Australia's First Cheese Train Restaurant Has Just Opened

Cheese lovers, listen up! Australia has just opened its first fully licensed cheese train in Geelong.

Splatters is serving cheese plates between AUD $5-14, which will be served on a 20m conveyor belt.

To make it even better, you'll be able to choose from an assortment of Victorian wines and beers to create the ‘ultimate grazing experience’.

The cheese train will serve a minimum of fifteen artisan Australian cheeses and will feature more international selections on special occasions.

Founder and owner of Splatters Jo Bangles said the restaurant's concept initially came from ‘sushi trains’.

Splatters will also have a selection of different charcuterie boards on offer to pair with the fine cheeses.

Bangles told Delicious: “We do an accompaniment with each cheese, we also do local charcuterie from Salt Kitchen, and local sourdough breads with infused butters, stuffed olives, bits and piece, all on the train as well."

Bangles also said the restaurant would be an opportunity to educate locals about their local cheeses.

Many customers will be surprised to find Australia is home to some of the most premium products.

“(They’re)actually really quite surprised at the quality of Australian cheeses that we have here and especially from Victoria and Tasmania," Jo said.

“Standouts include ‘an amazing clothbound cheddar’ from Pyengana Dairy in north east Tasmania “made in the old school way.” 

Bangles also noted that the La Vera Belmondo Blue, made from Australia’s only buffalo herd from the Adelaide foothills, was another top-notch cheese customers had to try.

“It starts out really salty and then once you get past that it just leaves this whole layer of sweetness on the back palate. It’s just a stunning cheese," she said.

Bangles' love of cheese only grew when she began selling cheese boards from vans set up at music festivals.

She quickly developed a loyal following, however, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, she was forced to pause all operations, which led to an idea to deliver cheese boxes to the Geelong, Colac and Melbourne regions.

Not wanting to lose her devoted customer base, Bangles floated the idea of a cheese train.

“We didn’t want to lose that really loyal customer base that we had built up over the last two years and we thought, do we get another van, do we get just a bricks and mortar stand-alone kitchen, or do we do a restaurant?" she said.

As well as cheese and wine, Splatters also serves curated cocktails, beers, spirits and non-alcoholic beverages, along with a killer playlist that’s the perfect way to unwind.