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“ONCE A YEAR WE HAVE OUR ANNUAL STEAK AND SHIRAZ LUNCH TO RAISE MONEY FOR CHARITIES SUCH AS
THE BULLS MASTERS AND THE OTHER CHARITIES. THIS YEAR WE HOSTED STEVE WAUGH AND HAD 300 PEOPLE
ATTEND WHAT WAS A LANDMARK EVENT FOR THE TAVERN, RAISING IN EXCESS OF $25,000,” MATT SAID.
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food oriented such as the Story Bridge Hotel and The
Oaks at Neutral Bay so we agreed that it was the
direction we wanted to go with here, so we’ve worked
really hard on that.
“It’s probably one of the hardest things to get right in a
hotel, but if you get it right it puts you in good stead for
the future because your reputation is always going to
be that you have very good food,” Matt said.
The Boardwalk’s kitchen takes pride in its meals and
aims to make as much of the menu from scratch
rather than purchasing premade items. Matt said this
dedication to food quality is one of the key attributes of
the hotel and it is one thing that makes this hotel stand
out from the rest.
From hand stretched pizza bases to pizza sauce, fresh
produce and buying local where possible, the majority
of the items in the kitchen are made from scratch.
“Our grilled fish is only Australian-caught seafood, we
use a variety of steak suppliers because we believe
each of our suppliers has their own specialities.
“I think our big thing with food is, if you can make as
much as you can in house, you know what’s going
into each meal and you can stand behind your product
with confidence,” Matt said.
The Boardwalk Tavern is a very community-based
hotel offering something for everyone.
“Once a year we have our annual Steak and Shiraz
lunch to raise money for charities such as The Bulls
Masters and the other charities. This year we hosted
Steve Waugh and had 300 people attend what was
a landmark event for the tavern, raising in excess of
$25,000,” Matt said.
The Boardwalk Tavern provides fun-filled family
entertainment on significant days throughout the year
such as Australia Day when they host mudcrab races,
and Anzac Day with two-up where they raise money
for the Runaway Bay sub-branch RSL.
For sporting events such as grand finals and more
recently the Commonwealth Games, the hotel has two
grand-scale projector screens inside and out as well
as many other televisions throughout to ensure there is
something for everyone to watch.
“On these big sporting days the hotel takes on a local
clubhouse feel which we foster by encouraging people
and staff to dress up in their favourite teams colours
regardless if their team is playing or not.” Another
event that has taken on significance for the hotel is
Superbowl Monday which has grown from a gathering
of six staff and friends to an event that this year had
more than 150 people attend.
Being part of the Hope Island Resort, the hotel’s
patronage is very much made up of locals which Matt
said is the bread and butter of the establishment,
but there are also many other visitors to Hope Island
throughout the year, especially at Christmas which is
the hotel’s busiest season.