Coastal dining at its best: my top five

With the best of summer weather here half of Canberra’s population will be running away to the coast at every weekend opportunity. While Batemans Bay is a popular choice, my preference is the Sapphire Coast - Tathra, Merimbula and Pambula, where the beaches are stunning and a little quieter than Batemans Bay, and where, for someone whose life revolves around food, there are great dining choices, from fine dining to beachside kiosks with million-dollar views.

Here’s my list of the best.

The Wharf Locavore, Tathra

Tathra is your typical beachside town with typical beachside dining choices - fish and chips, a bakery, deli, pizza and the like. And then there’s the Wharf Locavore. At the historic Tathra wharf, this is a little piece of foodie heaven. Plenty of delicious and gourmet lunch choices, lots of tempting cakes and sweet treats, plus they serve Ona coffee. It’s a beautiful space with high ceilings, eclectic distressed furniture, a gallery of local arts and crafts and produce for sale. With stunning views out to the wharf and the headlands it makes for a relaxing place to linger. And if you fancy dangling a line at the wharf they will bring your food out to you so you can fish while you tuck into your lunch. Seven days, 8am-5pm during summer, facebook.com/thewharflocavore

Mimosa Wines and Drystone restaurant, Tathra/Bermagui

Wine tasting might not be high on the agenda when you are on a weekend coast trip, but if you are after a break from the beach, Mimosa Wines and Drystone restaurant is worth a visit. It’s about half an hour’s drive from Tathra and the winery is extremely picturesque and understandably a hotspot for weddings. The seafood-inspired menu is lovely, as are the wines. But if you fancy something more casual they serve woodfired pizzas in a Tuscan-style courtyard which has a relaxing feel and plenty of room for the kids to run. Lunch seven days, dinner Thursday to Sunday during summer, mimosawines.com.au, facebook.com/mimosawines

Zanzibar Cafe, Merimbula

Don’t let the “cafe” confuse you; Zanzibar is a fine dining restaurant, with a chef's hat in the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide. The head chef is formerly of Tetsuya's and the sous chef is formerly of Quay. The food is incredible, and the memories of a meal here linger longer than your tan. Lunch Thursday and Friday, dinner Tuesday to Saturday, zanzibarmerimbula.com.au

Bar Beach Kiosk, Merimbula

This is what a casual beach side cafe should be all about. It’s a tiny little place unobtrusively overlooking beautiful Bar Beach. The menu is simple, the concept is unpretentious but it’s perfect in every way. Breakfast options vary from an uncomplicated yet delicious bacon and egg roll to more fancier options of smashed avocado and feta on sourdough. For lunch, the options change daily from simple organic salads or tacos to pizzas. Dinner and live music on Sundays. You can go for a swim or come straight off the surf and arrive at the kiosk dripping wet and always feel welcomed. Bar Beach Kiosk is everything that is charming and relaxing about a beach holiday at wallet-friendly prices. Seven days 7.30am to 4pm. Keep an eye out on the Facebook page for Sunday dinner specials and opening hours, barbeachkiosk.com.au, facebook.com/pages/BAR-BEACH-KIOSK-Merimbula/108806495807746?fref=ts

Wheelers seafood restaurant, Pambula

Wheelers is a seafood restaurant and an oyster farm. The restaurant serves the freshest and finest local seafood, including oysters, in a delightful restaurant setting. The flavours are bold, the servings are huge and you can taste the freshness. The oyster farm on the beautiful waters of Merimbula Lake has been producing finest Sydney rock oysters for nearly 100 years and you can buy oysters from the takeaway outlet every day. If you want the full oyster farm experience there are guided farm tours at 11am every day but Sunday. Seven days lunch and dinner during summer, wheelersoysters.com.au

Rachi Perera is a Canberra optometrist and food blogger at le-bonvivant.com