Port Welshpool General Store
It’s a long old trek off the South Gippy Highway down to Port Welshpool but I’m told time and again it’s where I’ll find the region’s best fish and chips. Not just by your average Joe but by the RACV no less.
I’ve been to the Port before of course to sample the culinary delights of our region’s newest pub, the Rusty Gurnard. But this time I’m heading next door to the historic Port Welshpool General Store where since they took over in 2020, Magno and Cel have been serving up some of the most celebrated bites to eat the Prom Coast has to offer. You only have to look at their Google reviews to see that.
Now I’d been told to hit up one of their famous burgers but I have to admit I’ve over indulged in patties and brioche buns of late so I’m taking a rain check until next time.
Looking up at the menu, I couldn’t help but wonder what I would be getting for the $12 fish and chips, the ones listed in the RACVs top fourteen coastal fish and chip shops in Victoria. But I decided to splash out and go for the $15 Fisherman Platter, that included a potato cake, piece of calamari and a fried dim sim.
The little person with me opted for a hotdog. The Frankfurter you get is straight out of the movies, long, slender and plump and while you can have it plain in a roll, the Port Welshpool General Store takes their offerings into the stratosphere. There’s the Aloha Dog, the Mac & Pork, the Caramelised Onion, the Lewis, the Jetty, and the Bacon Ranch and Chilli Dog to choose from, each one straight out of the foodie influencers’ hotdog roll of honour.
I have to say, despite little person’s fascination with all things Japanese and Korean of late, having been brought up on a steady diet of weekend sausage sizzles, the immaculately presented and near foot long Lewis Dog, covered in shredded lettuce, cucumber, tommy sauce and mayo, came as a bit of a shock. But a bite into it and it was soon being heartily devoured.
What about the fish and chips I hear you say? Well let me tell you, they certainly lived up to all the hype online. There doesn’t seem to be a bad word to say about them and I certainly won’t be here. The calamari melted in the mouth, the batter on both the potato cake and fish was done to perfection and though I can give or take a deep fried dimsim (I much prefer a steamed one), it was freshly fried so didn’t come with that soggy cardboard texture of something that’s been sitting in the hot cabinet after a batch cook a few hours before.
Along with a squeeze of the complimentary lemon, the fish was simply divine. The crispness of the batter mixed with the juicy flakiness of the fish went down a treat, especially after dipping in the tartar sauce which I swear had whole capers in it. I’m not sure if it was homemade, but it certainly seemed so. Delicious only half describes the lot.
Talking of the lot, I didn’t see beetroot mentioned on the amazing lineup of burgers on offer (alongside tacos, chicken and ribs), but if what me and the little one experienced on this day, is anything to go by, we’ll definitely be back to sample some more - and of course, let you know all about it.
Port Welshpool General Store, 93 Lewis St, Port Welshpool VIC 3965
Monday - CLOSED, Tuesday to Sunday 9am to 8pm
