Pier St Cafe Portarlington - Wadawurrung Country - Vic ~ Accessibility Review

9 May

Short haired Woman in blue T-shirt seen from the back Rolling through two tall blue painted doors in her wheelchair

Beach wheelchair accessible dining

Accessible Pier St Portarlington is positioned where you would expect it to be. Right at the end of the Portarlington Pier. Day-trippers disembarking from Port Phillip Ferries are greeted by Pier St Portarlington’s casual, comfortable seaside blue and white façade.

I am a repeat visitor to Pier St Portarlington as the food, the staff and the physical features make it a truly delicious inclusive dining venue.

WEBSITE | BOOKING

https://www.pierstreet.com.au/new-page

WHAT WORKS:

The menu is easy to navigate to
Online booking includes adding notes

WHAT DOESN'T WORK :

No mention of accessibility at all – as Pier St is very easy to enter and move around inside this information would help a lot of people

ACCESS TO VENUE | PARKING:

There are a proportionately higher than average availability of accessible car parks RIGHT OUT THE FRONT ! Amazing and wonderful.

WHAT’S INSIDE:

WHAT WORKS:

A smooth pebblecrete path takes us to the step-free double door entrance. This single level building has an expansive concrete floor and plenty of room to negotiate a wheelchair around the tables.

WHAT DOESN’T WORK AS WELL:

No internal accessible toilet. The closest accessible toilet is only a few metres outside in a public toilet block. But there is an improvement coming as a Changing Places facility looks like it might be coming to Portarlington Main Beach after state government funding receipt. If you haven't heard of this fabulous initiative have a read of my blog here on changing places facilities here.
Can get a little noisy at times.

WHAT'S AROUND:

Pier St Café Portarlington is a very comfortable roll stroll along flat part on the foreshore to Point Richards. The newly renovated jetty is lovely to wander along as well.

IMPORTANT FOOTNOTE:

I look at the ways in which businesses present an overall inclusive experience for their patrons. While I focus on mobility access I hope to get ideas from you and others to add observations relating to other disabilities. I take a comprehensive look at everything from initial website experience to staff attitudes. I do not comment on food (except sometimes if it’s super fab I might not be able to help myself) as you can have the joy of making up your own mind on that.

Happy accessible living,