Silver Sands Beach Club
SALIFE steps inside Aldinga’s Silver Sands Beach Club and finds an establishment that is equal parts beachy and nostalgic.
A wine critic and a DJ walk into an old surf club and create one of the top seaside dining spots in South Australia. No joke.
It’s the third year for Silver Sands Beach Club, the unpretentious surf club-turned-diner by Nick Stock (the wine guy) and Mark Kamleh (the DJ) that boasts sweeping sea views and a menu to suit salt-licked surfers stumbling in from the coast and celebratory groups alike. Now with Italian-born chef Stefano Longhi in the kitchen, the offering spans club classics – cheeseburger, fish and chips and chicken schnitty – to freshly shucked oysters, steak tartare and house made pasta.
It’s restaurant-quality fare in an unpretentious, flip-flops-and-kids-welcome setting, and sets the bar for casual seaside dining.
But I get ahead of myself.
It’s a midweek summer’s day and the sun is high and bright when my girlfriend and I stroll in without a booking. The contemporary structure, built in more recent years after the original Aldinga Bay Surf Life Saving Club building was damaged by storm and demolished, retains that no-frills club feel: it’s clean, functional and friendly, with orders taken up at the bar.
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The dining area opens on to a spacious deck, which then steps down to picnic-style tables on the grass – ideal for the more restless of legs (I’m looking at you, my dear four-year-old). There is even a playground, just a hot chip’s throw away, roped off from the parking area.
Already seated is a family with babe in highchair; several tables of mates/family friends; two elderly ladies and a couple either on a first or third-ish date (jury is out). Within minutes, we’re seated comfortably on the shaded deck, gazing over turquoise waters with Aperol spritz in hand. It’s a slice of South Australian heaven.
Salt and pepper whitebait is a promising snacky fare to start, served proudly in a steel sundae cup alongside lemon and aioli, but those little fishies are begging to be crispier. Better is the crudo – a selection of sliced raw pink snapper, tuna and salmon, topped with a Sicilian-style salsa of capers, onion and chilli, which brings welcome salty bites. More of it. A prawn cocktail bun, meanwhile, would wash down nicely with a beer, though the prawns struggle to compete with a creamy “club sauce” coating.
Mains make a bigger splash, the choice of which manages to push the envelope of club/pub fare without anything looking out of place. My selection is steered by nostalgia: spaghetti with fresh pipis – spaghetti alle vongole, in Italian – conjuring memories of summer lunches in Mum’s kitchen; of raking Goolwa’s sandy shores with our bare hands; of family trips back to the southern Italian coast. Spaghetti alle vongole – a simple dish with nowhere to hide – is a personal favourite. And this club kitchen has pulled it off.
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A scattering of fresh pipis from nearby Goolwa is thrown into a hot pan with butter, garlic and white wine, the resulting steam unclasping those shells to release all their desirable sea juices. They’re tossed through a toothsome tangle of house-made spaghetti, plus parsley and chilli flecks that offer visual appeal over heat, before it’s finished with grated bottarga. Eat it quick, while those strands are slick.
The Caesar salad, ordered on recommendation, is an example of how satisfying a Caesar can be, with generous chunks of chargrilled chicken, the crunchiest of croutons, chewy gems of pancetta, wedges of crisp cos lettuce and a jammy halved egg. A pleasantly light buttermilk-based dressing brings it all together before it’s showered with grated parmesan.
Steak and salt and pepper squid make an appearance here, too, though it’s the beer battered Coorong mullet, caught “just over the hill”, that is unsurprisingly the most popular pick, served with a generous pile of fries. There’s also pizza, and a selection for the “nippers” – nuggets, fish and chips, kids’ squid and pasta.
For those who appreciate wine, do explore the offerings – Nick has ensured some top drops are championed, with a couple of dozen choices on the menu plus a 20-odd page list of cellared drops. There’s also a good selection of local beer and gin, plus a handful of cocktails on offer.
As far as beach clubs go, Silver Sands is a winner. And, with Nick, Mark and chef Stefano also having recently taken over the “Top Pub” in nearby Willunga, all eyes are on the trio to see if they can make it back-to-back. I’ve placed my bet.
The fare at Silver Sands is as delicious as it is making an impressive tablescape. Photograph Jack Fenby.
Chef: Paul Wilson*
Cuisine: Aussie, with a Mediterranean nudge
Drinks: Great wine, beer and gin
Cost: Snacky things from $4-$25, most mains $28-$38
Hot take: For beachy days – take the kids (and swimmers)
Must try: Spaghetti with fresh Goolwa pipis
End of Norman Rd, Aldinga Beach
0460 762 345
Open: Mon-Fri 12pm-9pm, Sat 10am-9pm, Sun 12pm-4pm
*The article originally featured in the February 2025 SALIFE magazine. At time of print publication the chef was Stefano Longhi.
