Donovans Restaurant

Directions

Sea-side dining at its best

Dining here is like being invited into Gail and Kevin Donovan's beautiful home to share a meal. The Italian-inspired menu is full of bold flavours courtesy of great ingredients and masterful cooking. Choose from a wide range of fresh seafood, barbecued specialities and luscious desserts. The stunning seaside location, open fireplace, professional service and comfortable surrounds make for a perfect meal any time of the year, particularly on cold winter nights! Awarded two hats in The Age Good Food Guide 2008 it remains one of Melbourne's best. Private dining room available for 28 people.

Reviews of Donovans Restaurant

  • JazzieJ
    JazzieJ   6 reviews
    Wonderful restaurant with excellent service, as lovely atmosphere and delicious food

    1 month ago

  • TheHat
    TheHat  Local Star   35 reviews
    Woah.. this restaurant is absolutely amazing!

    The service is impeccable, the food is of the highest possible standard, the menu caters to almost everyone, the view is superb, and it just has a nice feel about it, nothing overly pretentious or boastful just a high quality dining experience.

    For entree, I recommend selecting the baked oysters, a little pricey but delicious! Fresh oysters baked with cheese and bacon really nice. We also had the potato and chive croquettes (from the sides menu) as an entree, which gets you a plate of about 8 croquettes, covered in fresh parmesan cheese.

    The Ravioli and linguini dishes were delicious, and cooked to perfection. The best part is that neither need any salt, pepper or cheese they come out of the kitchen perfect.
    There is no doubt that Donovans is a really special restaurant, perfect for those special occasions.. just be prepared to pay the bill!

    1 year ago

  • starwoman8
    starwoman8  Local Star   31 reviews
    Donovans is a wonderful restaurant- excellent food, excellent service and lovely views. The decor is warm and charming- you feel like you are dining at a friend's place. It's not cheap and the menu is a bit limited but everything is lovely. Perfect for a special occasion! It is busy, so I would recommend booking well in advance where possible.

    1 year ago

  • premiero
    premiero  Local Star   119 reviews
    My very dear friends had their wedding reception here and the whole afternoon was a classy, tasteful and simply delightful affair.

    The food was spectacular and oodles of it! The wine selection was exemplary and the service could not be superseded as they went to enormous lengths to satisfy all their guests. The decor was different and really added to the whole beach side environment, comfortable and welcoming, especially the outdoor loungers, my fave!

    This is the one time when location, location really does make the difference and with the fact that the restaurant sits directly overlooking the trendy St Kilda Beach, then you really can make that dinner a very special affair and know that no one will forget the view!

    1 year ago

  • //
    //   50 reviews
    Wonderful! If you want to impress, this is the place. Never disappointed.

    2 years ago

  • Susannah M
    Susannah M   10 reviews
    The place to take a girl when you want to impress. This is my favourite restaurant, for its rustic family beach house style decor and country fare. Old photos are framed along the walls, with cosy couches to snuggle into and a huge sandstone fireplace. The site of Donovans was one of three original bathing houses built in 1920 on the St Kilda foreshore. Floor to ceiling windows line one side, so my tip is to book a table around sunset, as the entire restaurant is lit with an apricot glow. Amazing wine list too.

    3 years ago

  • JD
    JD   56 reviews
    good food, though quite a small selection. Good wine list. All a bit expensive. View is spectacular, ask for a window seat.

    4 years ago

  • Phantom
    Phantom   9 reviews
    Sensational food, service, wines and location! I can't fault this restaurant.

    4 years ago

  • Monday:
    6:00 PM-9:30 PM
  • Tuesday:
    6:00 PM-9:30 PM
  • Wednesday:
    6:00 PM-9:30 PM
  • Thursday:
    6:00 PM-9:30 PM
  • Friday:
    6:00 PM-9:30 PM
  • Saturday:
    6:00 PM-9:30 PM
  • Sunday:
    6:00 PM-9:30 PM

Restaurants

Dining Options

Functions Eat-in Bookings A-la-carte

Cuisine

Italian Seafood Barbeque

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Editorial Reviews

  • Donovans

    The Age Good Food Guide 2009

    Thursday, September 11, 2008

    This is still one of a handful of Melbourne restaurants bound to leave you glowing.

    Few restaurants know themselves as well as Donovans. Every detail speaks of elegance and ease: the barrel of walking sticks in the foyer, the sublimely simple dressed salad leaves, and the waiters stepping with crisp grace in their pastels. Of course, the appearance of effortlessness is always underpinned by hard slog. Here, that means a just-so beachhouse fitout. It also means an uncompromising approach to food. Robert Castellani doesn't truck with complication but his pastas, grills and careful assemblies always showcase excellent produce and a subtle Italian ethos. So a crayfish bisque is a distillation of all that's good about seafood; a mammoth, juicy pork chop is edged with textbook crackling; and banana tarte tatin is a perfectly sticky indulgence. All is brought together by well-drilled staff who ? within two minutes ? might steer a diner towards an unusual wine match, raise the blinds to reveal sunset over the bay and deftly upturn a buttery pastry disc before filling it...

    Source: The Age

    Full review on The Age

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