Amy Hamilton, the talented chef behind Albany’s beloved Liberté, has a knack for blending French and Vietnamese influences in her cooking. But when she’s not running her vibrant, rococo-style restaurant, she’s diving into the rich bounty of the Great Southern region. Whether she’s enjoying her morning coffee at a micro bakery or sourcing fresh produce at local markets, Amy is exploring what makes her home so special. From standout spots in Albany to hidden gems in Denmark, here’s where she suggests you eat, drink, and discover local flavours in the Great Southern.

The Best Coffee

The place I always recommend for coffee in Albany is Bred Co, a family-owned micro bakery that mills its own flour. They use Stash coffee, a local roastery in Denmark. I had coffee there recently and I remember thinking, ‘this is the best coffee I’ve had in a really long time’. It’s also a great spot to pick up a sandwich, pastries and bread. 

Breakfast With A View 

Emu Point Cafe is right on the ocean. It’s a really beautiful spot with a lovely, airy vibe. It’s worth going for the views alone. In the right months you can see whales and dolphins. The food is like sunshine. It reminds me of the kind of food Bill Granger was famous for cooking. It’s very seasonally-driven. There’s really good coffee there, too. 

A New Restaurant That Hits the Mark 

There’s a new place that’s opened across from Liberté, further down towards the water, called Sotao. It’s a lovely intimate, modern restaurant that focuses on Great Southern produce. The food is simple, well seasoned and well executed. I went there recently and had a beautiful piece of Nannygai that was served with brown butter and kale, current and pine nuts over the top. It was really delicious. 

An Intimate Hangout With Local Wines

There’s a place in Albany called Rats Bar, and the owner Alex has a really great palate for wine. It’s a really nice, intimate and small wine bar. And I know whenever I go there I’m going to find something good to drink. The wine menu has a strong focus on the Great Southern, so it’s great for people visiting who want to try local wines. 

Local Produce to Seek Out 

I love to send visitors to the Albany Farmers Market, which happens every Saturday on Collie Street, or the Albany Boatshed Markets on Princess Royal Drive which is on every Sunday. Albany is known for its produce and those two markets kind of encapsulate what the region does best. The Saturday market is more vegetable and fruit-driven, and in the right months, you can find amazing seafood at the Sunday market. They both offer different things, but you can go to either one to grab coffee, snacks, produce and, if you’re visiting, interesting things to take home.

Bathgate Farm, who have a stall at Albany Farmers Market, are one of my favourite producers. They’ve been doing it for years, and they grow a really diverse range of really interesting heirloom produce. They also specialise in potatoes, and have the most amazing sweet, little turnips when they’re in season. Felton Farms is also really good. 

I’ve always liked Eden Gate Farm as well. It’s a blueberry farm that has branched out and now does a huge range of blueberry products. When my kids were little, I used to take them there and get blueberry lemonade. It’s quite cute. You can buy these really big bags of frozen blueberries, which are obviously the end of the season berries: they’re ripe and really beautiful, and they’re really affordable. It’s great to take home to make smoothies with. 

Handasyde is a strawberry farm in Albany, and the strawberries they grow are amazing. When they’re in season, you can buy big bulk trays of them for only $10. It’s a really nice thing for families that are visiting the area to do. You can also get delicious sorbet and ice cream, and pastries. It’s a great little spot, especially for kids. 

One of my absolute favourite producers in Denmark is Torbay Asparagus. If you’re in town during the asparagus season, usually in October or November, you have to go to the market and pick some up. There are a couple of producers in the market that sell it. 

Red Gum Hill Orchard has a lot of great citrus fruits and apples.

Nicklup Orchard is about a 15 minute drive from the city centre, and it’s on this cute little road called Moonlight Road. You follow it all the way to the end, and there you’ll find this tiny little storefront in the middle of the bush that sells the most insane range of stone fruit I’ve ever eaten. When I first moved to Albany, all those years ago, I went out there and it was the first time that I’d had a good peach; a properly in-season peach that had so much flavour. I can still remember biting into it, and all the juices running down my hands. I’ll always remember that. 

Touchwood Mushrooms is another producer I love that you can find at the Saturday markets. They sells a huge variety of mushrooms, and tinctures, like lion’s mane and reishi mushroom liquids and powders, too. Yard86 is a local dairy producer that makes really, really nice milk. 

A Day Trip to Denmark 

There’s a plethora of amazing wineries in Denmark that you can choose from. If you choose to go down Scottsdale Road, you can stop in at all these little wineries like Singlefile Winery, for example. Ducketts Mill Winery has an extensive range of smallgoods and cheese. It’s a really nice spot to stop and have a cheese platter. It’s really well known for fortified wines, which are worth trying, too. Massimo’s does really good quality woodfired pizzas. 

There’s a little place called Flame Trees, which is in town, in Denmark. It’s run by a young couple, and it’s similar to Liberté, in a way. It’s moody and a bit eclectic, with low lighting. It’s a really cool vibe, and the cocktails and food are really good. 

I’ve been going to Pepper and Salt in Denmark for a long time, and we actually had our staff party there last year. It’s a restaurant attached to Forest Hill winery. The chef is Silas Masih, who is Fijian-Indian. His heritage really comes through in his cuisine. The menu is very spice-driven, and everything is cooked with such good technique; everything is so flavourful. And the service is always great. 

Venturing around the Great Southern? Read our guide on where to eat and drink in Albany

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