Barramundi Bar and Grill: Groupon deal for Seafood Platter for Two, CBD Sydney (17 Aug 2012)

Cnr Jamison & Lang Streets, Sydney NSW 2000

http://barramundibarandgrill.com.au

Seafood sampling on a budget

‘$49 Succulent Seafood Platter for Two, Includes Lobster Mornay, Soft Shell Crab, Grilled Prawns and More, Plus a Bottle of Woodhouse Wine at Barramundi Bar & Grill, CBD ($138 Value)’

Thanks to Groupon for providing me a $100 credit to purchase two $49 Seafood Platter for Two vouchers at Barramundi Bar and Grill. Bookings needed to be made via email as per the restaurant conditions. I assumed a booking for four people with two vouchers at the same table wouldn't be a problem since the deal advertised 'purchase multiple vouchers' but the email response from the restaurant firmly pointed out the rule 'one voucher per booking per couple' applies. This resulted in a number of time consuming email exchanges trying to find an available date where both my friend and I could independently make our table bookings in the hope of dining on the same day and time. Even though we were booking a few weeks in advance just after the deal went active we only found a date where one voucher was booked for 12.30 pm and the other at 1.30 pm due to the restaurant's limited spots. My expectations were low after my booking dramas which could have been resolved quicker by a phone call combined with reviews on Urbanspoon not being promising. Arriving at 1.30 pm on the day the restaurant was busy so the difficulty in finding a matching time was I guess justified. By sheer luck there was a table available right next to my friends 12.30 pm booking so we thankfully got to sit near each other in the end.

Now to the food. Being realistic I wasn't expecting an amazing seafood platter for only $49, especially when you consider the bottle of wine was already worth $28 making the platter just $21 shared between two. This alone makes the deal a bargain and definitely filled me up with the bonus of a good tipsy factor. Armed with the advice from my friends dining earlier I started with the battered fish. This was the best way to appreciate the batter before it went cold although it could have been more crunchy and golden overall for my liking. Grilled prawns were OK but I'd prefer fresh prawns. There was lobster meat to be had under the thick mornay sauce but again my preference would be fresh or garlic butter. I scrapped most of mornay sauce off the decent sized scallops that hid underneath. To appreciate the scallops better I'd suggest a ginger shallot dressing which isn't so heavy. The heavy style of cooking certainly fills the stomach. My favourites were the soft shell crab with light crisp batter and the surprisingly tender calamari — both of these were he standouts on the platter for my friends and myself. Salad was fresh and dressed as you'd hope. Leaving little room for dessert I was still tempted to try the Tiramisu genoise ($10). Not your typical tiramisu but still nice. It's a generous serving with excellent crunchy vienna almonds and a generous amount of mascarpone making it quite rich and thus one best shared.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Service was friendly and welcoming (Maya), Pretty good value as a deal, Wine was quaffable (but not Woodhouse as advertised), Atmosphere and decor was pleasant

CONS: Only one voucher per table per booking so not suitable for groups, I wouldn't want to pay full price ($110) for this seafood platter unless modified with fresh prawns, oysters, and more lobster, Limited table space

MUST TRY: The soft shell crab or salt and pepper calamari on their a la carte menu

VERDICT: You get a lot to share for only $24.50 per person including wine making it decent value but keep in mind most of it is fried or in mornay sauce. My preference would be for some lighter cooking styles like grilled fish and fresh prawns.

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Table setting

Table water — interesting glassware

2011 Harewood Estate White Rabbit (worth $28), interesting wine glasses

Side table ice bucket — I like

Seafood platter for two, upper tier ($49 Groupon Deal including bottle of wine, $138 value)

Seafood platter for two, lower tier

Quite limited table space once the seafood platter arrives

Grilled prawns

Soft shell crab
WORTH TRYING :-)

Asian-influenced salt and Szechuan pepper calamari
WORTH TRYING :-)

Beer-battered fish of the day

Mornay scallops

Lobster mornay

Lobster meat

Tartare sauce — only one spoon provided but perhaps should be two considering the platter is meant for two

Ask for tomato sauce if you prefer

Tiramisu genoise soaked in coffee and layered with generous amounts of mascarpone, then encased in crunchy vienna almonds ($10)

Caramelised nuts were nice

Menu — Seafood platter priced at $110 not including wine

Breakfast menu

Dessert menu

Wine menu

Seating

Upper level seating

Pepper in the salt shaker?

Salt in the pepper shaker?

I'm not a fan of the table supports

Simple clean toilet gets a tick

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