Sometimes the best holidays are the ones you have in your own backyard.

We wanted somewhere out of Adelaide and close to the sand and surf. So we headed south, to stay at Wirrina Resort. I remember this place from when I was a kid. And yes it’s still going!

And the first thing I do is research where we’re going to eat!

On the first night we headed into the coastal town of Normanville and decided to check out the Normanville Hotel. It was established in 1851, by Dr Robert Norman, a dentist, who also founded Normanville. And the hotel has been in family hands since 1973.

It’s quite a spacious hotel with a large dining room, a front and lounge bar, a function room and private dining room and outdoor dining.

We arrived around 5:30pm and the staff were very friendly and welcoming. All three of us decided to order chicken schnitzels; two with parmigiana sauce and one with mushroom sauce. They were served with crispy chips and a light salad. The schnitzels were quite large with a good amount of sauce covering the herb crusted schnitzel. My husband even commented the mushroom sauce is one of the best he’s ever had!

The schnitzels were $19 each plus extra for the sauces – $5.50 for mushroom and $5.90 for parmigiana, which we thought were a little high.

The menu is fairly standard pub food with dishes ranging from burgers, pizza, schnitzels, pasta, seafood and some specialty dishes such a smoked pork kassler chop and local Black Angus steak plus a dessert menu and kids menu.

We also tried a local beer – 12 Paws American style Pale Ale from Smiling Samoyed brewery, which had fresh passionfruit notes. We were pleased to find out it was a local brewery at Myponga and added it to the list to visit. I can see this venue would be a very popular venue for locals and visitors alike.