Great Views To Feast Upon
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday December 12, 2008
While Bruce Elder's taste buds party, it's his eyes that are served a real treat.
When Clive James returned to Australia in 1975 after 14 years in Britain, he went to Doyles at Watsons Bay."On the last day of my trip I lunched with my family at Doyles, the superb fish restaurant at Watsons Bay on Sydney Harbour," he recalls."Sitting shirtless in the bright sun with the ultra-violet eating into my skin, which had once never been white and now would never again be really brown, I ate feathery prawn cutlets and succulent whiting fillets while the children played naked amongst the beached boats and under the wharves. The fish - caught on a hand line and iced in the boat - were unbelievable. "Looking up-harbour towards the bridge, you could see yachts and hydrofoils racing on crushed diamond water, while container ships being tugged for the sea were giant cut-outs in the dazzle. Life seemed very close to God." Now - more than 30 years later - the culinary experiences, with the harbour and Sydney's waterways as a superb backdrop, reach far beyond Doyles and seem almost limitless. The combination of "crushed diamond water" and fine food has risen to such heights that the discriminating foodie could eat and gaze for a fortnight and never return to the same restaurant. Catalina and Pier at Rose Bay; The Bathers' Pavilion at Balmoral; The Wharf Restaurant at Dawes Point; Guillaume at Bennelong; Ocean Room at the Quay; Flying Fish at Pyrmont; The Boathouse on Blackwattle Bay at Glebe; and if you want something seriously spectacular, Forty One and the Summit Restaurant offer fine food with jaw-dropping views - a difficult combination for eating. Beyond the harbour there's Cottage Point Inn and Berowra Waters Inn, both sitting on the water's edge on the creeks (Cowan and Berowra) that flow into the Lower Hawkesbury. And let's not forget those other places overlooking the ocean, such as Icebergs at Bondi, Pilu at Freshwater and Jonah's at Whale Beach. It is all so obvious and sensible. No wonder that in the 1980s, when the city was awash with greed and excess money, it was de rigeur for anyone wanting to really impress an overseas client to take a limo out to Rose Bay, board a chartered seaplane, head north and land, dramatically and ostentatiously, on the calm waters in front of Berowra Waters Inn. A quick check of the 2009 Good Food Guide sees no fewer than seven of the restaurants listed above as being accorded either two or three hats. And, let's acknowledge that the harbour is for everyone. If you can't afford $85 for fish at Pier, you can still have a lean beef and peas at Harry's and enjoy the view. Now that is the true meaning of Australian egalitarianism.BEROWRA WATERS INNBerowra Waters You can still take a seaplane to this extraordinary venue but mere mortals can catch the boat from near where the Berowra Waters punt operates. For years after the departure of Tony and Gay Bilson, the restaurant was inaccessible and poorly patronised. Then Dietmar Sawyere, owner of Forty One, took over and this eatery was declared "Best New Restaurant" and awarded two hats. It is intensely intimate and has a superb degustation menu.PIER 594 New South Head Road, Rose Bay. A three-hat wonderland described by the Good Food Guide as "Greg Doyle's shrine to the sea", it is perfectly located so that everyone can enjoy the relaxed, affluent ambience of Rose Bay. This is where you can eat the very best of Sydney's seafood. Try not to look too closely at the prices. The main courses range from a low of $49 to a high of $85.THE BOATHOUSE AT BLACKWATTLE BAY End of Ferry Road, Glebe. On a summer's day it is hard to beat the Boathouse. It has a glorious, open, sparkling room with views across Blackwattle Bay. This is where the smart foodies come for rock oysters and it delights in offering the very best available on the east coast. The appeal of the Boathouse lies in the unique intimacy of the setting. You feel as though you are on a boat nestling at the edge of the harbour.HARRY'S CAFE DE WHEELS Corner of Cowper Wharf Roadway and Brougham Road, Woolloomooloo. And, amid all this fine dining, there is always Harry's Cafe de Wheels - now looking very, very permanent - where you can get a pie and gaze out over Woolloomooloo Bay knowing that Russell Crowe, who owns the penthouse at the end of Finger Wharf, doesn't have a better view.FORTY ONE Level 42, Chifley Tower, Sydney. Everyone knows the droll joke that Forty One is actually on floor 42. Not surprisingly, the views are as good as one can hope to get in the city. The Opera House and Harbour Bridge are far below. The North Shore stretches to the horizon and on a clear day you can see to the Heads and beyond. The food is consistently good - as it should be from a two-hatted restaurant.
© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald
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