Hillarys Beach Club

It’s Sunday morning, and there is a bit of drizzly rain coming through the wind, but at Hillarys Beach Club, it’s all sunshine for the owners.

Opened in December 2023, Hillarys Beach Club is the brainchild of Ryan and Nikki Esqulant, formerly from the popular coastal pub, The Iluka.

The two-storey Beach Club building is at Pinnaroo Point and is ideally situated for a catchment area from Sorrento to Iluka and well beyond.

Downstairs is Bar Cicchetti, which translates to snacks or small plates. It’s a go-to breakfast place. When I visited with a friend, the place was heaving, which could explain the longer-than-average wait for drinks and food.

In addition to inside areas, Bar Cicchetti has an outside space with umbrellas, which shield customers from the unrelenting Perth summer sun. Friendly staff provide table service.

My friend went for the Big Breaky ($26), and it certainly lived up to its name. Two eggs, three hash browns, bacon, two sausages, baked beans, wild mushrooms, vine tomatoes and ciabatta toast with butter turned out to be too much for my friend, but she enjoyed trying to finish the plateful.

I chose the House-made crepe stack ($20) with maple syrup, strawberries, blueberries and bananas. My plateful was pretty average. It had lots of bananas, but the strawberries and blueberries were more of a garnish, and the pancakes needed more flavour. Ice cream ($6) was an option with the crepes, but I went for the bacon ($6).

Bar Cicchetti provides table service and is also open for lunch and dinner. Its menus feature pizzas and pasta.

Also downstairs is Bert’s Ballroom, which can accommodate up to 100 guests at a private function. It has its own alfresco area and private amenities. When not booked, Bert’s Ballroom acts as an extra space for overflow bookings at Bar Cicchetti.

On the second floor (use the lift or the stairs) at HBC is The Heart. It is in complete contrast to the downstairs beach vibes and is fitted out to resemble the old-fashioned London-type clubs with Chesterfield sofas and dark tables with leather-type chairs. Personally I find this a bit of a misstep although I can see that the owners were keen to give the two areas separate identities.

My husband and I had a midweek lunch at The Heart with friends and we all thought that the food was outstanding. Food and beverages are ordered at the bar or through a QR code at your table. While food is brought to your table, drinks have to be collected. Queues at the bar can be long. Every staff member we interacted with was friendly and efficient.

My husband chose Tempura prawns with spicy yuzu mayo and chives ($22) from the Ubon menu, which is described as a Japanese fusion. I was slightly confused with this description as Ubon is Thai for lotus flower. However, the prawns were excellent, although the tempura batter could have been thinner.

I had the Crispy skin chicken breast with green beans and kipfler potatoes accompanied by a mustard and Chardonnay sauce ($36) while our friends opted for the Margherita pizza ($26) and the Wagyu steak sandwich with mushroom sauce, rocket, pickled shallots and fries ($32).

The pizza and the steak sandwich were given the thumbs up with our friends saying they would be back to The Heart with their family. As for my meal – the chicken breast was moist and tender with a really good crispy skin, and I could have eaten a whole plate of the excellent kipfler roast potatoes, the green beans were cooked al dente and were lovely, and the Chardonnay sauce was great. The seasoning was perfect – kudos to chef Samson Brent who won the ‘Best steak sandwich in Perth’ accolade in 2023.

Our only complaint was with the sound level in The Heart. It was difficult to hear across the table, but that fault was corrected this week with the installation of acoustic panels, which the owners are confident will work well.

Beach views from inside The Heart are good with even better views from the balcony. Currently, inside low restaurant tables can be reserved, but the balcony and higher tables are for walk-ins only. The Heart is open for lunch and dinner.

There is also a private function area for up to 40 guests in the upstairs space. Dj’s, live music, soccer screens and quiz nights are just a few of the extras that happen at HBC.

As well as diverse areas inside, Hillarys Beach Club caters for the local community with an outside kiosk providing takeaway food and coffee. Emergency first responders can expect 50% off their coffee bill. There is also an ice cream space selling Dunsborough’s popular Simmos range. Throw in a children’s playground, deckchairs and wooden benches as well as space for the local canines and it seems that Ryan and Nikki Esqulant are onto a huge winner with the Hillarys Beach Club.

Address: 20 John Wilkie Tarn, Hillarys, WA 6025

Phone: 08 6285 5260

Reservations: Yes

Opening hours: Sunday to Wednesday, 7am – 10pm. Thursday, 7am-11pm. Friday and Saturday, 7am-12am

Gluten-free options: Yes

Vegetarian options: Yes

Restrooms: Clean and accessible

Parking: There are a lot of parking spaces used for both HBC and access to the beach but these fill up quickly

Website: hillarysbeachclub.com.au

About the Author
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About Hazel Broomhead

My name is Hazel and I am a Perth senior!

Originally from Edinburgh in Scotland, my husband and I moved to New Zealand with our children in 1974. As my husband is in the oil business, we moved to several other countries including the Sultanate of Oman, the Netherlands, Singapore, the Philippines, the USA, Russia and Kazakhstan during the next 36 years before retiring to Perth.

We have six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren who live in different parts of the globe – New Zealand, Scotland and Colombia - which makes a great excuse for us to travel and visit.

My career background is in radio and print journalism in Scotland and New Zealand as well as public relations in various other countries.

We love to eat out, walk, travel and enjoy the wonderful lifestyle here in Western Australia.