On mini-cation to Halls Gap & limited dining options I tried out Livefast Cafe for breakfast…read more Venturing outside my usual comfort zone of poached eggs I opted for the breakfast special of smoked salmon, Cajun spiced field mushroom, cherry tomatoes, spinach with a lemon/sweet paprika sour cream sauce & thankfully a poached egg on sourdough. What I was presented with was a slightly confused looking plate of food. Sadly the only element I enjoyed was the poached egg & sourdough. Whilst each of the components might have worked individually together it was just a mess in both terms of presentation & flavours. Just goes to show that sometimes you should just stick with what you know. The service was friendly & efficient, that said I was one of only 5 customers at the time, so that should be a given. $20 for the brekkie & a mug of coffee was probably about the right price but when the quality is poor you always feel a little cheated about the price you've paid!!!

Went here twice with a group of girlfriends over the weekend…read more First time we just picked up some snacks and coffee before a hike. Second time we ate lunch before leaving halls gap. Both times we received great food but questionable service. Highlights were definitely the milkshakes, chicken burger & lamb salad. But you wouldn't want to be in a rush to get anywhere. Service was slow and not exactly friendly. Lucky their food was so delicious.

Drop in here for a wattleseed damper and a coffee or tea. Lovely setting and lots of bush tucker…read moreoriented food. Yum. Pick up a jar of rosella and Davidson plum jam or a jar of bush lime jam. Visit the free centre for a bit if local Aboriginal history or explore the grounds.

No, you cannot spend a weekend in the Grampians without spending some time devoted to the first…read moreinhabitants who have lived in this area for over 5,000 years. This cultural centre is award winning, it was designed in the shape of a cockatoo. You get the opportunity to learn all about the beautiful Aboriginal culture. There are films in the theatre (for a small price, and they run almost every hour, call ahead to double check). They have a room for activities where you can decorate your own boomerang. As you meander about, you learn the significance of the culture, and what the land meant to these people. You learn of their fate once Europeans settlers came in and how they were taken advantage of. It was heart wrenching to read about, I found myself getting a sense of anger and sadness in how ignorant people were and can be. It can shake a person up. *Bring a gold coin donation to enter* The gift shop you enter and exit through. I must say, this gift shop is hands down the best most authentic I've been to in Australia. Most of the products are created by Aboriginal artists. High five to supporting the Cultural Centre! And I must note, the cafe. The Bush Tucker Cafe has some fun traditionally bush tucker foods. Haven't had kangaroo or croc or emu yet? Give it a go. When in Rome right?

I can't say much about it because I came here in winter and I did everything I wanted to do by…read moremyself but this is the perfect place to plan your activities for your stay. Some rangers will happily help you and inform you about the park. AND A small cafe inside where I had a gorgeous sweet potato, bacon and red pepper soup. Yummmmmmy You can taste some "bush food" here as well, kangaroo pie, croc salad, emu... Haven't tried but you can give it a go !

Great place for ice cream in town! They have a bunch of different flavors for you to choose from,…read moreso there's something for everyone's taste. I ordered the mint and caramel cookies and cream. They were delicious! The ice cream was smooth and not too sugary. I really liked the flavor of the caramel cookies and cream, I've never had something like that before. The streaks of caramel mixed in with the vanilla ice cream and Oreo pieces made for an awesome combination. A little bit pricey for ice cream, but worth it. They have plenty of seating outside for you to relax, or you can walk across the street to the park too. Keep in mind they close at 5pm, so make sure to get there in time and not plan on an evening snack.

You cannot miss Coolas Ice Creamery and will know if from the line heading out the door past the…read moregazebo and turning to miss the street. This place was always packed. No matter what time of day we rocked through Halls Gap, it was consistently busy. That must say something. Especially cause just an easy walk away one block down is another, bigger ice cream place. Anyways, the jist here is that they make their own waffle cones. You'd be silly not to get one, especially after seeing that line. They have PLENTY of flavors. I got the rum raisin and tried a chocolate one. I don't think you could go wrong with any of them. You get served pretty quickly, maybe the line just always seems long cause the space inside is so tight. Oh, and there's a $10 minimum EFTPOS here. So order up.

I was greatly looking forward to the chance to eat here. It even made my pre-itinerary list of…read morewhere to try. But actually eating here was tough. I found the hours to be weird, one day we showed up around 3pm, to be told that they weren't serving lunch anymore. But we could sit down for a drink and a cake. Which we did. And yes, the carrot cake was delish. The next day we gave it another go and popped in a little after noon and we were told that the kitchen was closed because they ran out of food. Seriously? What a disappointment. The look of this place is very minimal with a touch of nature, it fits perfectly into Halls Gap with their living local standards, it's displayed clearly in the menu. You even have the opportunity to stay here, as accommodation is available. Or maybe pop in before a hike, they have some ready made goodies in the fridge along with many local products for sale.

The excited and warming reception you receive from the young owners is wonderfully welcoming. They…read morestrive to have an amazing array of locally sourced ingredients and whilst a few dishes fell short many are fantastic. The hosts are also very knowledgeable on the area and after a short series of questions were able to suggest a different itinerary that ended up in the most amazing experiences for us. We visited a few times in our stay and always enjoyed the food, coffee and wonderful wine. The is a wide selection of things you can take back to your accommodation or hike to have happy belly memories of halls gap.