When the Margaret River Bowling Club opened in 1959, its first clubhouse was, according to the WALBA Inaugural History of Western Australian Clubs, “an old beer booth owned by the Agricultural Society and used at show time”.
Despite such modest, suitably agrarian beginnings, the club has managed to grow along with the township. Over the decades, it has celebrated key achievements including a move to new premises (1981), being named Bowls WA’s small country club of the year (2024), plus multiple pennants victories including this year’s Leeuwin League competition.
This month, the club adds another notch to its belt when beloved local curry canteen Dahl Daddy’s begins its summer residency over the school holidays. The residency begins this weekend on Saturday, December 20.
“Bowls clubs are community spaces, so this collaboration fits our spirit,” says Corey Rozario, co-founder of Dahl Daddy’s along with Imogin Mitchell.
“This is two Margaret River communities coming together. The bowls club is helping us.
“We’re helping them and looking forward to putting the club in front of a lot of potential new members who will hopefully enjoy it enough to come back after we stop cooking there.”
If you had the pleasure of dining with Dahl Daddy’s during its two-year stint at the Margaret River skate park – or its frenetic two-night Normal Van takeover; or at its recent Wines of While residency – then you’ll know the drill.
For those that came late, the menu is broadly southern Asian with a strong focus on the Burmese food that Rozario grew up eating.
That namesake dahl will always be available, perhaps served alongside some local line-caught nannygai or dhufish. Or at least while local fishermen are still able to catch these demersal species. (The fish paratha, another Dahl Daddy’s classic, will come off the menu too once the WA government’s controversial fishing ban goes into effect on January 1.) House-made pickles and chutneys remain a key part of the experience.
But other than these signatures, the menu will be whatever Rozario feels like cooking, so long as his network of trusted suppliers can get him what he needs. The arrival of a new heavy-duty wok should also translate to some new dishes for Dahl Daddy’s regulars to look out for.
Unless these regulars are also frequent visitors to the Margaret River Bowling Club, there’ll also be some surprises in terms of the dining space, starting with a chance to enjoy some lawn bowls.
Each Dahl Daddy’s takeover will include social barefoot bowls ($6 per person) with volunteer club members offering advice and tips. Despite the name, bowlers don’t need to be barefoot while bowling – or barefoot while eating a bowl of dahl, either – just as long as they’re wearing flat-soled footwear and keep drinks and food off the greens.
Another key draw at bowls clubs are sharply priced drinks. While Dahl Daddy’s takes care of feeding the 170 guests that the space can hold, the club will run the bar, which includes locally made brews from Margaret River Beer Co and Yallingup Cider on tap.
If you make it down, there’s a good chance that the club’s vice-president Steve Keen will be the person serving you.
And as excited as you might be at the prospect of enjoying Dahl Daddy’s cooking again, Keen is even happier that Rozario and Mitchell are spending the summer here.
“I’d leave the bowls club and see the following that Dahl Daddy’s had at the skate club, so I wanted to approach them about coming here,” says Keen.
“It was great when he reached out to me. Not that many people know about us, so this is a great chance to get the public involved with a good outdoor activity and socialising.”
Dahl Daddy’s summer residency at the Margaret River Bowling Club (Gloucester Park, 41 Wallcliffe Road, Margaret River) starts Saturday, December 20. Food (dine-in and takeaway) is available from 5pm until 8pm and the bar and barefoot bowls will open from 4pm.
Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox.
Max Veenhuyzen is a journalist and photographer who has been writing about food, drink and travel for national and international publications for more than 20 years. He reviews restaurants for the Good Food Guide.
