After a hard day of riding around on pretty poop hire bikes in the heat of Rottnest, we were pretty ready for a late lunch in the main landing area of the island. There were quite a few options, but we opted for one of the restaurant/cafes on the edge of the village... just to keep away from the more popular chain restaurants that were further down the beach.
We were lucky to arrive in the mid afternoon... so, the big lunch crowd was gone... and we were in the area before the bulk of the people started to move off the beaches and into the shaded village. Sort of the same time as the quokkas as well!
The Space
Outdoor verandah seating was perfect on this warm day! Nicely shaded by the trees and the wide eaves, it was the perfect place to sit and cool down! Plus, you could just watch all the other people walking by wishing that they had a place to sit and drink a cool drink!
... and some quokkas would make it past the gates and into the general seating area!
The Menu
Pretty stock standard fare for a restaurant... mostly Italian inspired... and unfortunately, the pricing was high... even for Perth and Australia. This what you would expect for a tourist island! Even though we were pretty hungry after several hours of riding and exercise, we were going to go swimming right afterwards, so we didn't want to eat too much!
The Food
My wife and I shared a Rotto'nesca pizza... a little play on the traditional Puttanesca concept? We ended up ordering just a single thing for the two of us... our oldest now wants to order from the adult menu... but she has a small appetite. Like her parents, but even smaller... but sometimes she does surprise us, she is growing fast after all!
But still, to be on the safe side, it is best to just order one adult meal for the two of us, and then just clean up the leftovers from the kids instead!
Meanwhile, the younger one ordered the chicken nuggets. Always either the fish and chips, or the nuggets and chips... and more often than not, the chips get eaten and the rest stays mostly uneaten. However, these were damn good nuggets this time! And they got cleaned up pretty fast!
I guess that she also had an appetite... she actually worked the hardest out of all of us as her bike didn't have gears!
... and finally, our oldest has gotten a Ceasar salad fixation now. She always orders it when she sees it on the menu.... I don't mind it, but it isn't my favourite thing...
The Experience
The prices were high, but the seating area was comfy... and the food was surprisingly good! So, worth the slightly inflated prices... It was good to have a place to sit in the shade and just enjoy the slow eating before heading off to a swim. This sort of island life... I could really get used to it!