Dear Reader

You'll be pleased to hear that the Sydney restaurant scene is finally growing up!! Gone are the days when quality restaurants opened their doors at set times for lunch and dinner. Gone too are the rigid liquor licensing laws which ruled out a drink at a bar unless you were dining on the premises. Now it's possible to have a drink (and a snack) at many of the sleek new bars around town, then cruise on to lunch or dinner either within the same premises or further afield. And cruise is the word.

Down at Circular Quay the jutting white ship-like Cruise at the southern end of the Overseas Passenger Terminal is the latest in a number of recent swish additions to the Sydney lifestyle scene. Downstairs at the light and airy Cruise Bar (make sure you check out the mesmerising light wall), you can snack on BBQ pork spare ribs with charred corn cob ($9), steamed black mussels with basil and lemongrass ($9) or a roast chicken salad with sesame vinaigrette ($9.50) while sipping on a cocktail or glass of wine.

Upstairs is the sophisticated Cruise Restaurant presided over by chef Kittypong Rojanautai while on the third level, you'll find Posh, a more serious, formal bar than its youthful sister downstairs.

Just along from Cruise in the same terminal is Bambu, another inovative restaurant-bar combo. This elegant new addition to restauranteur Wolfie Pizem's stable incorporates two bars, indoor and outdoor dining plus a mezzanine level and supper club. Executive chef Xavier Mouche has put toether a tantalising menu incorporating dishes from the Mediterranean, Asia, The Land and The Sea.

Each one is available as an entree, encourating you to graze your way through the menu. Make sure you sample the seared scallops with radicchio and borlotti bean puree, the tapenade-coated barramundi fillet on a lentil ragout, the tandoori quail breast with fried eggplant and the fragrant slow-braised Vietnamese beef with galangal, lemongrass and flat white noodles. Classy presentation and explosive flavours make these dishes memorable. Echoes of the Opera House, which sits imposingly across the water, can be found in the wave-like sculptural wall and ceiling structure and - curiously enough - in the bread rolls. Alternatively, try the bar menu upstairs on the mezzanine level. The cocktails are outstanding.

A hop, skip and jump from the passenger terminal is the historic Customs House, at the top of which you'll find the swinging Cafe Sydney. And swing it does! Cruise on up late Friday evenings and enjoy live jazz, smoky blues and soul while sipping on a Mojito (bacardi, mint, lime, soda) or a Caprioska (Finlandia, lime, sugar). Or have a meal beforehand.

Executive chef Stewart Wallace serves fresh modern Australian cuisine with the emphasis on seafood. Look out for the tasty blue swimmer crab and coconut salad with lime dressing, the refreshing gazpacho with a crunchy crab and tuna salad and the wood-grilled swordfish on baba ghannoug, beetroot and mint salad dressed with pomegranate molasses. The tandoori-roasted lamb rump with tomato and cardomom chutney, coconut and mint sambol is also worth trying. On Sundays, bouillabaisse, BBQ seafood (on the wood-fired grill) and Bloody Marys are the go.

For bookings:

Bambu
Bay 4, Overseas Passenger
Terminal, Circular Quay West
Ph: 9247 6044
eat@bambu.com.au

Cafe Sydney
Level 5, Customs House
31 Alfred St Circular Quay
Ph: 9251 8683
www.cafesydney.com

Cruise Restaurant
southern end of Overseas
Passenger Terminal, Quay West
Ph: 9251 1188 or 9251 1622

 

 

 

Other cruise-y outlets include:

- the Establishment:
the forerunner of the current "international" dining style in Sydney. This large emporium, conceived by Justin Hemmes, consists of a number of food and beverage areas, each area being quite different from the next. There's a sushi bar, an upmarket restaurant (est.), a large downstairs bar, a garden bar with Thai-style food, Tank Stream Bar, Gaming Room, private lounge bar, Street Bar and the exotic Hemmesphere. You'll find it at:

Establishment
252 George St, Sydney
Ph: 9240 3000

- harbourkitchen&bar: refurbished just over 12 months ago, this stylish light and airy area at the southern end of the prestigious Park Hyatt hotel includes a bar area (Martini Bar, Champagne Bar and Draft local and international beers); a buzzy Little Kitchen (open 6am - 10.30pm) which serves tasty casual dishes like pasta with Italian sausage, roasted tomato, basil and parmesan and a king prawn, avocado and cucumber salad with herb mayonnaise); and a more formal dining area (The Kitchen) where executive chef Anthony Musarra serves fabulous Mediterranea-influenced dishes like scallop ravioli with wilted lettuce, crispy eschallots, sherry and garlic dressing and steamed blue eye cod with ginger, chinese greens, prawn and coconut sauce.

harbourkitchen&bar
7 Hickson Rd, The Rocks
Ph: 9256 1660 www.harbourkitchen.com

- look out for Wildfire, a Santa Fe-style restaurant owned by American chef Mark Miller launching at the Overseas Passenger Terminal in 3-4 months.

- also keep an eye out for the revamped Icebergs at Bondi. Bill Granger (bill's) and Maurizio Terzini (Otto's) will be opening there in 2-3 months.

Chef Todd Garratt (ex Pier, Rose Bay) has been doing great things at Fresh Ketch down at The Spit since moving there last October.

Must-tries include the warm salad of Coffin Bay octopus with green beans and gremolata; the char-grilled parmesan and herbed stuffed calamari with Ligurian olives and tomoato oil; and the smoke trout crepe with seared brook trout and flowering garlic chives.

Fresh Ketch Restaurant,
The Spit, Parriwi Rd, Mosman
Ph: 9969 5665

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