Magic In The Moonlite

With a menu informed by the flavours of the Med and an unbeatable beachfront location, Captain Moonlite nails the seaside-dining brief, writes Michael Harden.

- Michael Harden

As the late, great George Michael once sang: “If you’re going to do it, do it right”. This is exactly what chef Matt Germanchis and his partner Gemma Gange have done at Captain Moonlite. They’ve taken over the dining room of an unspoilt (okay, mildly neglected) surf lifesaving club, one with unbeatable beach and coastline views, and modernised both room and menu without cocking it up. It’s a minor miracle and a fine argument for the power of simplicity.

Germanchis is best known for his time heading both the Melbourne and Sydney versions of Pei Modern, but the roots of what he’s doing at the Anglesea Surf Life Saving Club go back further. About 10 years ago, after a stint in the UK working at Heston Blumenthal’s pub The Hinds Head, Germanchis took himself offto Greece and ran a waterfront taverna on the island of Skiathos for a year. That’s where Captain Moonlite had its genesis.

This isn’t to say that it’s a Greek taverna. It’s not, really, though the menu does include one of the prettiest and most authentic Greek salads around – super-fresh tomatoes, cucumber and capsicum, Kalamata olives, a scattering of dried oregano and a splash of olive oil punctuating the startlingly white slab of feta lying on the top. Add a sea view on a sunny day and it’s hard not to get all misty-eyed about that Greek island holiday, even if you never actually made it.