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Cocktails, Great Food, Beautiful Views

Updated: Jul 12, 2022

Rain, hail or shine (there was a lot of all three) a spontaneous trip down south (or ‘douth’ as we call it out west) is the best. Winter is depressing, I’m not going to lie, I hate the dark skies and having to be cooped up all the time. A change of scenery is the best way to combat S.A.D.



When you’re offered a free night in a hotel on the water in exchange for a drive the next day, you take it, right?


On my way from Fremantle to Mandurah, taking the scenic route because why not, the heavens opened up and I contemplated turning back. Let’s face it, beach holidays aren’t great in the rain. But the promise of a good feed kept me on my way.


location, location, location

The location was amazing. Dolphin Quay has shopping, restaurants, swimming and boating all in one place. The Dolphin Quay apartments are over the footbridge from the main area, a quick 2-3 minute walk. The footbridge isn’t covered, so if it’s raining, make sure to take an umbrella!


The room we stayed in was a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment on the second floor, one room had a double bed, the other had two singles. There was a full kitchen, dining and lounge area that opened on to a small balcony, with a view of the marina and Dolphin Quay.

Rates for the Dolphin Quay Apartments range from $100 to around $300 per night, depending on your room choice, view and length of stay. They have Stay 3 deals that make it quite affordable.


cocktails galore with tapas for extra

Dinner was at Catch 22 in the Dolphin Quay marketplace area. The restaurant has a really trendy vibe, with vintage sofas and warm wall hangings. We were there in a really cold night, so the heaters were on, making it much more comfortable after having to take our wet jackets off.


The service was amazing. We were there on a ‘special’ evening, $10 cocktails with each tapas dish ordered. The owner was there on the night and rightly assessed our situation… we were there to spend money. We were given $10 cocktails all night. The waitress was very attentive and was ready as soon as we were done.


The cocktail menu is extensive, a whole page of the menu. Most of them are around $15 each, which I find is pretty standard in Western Australia. There was a large range, from sweet, to sour, clear to creamy. Our table tried a good amount of the cocktail menu. Each cocktail came with a little extra touch, the Toblerone came out with a sparkler, the Pina Colada was in a tiki totem, the Toxic was on a colour-changing coaster. The Lemon Meringue actually looked like a lemon meringue, the smoking whiskey was in a skull glass.


The tapas had a large range, with vegetarian options (one of our party required those options). I’m not usually a fan of chickpeas, but the ‘chickpea chips’ were great! We also had the Seafood pies, Pork Belly, salt and pepper squid, crumbed brie and vegetarian spring rolls. We also had the mushroom side, which they counted as a tapas for us as well.

Everything about the experience was great, we stayed until they were closing up around us, but they never made us feel rushed.


They mostly have tapas, however they do sell pizzas for $25 each. There is breakfast too!


wakey, wakey, eggs and hollandaise

The next morning, after we checked out, we went for breakfast at a smaller cafe at the back of the hotel. The cafe had a view of the marina and inside and outside dining. Mervyn’s Cafe has a great range of breakfast, lunch and dinner options, also with vegetarian options, and kids meals.


If you’re like me and has flavoured syrup in your coffee, you’re in luck! They had hazelnut, vanilla, and caramel. My hazelnut latte was smooth and not too bitter. It still had the bite that coffee should have, but it wasn’t too sharp. My eggs benedict with salmon was well cooked, the salmon wasn’t very fishy. Hollandaise sauce is always a little hard to nail, so I’m sometimes not that fussed on it’s taste. This one was great. It was smooth and creamy and the taste was on point.


The ordering s done at the counter, but choose a table first to sit and look at the menu. Ours was by the window and the view was amazing. The food came out very quickly and our servers were very friendly.


Breakfast ranges from $5 to $20, lunches are from $7 to $25, with dinners ranging from $10 to $35. They do not sell alcohol, but their drinks range from coffees and shakes, to juices and smoothies. They also have free WiFi!

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