The Cerberus Beach House

Boatshed 12, Half Moon Bay,
Beach Road, Black Rock 3193
Date visited: 2nd March 2013

Half Moon Bay, what a beautiful name.  It is home to the HMVS Cerberus, a naval ship that was sunk and now grounded in 1924.  The warship was named after Cerberus, the three-headed guard dog of Hades from Greek mythology.  The Cerberus Beach House was recommended to us a while ago and with the gorgeous weather today, MerlinFan, AS, AJ and I made a rather impromptu decision to drive up there for lunch.

Almost an hour later of my shockingly horrendous driving, we found Beach Road where we parked (a steep $4 an hour, or $14 for the whole day).  I suppose we could have parked on the road, but we didn't really want to go driving around looking for parking as we saw online that the restaurant was open from 12-3pm for lunch.

We found the Beach House easily.

There was a fish and chippery downstairs, but we headed upstairs to the restaurant.  The first thing I saw was the most breathtaking view of the bay and of the shipwreck in the distance.

Don't you wish you were here?

Spectacular view of the HMVS Cerberus

We were quickly brought menus and had our orders taken.

Cutlery

Being at the beach, MerlinFan, AS and AJ all decided to have the Cerberus Fish and Chips.

Fish and chips $28

MerlinFan, AJ and AS agreed that this was delicious.  The fish was juicy and fresh, covered by thin, beautifully light and crispy beer batter.  They all loved the nicely seasoned mushy peas.  The chips were pretty ordinary and could have used a little salt (there was salt on the table).

I was in the mood for meat and I had a hard time deciding between the lamb, pork and beef.  In the end, I settled on the Grilled Gippsland Natural Lamb Backstrap.

Grilled Lamb $27.50

My dish looked so healthy :D  The slices of grilled lamb were beautifully pink in the middle, wonderfully seasoned and very tender and juicy.  It sat upon a bed of rocket leaves, which went perfectly with the soft roasted pumpkin, marinated salty feta and balsamic glazed walnuts.  I absolutely loved this dish and finished every bite on my plate.

Our lunch wasn't complete without dessert.  It was almost 3pm but the restaurant were still happy to take orders and serve new customers.  There were quite a few tantalising offers on the menu, but in the end we decided on two to share.

We had the White Chocolate and Raspberry Pannacotta with chocolate mousse cake.

Pannacotta and chocolate mousse cake $15

I adored the white chocolate pannacotta - silky smooth, nicely complemented by the tangy raspberry coulis.  The chocolate mousse cake was also rich and decadent.

We also had the Kalamansi Lime and Vanilla Creme Brulee with cinnamon sugar beignets.

Creme brûlée $16

The deep fried choux fritters were crispy on the outside, soft on the inside and covered with cinnamon sugar - they reminded me a lot of churros.  The creme brulee had a satisfying crack as we broke into the caramel surface.  Inside was a rich tangy, lime and vanilla custard - the flavour was mouth-watering, however it was a bit too watery.

Overall, we had an incredibly satisfying lunch.  I would love to return to try their other dishes, or have our fish and lamb dishes again.  

Beautiful food and gorgeous bay views - really, what more could you ask for?

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