LOCATIONBluesalt is in the Crowne Plaza Coogee Beach Hotel.
PROFILED BY DEGROOTS MEDIAStep down into Crowne Plaza Coogee’s Bluesalt restaurant for a wonderful taste of carefully combined flavours which have been motivated by fresh Australian produce and style. While the dining room is dressed up to the nines, it stills effuses an easy, breezy atmosphere, perfect to enjoy a meal overlooking the sea. Inside is elegantly decorated in neutral tones but the place to be is on the covered terrace where a sleeve of tables lines the windows taking best advantage of Coogee’s sand and surf scene. Each table setting has a personalised letter from the chef welcoming newcomers and regulars alike and recommending his menu picks of each day.
So, let the smell of the ocean inspire your choice with an innovative entree of a trio of grilled scallops served with prosuitto, lemon and rocket salsa, and smoky eggplant puree with a sauteed globe artichoke, baby spinach and kipfler potato salad. The pork belly, similarly, takes a creative side-step to the norm and is twice-cooked and served with a Chinese cabbage, cucumber, tomato, chilli, coriander, shallot and roasted peanut salad. Saunter your way through to a main of lamb loin marinated in lemon, garlic and oregano, with fried semolina gnocchi, goat’s curd and Tuscan relish. But if you really want to spoil yourself rotten, the seafood platter is laden under the weight of oysters, smoked salmon, king prawns, grilled scallops, grilled fish, salt and pepper squid, smoked baby octopus and blue swimmer crab and is a testament to the kitchen’s fruit de la mer prowess. A terrific range of Australian and New Zealand wines marry perfectly with the cuisine on offer. Bluesalt is a delectable delight and is easily distinguishable as one of Coogee’s finest dining venues.
Annabel Wise