Club Chin Chin

The iconic neon pink bunnies – Chin Chin's unofficial mascots – have made their way to Geelong, with Club Chin Chin now in the GMHBA Stadium grandstand. The 200-seat eatery is the first regional outpost of Chris Lucas’s Flinders Lane restaurant Chin Chin. (Lucas grew up in the regional city, where his dad ran pubs and cafes in the 1960s and ’70s.) It’s planned as a 12-month pop-up at the football stadium, but the fit-out is well thought out.

Club Chin Chin, through the brand’s strong identity and restaurant know-how, has managed to make stadium dining feel like anything but. There’s a glowing welcome sign, the walls are bathed in Chin Chin’s signature hot pink and there’s a collage of pop-art-style Chin Chin art posters. That boldness continues through every feature: from the reflective pink bar to the moody glow that comes from the table lights, giant neon bunnies overlooking the 40,000-capacity grounds and the hot pink lighting that bathes the field at night.

The food offering at is similar to the CBD original, with familiar plates like the restaurant’s signature kingfish sashimi on the menu. There are also Geelong-only dishes, including a salad with spiced tiger prawns, glass noodles, leaf celery and chilli-lime dressing and twice-cooked beef short rib with coconut salad and prik nam pla (a punchy dressing with fish sauce and chillies). Desserts include an ice-cream sundae, and a fried custard pie with star anise sugar and apple-and-cinnamon ice-cream.

The pop-up restaurant is open on game days, of course, as well as throughout the week whether or not a game is on. That means diners are often overlooking an empty stadium, which adds an intriguing contrast to the vibrant dining room. If you want to dine here on game days, you’ll need to purchase a dining and match pass via Geelong Football Club. A set menu only is only available on game days; when there’s no game on, you can book via the Club Chin Chin website for à la carte dining.