Coogee Wine Room: eating & drinking by Coogee Beach

A restaurant & wine bar in the heart of Coogee

We'll say it plainly: there's nowhere quite like it on the strip. Tucked into 222 Coogee Bay Road, a block back from the sand, Coogee Wine Room marries the charm of a great European wine bar with the convivial, unhurried feel you only get from a neighbourhood local by the beach. Two levels of warm light, a proper wine list, and a room just as happy to host a quick post-swim glass as a long lunch that forgets to end. Of all the Coogee restaurants, this is the one built for lingering.

What to order

The kitchen is Mediterranean, and it's made for sharing. Chef Ken keeps things farm-to-fork and changes the menu with the seasons — fresh local produce, treated with respect, with something new always landing on the table. If choosing feels like hard work, hand it over: the Feed Me menu ($79pp) lets the kitchen do the deciding. And while we're proud of the whole thing, it would be remiss not to mention the CWR wagyu burger, which has quietly built a following all its own.

The wine list

This is a wine bar in Coogee first and foremost, and the list rather gives us away. It's one of Australia's most awarded — recognised year after year in the Wine List of the Year awards — with 500+ bottles, 50+ varietals and 31 open by the glass. We're a bit chuffed about it, admittedly. There's something at every price point and a team that lights up at the question “what should I have tonight?” Feeling brave? Order a Mystery Wine and see if you can name what we pour you.

Happy hour & bottomless lunch

Happy hour is the neighbourhood's worst-kept secret: every day, 4–6pm, with drinks specials, bar bites and that wagyu burger filling the best two hours of any weekday. Come the weekend, the bottomless lunch takes over — two unhurried hours of bottomless wine or bubbles alongside Mediterranean share plates, Saturdays 12–4 and Sundays 1–4.

Private functions

Got something worth celebrating? The entire upper level is yours — three private spaces that flex from intimate birthday drinks to a proper work do, seating up to 48 (or 65 standing), with the AV thrown in and Mediterranean feasting packages to match. As private functions go, they're refreshingly low-fuss.

The neighbourhood

Coogee Bay Road is the beating heart of it all, and we're right in the thick of things — a five-minute wander from Coogee Beach and the coastal walk. Come in after a swim, settle in for an afternoon, or drop by for a quiet glass as the day winds down.

Pull up a stool; we'll pour.