburbs around Geelong for a fee of $6.
A Spot For Joe
A good bagel has the power to make an ordinary day great – and A Spot For Joe’s bagels have the power to make even the worst day in lockdown seem like a thing of beauty, especially when they get delivered to your doorstop.
If you’re craving one of these buoyant bakery treats to lift your spirits, our friends at Geelong CBD’s A Spot For Joe has you sorted with their special bagel deal for tomorrow, Wednesday offering 20% off as many bagels as you please.
Whether you opt for a plain bagel, go sweet with cream cheese and fresh blueberries, indulge in a Smoked salmon, cream cheese, dill, capers and rocket bagel, or veg out on a grilled pumpkin, capsicum, caramelised onion, eggplant, spinach, hommus and house smoked babaganoush bagel, there’s a sacred roll with a hole for everyone. Oh, and there’s coffee!
Simply head to their website tomorrow, enter BAGEL20 at the checkout, and prepare to strike some serious bagel gold.
Pompei On Pakington
Located at the river end of Pakington Street, Pompei Geelong opened their doors back in September with a clear focus on combining Italian simplicity with high-quality produce, delivering a delicious and authentic Italian dining experience to locals. A local family run business of four, comprising Alastair, Alastair’s partner Tamara, Kai, their daughter, and Brendan, their brother-in-law, Pompei combines about 50 years of experience working in food, dishing up the kind of devotedly rustic, no-frills authentic Italian food that you can feel doing you good, body and soul… and you can feel that all at home with their takeaway pastas that can be delivered to your door.
The pasta menu strikes all the right notes, featuring the likes of homemade tagliatelle alle cozze, spaghetti alla carbonara, homemade gnocchi Osso Bucco and penne pesto. You’ll also find a refreshing Caprese or pear e noce salad among the other items listed on the menu. You can find the latest via their website.
Splatters
You can pretty much get anything you’re after delivered to your door right now, which is great for supporting local businesses and satiating your many desires, especially when you’ve got that hankering for cheese and charcuterie.
Making our cheese dreams come true (and helping pass the time during this circuit breaker), Splatters is bringing the goods straight to our doors.
Known around town as the rolling eatery version of a cheese-lover’s mecca, creating fresh, indulgent and delicious cheese platters, the local business has gone from food truck to one of Geelong’s favourite online grazing stores over the past few months, thanks to the reoccurring lockdowns.
Providing a mix of sweet and savory elements and a variety of textures coming together, Splatters cheese platters (a splatterbox!) have a little something for everyone. Focusing on fresh, housemade, local, imported and seasonal ingredients, these splatterboxes feature an array of divine Australian cheeses accompanied by cured meats (think salami, kabana, prosciutto), seasonal fruit and nuts, dip, a mixture of crackers, olives, dried fruits, vegetable crudites, and other yummies like chocolate dipped pretzels. Splatters (being the considerate folk they are) also offer gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian options, as well as kids boxes, fresh fruit boxes, and even brunch boxes for two. They even let you customise your order right down to the type of crackers, with the option to add on extras too.
The best part is, is that it’s not just localised to central Geelong like most delivery options. Instead, Splatters (AKA cheese gods) will deliver the goods whether you’re in Geelong, the Bellarine or Surf Coast. That’s right, from Little River to Anglsea and Teesdale to St Leonard’s, the cheese is yours.
Prices range from around $30 to $195 depending on what size you’re looking for. Order by 10am for same day delivery, with deliveries made between 11am and 4pm.
Browse through the options online here.
Uncle Donut
When in stage 4 lockdown it can be hard to stay positive all the time – but sugary treats can help, especially when it’s a donut.
If you’re craving the best in deep-fried, icing covered treats, and you’re passionate about supporting small local business, Uncle Donut is the place to go.
Inspired by the abundance of iced, sugared and gourmet treats taking over Melbourne, Uncle Donut was one of the first to bring glazed, dusted, fried and filled hand-crafted donut varieties to Geelong. Changing flavour on each month, the past few years have seen a wave of mouthwatering flavours like Nutella, Strawberry Jam, Jaffa, an exotic Dulce de Leche, Rocky Road donut, passionfruit pavlova, Apple Pie Cheesecake to Lemon Meringue and even a Crème Brûlée donut. Currently, our eyes are on the salty caramel and the Golden Gaynetto…
To save you from this five-day (potentially longer) lockdown, the team are ensuring your doughnut fix thanks to their range of delivery options. You can choose to order directly through their website (always recommended) or via their delivery partners UberEats, Deliveroo, MenuLog and DoorDash.
Twisted Dessert Bar
Okay so maybe we were a little quick to assume everyone likes donuts (but seriously, as if you don’t). If you’re feeling like treating yourself to a few more options, Twisted Dessert Bar have you covered.
Located on the corner Little Malop street, these guys are the go-to place with their range of cupcakes, cheesecakes, cookies, brownies, slices and truffles. Alongside the sweets, they’re also known to be slinging deluxe hot chocolates, iced frappes, and cappuccinos daily. You can even get waffles delivered, and there’s three different flavours to choose from, with Nutella Belgium waffles, Lemon meringue waffles and simply Belgium waffles.
Just try to say no.
And because of this pesky little lockdown, the team are offering FREE delivery on their sweets for orders over $30 in the Geelong region until Wednesday 10pm. Check it out here.
The Fresh Food Merchant
While this isn’t exactly comfort food per se, we’re always a lot more comfortable when there’s a fridge full of food and a pantry stocked with goodies to munch on. During this circuit breaker lockdown, there has been a demand for businesses delivering fresh produce including fruit and vegetables, meat and other pantry necessities to people who may not be able to leave their home – or who just prefer not to.
The Fresh Food Merchant is one shining star, delivering vegetables, fruit, deli goods, fish monger, meat, and pantry items to people across the Geelong and Torquay regions. There’s even grazing platters and 6Ft6 Wines & Austin’s Wines available too.
Available from Monday to Saturday, it’s even free delivery for most Geelong suburbs if your order is over $100. Check out their website here.
Alongside these absolute legends, there’s a whole bunch of local cafes and restaurants on Deliveroo, DoorDash, MenuLog and UberEats, and at the moment, Deliveroo are actually offering free delivery from local businesses to the Geelong region. You beauty. You’ll find pizzas from Two Sugars, spicy goodness from Hot Chicken Project, dumplings from YangJi Dumpling, the best Indian ever from Khan Curry Hut, tacos and burriots from El Santo and poke bowls from Poke Geelong, plus heaps more.
Turn your inbox up to 11. Sign up to Forte’s newsletter and you’ll be served fresh music, arts, food, booze and culture stories twice a week.
