The Kitchen Tootgarook

Food & Drink
Bar, Beach, Cafe, Coffee, dinner, Eat, fireplace, Food, Kitchen, Local, Love the Pen, Mornington Peninsula, Parma, Restaurant, The Kitchen, tootgarook, Weekend, Wine
For the past few years, whenever we’ve travelled the long sweep of Point Nepean Road — which is often — one little shopfront has always hummed out to us. A flicker of light, a kind of beacon in the sea. Blink and you’ll miss it — a dark corner store wedged between Rosebud, Capel Sound and Rye — but once you’ve noticed it, you can’t unsee it.

Merricks General Store

Food & Drink, Winemakers
Cellar Door, Coffee, Eat, Exhibition, Food, Gallery, Garden, general store, Horse Riding, Kitchen, Local, lunch, Merricks, Merricks General Wine Store, Mornington Peninsula, Peninsula, Produce, Restaurant, Shop, Victoria, Vineyard, Weekend, Wine, Winemakes
Back in the days before impersonal supermarkets and oversized shopping centres, the humble general store was a community hub, a place that served an important social, as well as supply, service. In 1924, Merricks General Wine Store opened to serve a variety of needs of the local community. Built in a prime location on Hastings-Flinders Road, between Balnarring and Shoreham, it was a central point where locals could stock up on household items as well post mail, make phone calls at the phone booth, do banking and fill the petrol tank – a one-stop shop with friendly, familiar faces.

Indian Villa, Dromana

Food & Drink
dromana, Food, Indian Food, Indian Villa, Kitchen, Local, Love the Pen, Mornington Peninsula, Punjab, Restaurant, Tandoori, Wine
From the bustling streets of Punjab to the breezy shores of the Mornington Peninsula, Indian Villa is more than a restaurant. It’s a story of two friends, Harry and Amid, who brought with them not only their culinary skill but also the spirit of hospitality deeply woven into Indian culture. With two restaurants — one in Dromana and one in Rye — they’ve created places where heritage, flavour, and community come together in every shared meal.

Boutique Wine Tastings at Fenton Hall

Events
Love the Pen, Merricks, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Vineyard, Wine
Eight wineries situated within 5km of scenic Merricks North on the Mornington Peninsula are kindly donating tastings of boutique wines to help fund the restoration of historic Fenton Hall. Each patron will receive a delicious snack pack with local cheeses and quince paste and some wineries are offering fabulous food. Local businesses are kindly donating valuable prizes, such as wine and cider.