Eat - The Epicurean, Red Hill South
Sunday 30 August is the last Sunday lunch of winter, and The Epicurean is where I’d spend it. The ridge’s trophy rooms get the bookings; this one has quietly held its hat while they opened and rebranded around it.
Order whichever pasta reads most seasonal off the board, then the roast of the day if the kitchen has one running. Those two dishes are where the cooking earns its reputation - Mediterranean in method, Peninsula in produce, no theatre on the plate. The vineyard-row terrace is glassed and heated, so a westerly won’t ruin the table. In August the dining room fills by 12.30pm with people who drove down for exactly this.
Shoreham Road, Red Hill South. Book the earlier sitting through epicureanredhill.com.au and give lunch three hours. Bookings essential on a Sunday, and the last winter one will go fastest.
Pair it with a tasting at Port Phillip Estate ten minutes up the road before you drive home.
Walk - Bushrangers Bay Track, Cape Schanck
The winter swell is the whole argument for walking this track now rather than in January. The Southern Ocean hits the basalt below Pulpit Rock with force you can feel through the boardwalk, and the carpark holds maybe six cars instead of sixty.
From the Cape Schanck lighthouse carpark the track runs east through tea-tree and coastal heath, about 2.6 kilometres to the beach at Bushrangers Bay. Go at low tide and you can walk the sand right around to the Main Creek outlet. Late June through September is also southern right whale season along this coast - I have watched two of them work slowly west from the clifftop bench about halfway along.
420 Cape Schanck Road. Two hours return, longer if you detour down the lighthouse boardwalk. No booking, no dogs, and the return climb is steeper than it looks. Winter mud is real here; wear proper boots.
Finish with lunch at Barragunda Dining if you booked weeks ago, or the RACV Cape Schanck bistro if you didn’t.
Discovery - Pt. Leo Estate Sculpture Park, Merricks
Free weekday entry for Mornington Peninsula Shire residents ends on Monday 31 August, which makes this week the last chance to walk the sculpture park on a local’s terms.
Sixteen hectares of lawn and coastal scrub run down toward Western Port, with more than fifty large-scale works set along the paths - Jaume Plensa and Inge King among the names you’ll recognise. Winter is genuinely the better season for it. Low sun rakes across the steel and stone, the grass is green rather than scorched, and on a Tuesday morning you will have long stretches of the loop entirely to yourself. Allow an hour to walk it properly, more if you sit.
3649 Frankston-Flinders Road, Merricks. Weekdays only for the local offer; bring photo ID or a rates notice with a Shire address. Check opening hours at ptleoestate.com.au before you drive out.
Pair it with a glass at the estate’s wine terrace afterwards, looking back over the same lawn you just walked.
The details
The Epicurean - Shoreham Road, Red Hill South. Sunday lunch, earlier sitting recommended. Bookings essential via epicureanredhill.com.au. Allow three hours.
Bushrangers Bay Track - trailhead at the Cape Schanck lighthouse carpark, 420 Cape Schanck Road, Cape Schanck. About 2.6km each way, two hours return. No booking. Dogs not permitted. Boots, not sneakers.
Pt. Leo Estate Sculpture Park - 3649 Frankston-Flinders Road, Merricks. Free weekday entry for Shire residents until 31 August 2026; ID required. Allow one hour for the loop. Hours at ptleoestate.com.au.
Questions readers actually ask
FAQ
Do I need to book The Epicurean for Sunday lunch?
Yes. Sunday is the busiest service of the week at The Epicurean, Shoreham Road, Red Hill South, and the terrace tables go first. Book through epicureanredhill.com.au and ask for the earlier sitting if you want the kitchen at full attention.
How long does the Bushrangers Bay Track take, and is it dog-friendly?
Allow two hours return from the Cape Schanck carpark at 420 Cape Schanck Road - roughly 2.6 kilometres each way, with a steady climb back out. It sits inside Mornington Peninsula National Park, so dogs are not permitted. Wear boots you don't mind burying in mud.
Who qualifies for free weekday entry at the Pt. Leo Estate Sculpture Park?
Mornington Peninsula Shire residents, on weekdays only, until 31 August 2026. Bring photo ID or a rates notice showing a Shire address. Details and opening hours at ptleoestate.com.au - the park is at 3649 Frankston-Flinders Road, Merricks.