PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIAThis is the definitive modern beachside restaurant with million-dollar views you don’t pay for and food worth every cent that you do. Below the deck, a white-sand crescent and turquoise waters run to the horizon. Inside, a relaxed and surfy-casual atmosphere and decor belies the professionalism of the operation, the talent in the kitchen, the slick, smiling service and the freshness of their product. Oysters come from 10 minutes away, fish just a few minutes further from one of Tasmania’s major fishing ports, and the beef, lamb, vegetables, cheeses and fruits from the rich, surrounding hinterland. This is regionalism at its very best.
You can have those oysters served in 10 different ways, crayfish in five. Cuttlefish might come as dumplings in a nuoc cham sauce, scallops in an olive, mint and chilli butter topping roasted pumpkin pikelets. Clams and smoked oysters combine in a delicious, creamy chowder. Duck and salt and pepper quail are lifted and lightened with Asian spices. And, for dedicated carnivores, there’s always a selection of beef, lamb, veal and wallaby imaginatively prepared and presented. Desserts maintain the standard and there’s a small, but interesting and carefully chosen list of wines strong on those from Tasmania’s east coast and with a dozen or so offered by the glass to sip while you take in the magnificent view.
Graeme Phillips, September 2008
