DETAILS
Dining at the Boilerhouse is more than just a meal; revel in views of the beach and harbour as you take in the fascinating and sometimes tragic history of Sydney's quarantine station. The restaurant gets its name from its dining room's former use, and the pipes that once sent boiling water to the showers and the laundry now adorn the walls in an industrial chic display.
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It’s not every day that you arrive at a restaurant by water taxi. Perched on the edge of Sydney’s harbour and housed within Manly’s Q Station, Boilerhouse almost seems to be in a world of its own. The restaurant is a short walk from where we dock and looking down over the Manly peninsula, it’s hard to believe that for 150 years, the building was used as part of the former quarantine station that contained people suspected of carrying infectious disease. Today, (thankfully) Boilerhouse boasts a charmingly rustic chic interior, with a corrugated roof and exposed brick walls.
Chef Matt Kemp (ex Gazebo Wine Garden) is host to Boilerhouse’s Winter Wine Feast, and he has no trouble showing off his culinary prowess in the open plan kitchen on the ground floor. He jokes and jives whilst deftly preparing and plating each dish on the central table, before we are presented with the dishes ourselves on shared tables on the mezzanine level.
Boilerhouse hasn’t used the term “feast” lightly. We start with servings of delectably braised duck leg croustillant with beetroot, and a comforting Jerusalem artichoke and chestnut pie, to whet our appetite. The baked fillet of Palmers Island mulloway accompanied with a side of creamed veggies and smoked pork belly proves to be, in my opinion, the pièce de résistance. Fish isn’t usually my preferred meat of choice, but the fillet is baked to perfection and with a few squeezes of lemon, quickly scoffed up. The next main is a 48-hour short rib of beef accompanied with creamed onions and charred leeks adding a delicate smoky flavour, tempering the saltiness of the beef. A proper feast would not be complete without dessert; we finish off the night with a refreshing poached quince jelly with lemon posset and a baked Eve’s pudding served with homemade rum and raisin sauce doused over icecream.
Q Station is probably best known for its ghost tours, but Boilerhouse has proven it is a destination in itself that shouldn’t be overlooked.
Jenny Wang