Bird Rock Keeps Rocking

Bird Rock in Jan Juc continues to stake its claim as one of the grooviest dining and entertaining spots on the Surf Coast with delicious food, fantastic cocktails and high-quality service.

The Bird Rock establishment has been a staple of the coastal haven for over a decade and after some slick renovations from owner Anthony Gist and his team, the venue is in top condition as it approaches the busy season.

“My head chef Matt and I were offered this amazing opportunity to take on Bird Rock about four years ago and it’s been the most fun and enjoyable journey so far,” owner Anthony Gist said.

“We really resurrected the venue after it was kind of just left when the previous owners just walked away.

“Moving from California in 2010 after some successful surf trips down to this beautiful part of the world, it was a bit of a labour of love for me to take on the venue.

“Bird Rock was the place where I met some my best friends in this community and where I shared many fond memories, so it was amazing when I got offered to take it on and make it into what it is today.”

During the last lockdown after a successful first few years of business, Gist and his team decided to revamp the space, tearing out the bar and making a whole new area to entertain.

The new venue includes a slick new bar, beautiful artwork and mural designs, smooth timber paneling and shiny new lighting upgrades which provide a polished vibe for any occasion.

“With our renovations we wanted to create a warm atmosphere and somewhere that everyone could come together and gather,” Gist said.

“Bird Rock has always been a place with no egos, it’s just a place everyone can come and share a meal or some drinks in a community environment.

“Our biggest mission out of all it was to just build Bird Rock back up and welcome people with our delicious food by Matt in the bar and with Olly slinging cocktails behind the bar.”

Gist said when he and Matt designed the menu for the venue, they wanted to create and cater for all, those that are vegetarian, vegan and everything in between.

They endeavored to form a menu that was one, delicious, but two, healthy and welcoming to people off all backgrounds.

Some of the staples of Bird Rock include pork bao buns, sweet crispy eggplant, chicken and vegetable hand-made pan-fried gyoza, and Thai coconut prawn curry.

“Our menu is always evolving and Matt has done a fantastic job with using Australian sourced items that can be shared during a intimate meal with a partner but also with the family,” Gist said.

“It’s absolutely rad what’s coming out of the kitchen, it’s quality and it’s delicious.”

Venue manager Olly Cook is most often found behind the bar, pouring some of the Surf Coast’s most delicious cocktails.

Cocktails range from the Pash and Dash, a wild ride of gin and passionfruit with a little extra bit of chilli; to a fantastic espresso martini that hits the palate perfectly and gives adults that coffee kick!

The cocktails don’t stop there either with a dedicated flowstate martini bar just to give the venue another boost.

There’s the classic, the dirty, the cucumber and elderflower and the French martini, which gives patrons plenty of variety to choose from.

“We love working with local brewers and vendors, flowstate is one of them, Blackmans Brewery another and we also have some partnerships with Bells Beach Brewing,” Gist said.

“We are conscious of what we drink and are always trying to make things better and tailoring it to our environment.

“Bird Rock has always been an iconic surf bar and we certainly want to retain that long into the future.

In the future Gist, aims to keep encouraging people to come out again so that they can all connect and mingle.

“Getting everyone out again is something that we are really looking forward to, especially after these difficult pandemic years,” he said.

“Getting all the tourists back brings such a buzz to the town and it’s so good for our business and the rest of Torquay.

“We have such an amazing lineup of restaurants and places to go down here and we are really looking forward to the hustle and bustle being upon us and coming together and enjoying the summer season.”

To find out more about Bird Rock, head to birdrockjj.com.au