Marlo Hotel

Surrounded by bush, farmland, lakes and wildlife reserves, the sleepy seaside fishing village of Marlo makes for a peaceful stop on any Gippsland road trip. You’ll find the Marlo Hotel up on the bluff in the centre of town, gifting verandah-dwellers prime views of the sun setting over the Snowy River estuary and the Tasman Sea beyond.

The heritage pub started life as a bark hut with earthen floors and a shingle roof in 1875, before gaining a liquor licence in 1886 and becoming the town’s watering hole, general store and unofficial post office. Today it entices locals and travellers alike for a pot or a pint in the sunshine on the deck. And there’s a handful of recently refurbished rooms if you’d like to stay awhile.

While the Marlo Hotel does turn out a dependable line-up of burgers, parmas and steaks in generous portions, the menu balances its classic pub fare with specials centred on local seafood. Lakes Entrance whiting and scallops find their way into tacos and seafood chowder, while fresh mussels simmer in green coconut curry. There’s locally made damper too, and on weekends, pizzas.