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The Bathers' Pavilion
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Restaurant
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Sydney
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Credit Cards:
All major cards
Open:
Lunch and dinner daily
Price:
Expensive
Score (/20):
15
Reviewed By
Sue Dyson and Roger McShane
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Phone Number:
+61 2 9969 5050
Address:
The Esplanade
Balmoral Beach, New South Wales, 2088
Country:
Australia
Food Style:
Modern Australian
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From the minute you walk in to this lovingly restored building on beautiful Balmoral Beach, all of the world's issues seem to disappear and you are wrapped in a cocoon of gentle breezes, light dancing off the sparkling clear water, chairs and banquettes that envelop and sooth you, waiters quickly attending to your every need and some great, thoughtful food.Despite the relaxed, casual appearance of the room, this place is very serious about both the standard of service and the quality of the food. The service is, in fact, so good you hardly notice it.It is the little things that you notice first. Lovely leather banquettes, with lots of cushions to enhance your comfort. Beautiful scarves draped here and there across the back of the chairs. Flowers that attract the eye and enhance the décor. Good linen on the table with khaki or blue cloth serviettes. Cutlery that feels good to use and quality glassware.But this shows through to the food as well. As soon as we arrived we asked for mineral water and were served the Fonteviva from Italy. Soon, a tartare of tiny cubes of salmon and tuna and a nori of marinated mushrooms were placed on the table. Both were subtle, fresh and absolutely delicious. Then came pointed sourdough rolls with a generous plate of butter. The waiter explained that one of the large slabs was house made and one was an unsalted Danish butter.You can have either three courses for $AUS85 or five courses for $AUS110. We wisely decided to only try three, because we would swap our dishes (as always) and hence experience six flavours anyway.It was so hard to choose! There was a selection of vegetarian starters, some more which included meats and even more that were based on seafood - 11 choices in all! Because it was a warm day and we were beside the sea, we decided to opt for a largely seafood menu.Sautéed Northern prawns with brandade made from house-salted cod and blue swimmer crab surrounded by a chervil and rocket leaf sauce was our first choice. This was presented as three large prawns sitting on a mound of brandade that had not been overprocessed, and which had a good ratio of cod to potato. While this dish was very good indeed, better was yet to come!Gently poached black lip abalone with thrice cooked pork ear and black fungus served in a light chicken stock with salted jellyfish turned out to be one of the best dishes we have tried this year!The pigs ear was the central component of the dish. We know that it is trendy to twice cook, but thrice cooked was a new experience. The perfectly trendy shards of pigs ear had been finished in a very light batter and deep fried. They sat on a bed of wood fungus and were topped by crispy entoki mushrooms. Around the edges lay languid slices of deeply flavoured abalone and jellyfish in a shimmering stock. This dish was a complex array of textures and flavours and was a masterful combination where nothing dominated but everything contributed to the enjoyment of the dish. If you have never been lucky enough to try pigs ears or jellyfish then this would be a great way to become addicted!The main courses, however, did not pack the same punch as the first and last. A dish of steamed and pot roasted lobster saw the meat removed from the shell and served on a very light pasta parcel filled with broccoli and water chestnut. A large iron pot was placed on the side containing the shell and the legs swimming in a rich, unctuous, onion-flavoured broth.The other main saw two blades of whiting crossing at a shallow angle and topped by wilted spinach and beetroot tops and dice of fennel. Both main courses were pleasant, light and very good but failed to excite.We accompanied these courses with the stunning Giaconda Chardonnay.After a short break and a walk along the Esplanade we returned to a sauternes and mango soufflé served in a copper pot along with two small pots - one containing vanilla bean ice cream and one sauternes anglaise. Excellent.A fondue of rhubarb and strawberries in a ethereal 'soup' based on champagne and topped with a thin rhubarb wafer was another of those dishes that you make a journey for! A glass of Crawford River Nektar was a perfect foil for the desserts.We finished this highly satisfying and delectable meal with one of there deeply flavoured Segafreddi coffees.We can highly recommend The Bathers' Pavilion and feel certain that as time passes the main courses will become as good as the rest.
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