MELBOURNE | Pipi’s Kiosk is a place that’s been on my list ever since it opened in 2020. You know the way it goes – lockdowns, everything ramping up the following year, being ‘south of the river’ (yeah yeah I know I need to get southside more often) etc. And the next thing you know, it’s November 2023. Pipi’s was still on the list, but had somewhat fallen off my radar, so what I received an invite to check it out I was like ‘yes, Pipi’s, let’s do this before another two and a half years passes by in flash’.
Located in a small converted kiosk between the Albert Park Foreshore and Kerferd Road Pier, Pipi’s offers diners picture-perfect views of the jetty and the bay, especially during sunset. You’ll find owners Jordan Clay (bar and kitchen) and Tom Hunter (front of house) doing their things and serving customers, with that certain passion and attentiveness that you only find from places where the owners are actually working in a customer-facing capacity.
Appropriately for the location, there’s a focus on local, fresh, sustainable seafood. The menu is hyper seasonal, with items coming and going every few weeks depending on what’s good at the markets on a given day. There’s a few non-seafood options on the menu, which I’m sure are brilliant, but when I’m coming to a place like this, I’m coming for the seafood.
The wine list showcases independent Australian winemakers, tending towards cooler-climate regions whose wines pair well with seafood. There’s also local craft beers on tap and in the fridges, plus a cocktail list made using locally distilled spirits.
Salt cod croquettes are dense and full of flavour, fried perfectly and served simply with aioli. The grilled Koo Wee Rup Asparagus, topped with almond skordalia and a runny smoked egg, is one of the best veggie dishes I’ve enjoyed recently. Baby octopus is grilled to perfection, served with roasted bullhorn peppers and ink sauce.
For larger dishes, you can’t go past the ‘Pipis Pasta’ which Lauren and I both agreed is one of the best pasta dishes we’ve eaten all year. It’s a generous serve of bucatini, topped with Goolwa pipis, and an intoxicating smoked tomato and Pernod sauce. It’s the kind of sauce that causes you to pause with each bite, repeatedly asking yourself how it is that it can be so good.
Pipi’s also has a kiosk window for coffee and fish and chips, open for longer hours than the restaurant proper. I’ve been told that the fish and chips are some of the best in town, which doesn’t surprise me give the meal I enjoyed.
The notion that one should never eat at a restaurant with a great view is oft repeated for good reason. There are however, always exceptions to the rule. Pipi’s Kiosk is very much one of them.
Pipi’s Kiosk
129A Beaconsfield Parade
Albert Park
Victoria 3206
Australia
Telephone: (03) 9041 2814
E-mail: [email protected]
Website
Open
Tue: 7:00am to 12:00pm
Wed: 6:00am to 10:30pm
Thu – Sat: 7:00am to 10:30pm
Sun: 7:00am to 10:30pm