Charcoal Fish, Rose Bay (15 Sept 2021)

670 New South Head Rd, Rose Bay NSW 2029 

https://www.charcoalfish.com/

https://www.instagram.com/charcoal.fish/

Ofishially now open in Rose Bay

“Our mission is to make restaurant-quality, grilled Australian fish more accessible. Just as a BBQ chicken shop offers only one kind of chicken we believe that by focusing on Murray Cod we will be able to put more effort and attention into sustainability, perfecting cooking methods and our hyper-seasonal salad and vegetable options.”

Opening day was hugely popular and welcomed by the locals. My menu choice of the day was the Fish & Chips ($28) with fried murray cod, pickles, yoghurt tartare and chips. Chef Josh Niland's batter is exceptional (and always has been) — thin, ultra crisp and delicate. I suspect working with Heston Blumenthal in the past might have helped to achieve batter perfection in the kitchen. The Aquna Murray cod fish was cooked perfectly, with chunks of flakey and moist meat. 

Good to see fresh hand cut chips are being made instead of resorting to frozen ones — the real potato flavour carries through much better and you can avoid using chicken salt to make them interesting. Zingy sliced pickles that have a nice crunch and a housemade tasty tartare sauce completed the satisfying meal for one with a wedge of lemon. A top-notch looking fitout with friendly and energetic service. The daily seasonal salads and hot vegetable dishes on display looked very tempting. Will definitely need to revisit to try more of the menu. Looking like a great dining addition for the Rose Bay community. A shortage of parking will probably be an issue for most visitors but that's always been the case around this Eastern Suburbs shopping precinct.

Jacks East: Burgers, Rose Bay (31 Aug 2019)

Shop 5, 809-823 New South Head Road, Rose Bay NSW 2029
https://www.instagram.com/jackseast/

Jacks Newtown heads east

3 years on and Jack from Jacks Newtown has moved on from the busy Newtown burger institution to set up shop in the more sleepy suburban village of Rose Bay. For those who have enjoyed Jacks Newtown I'm sure travelling to Rose Bay for a Shake Shack style burger fix will be on the cards. It'll be interesting to see what the locals think of the medium cooked 'pink' patties and whether asking for well done patties will suit them better. Beef Cheeseburger ($12) and Fries ($5) is my order of the day. The burger looked smallish due to the soft buns being smaller than the signature medium 'pink' cooked pattie. It held together pretty well with a tasty housemade old bay sauce and nice melty cheese. They possibly might look at a slightly larger bun to match the pattie size which I think could be a good thing to consider to better meet burger expectations and perceived value for money from the older generation locals. Crinkle cut fries are nice, and would benefit from a tasty spicy seasoning option.

There's a bit of seating inside and the ceiling fairy lights border on being a bit too dim I think to show they're actually open when the doors are being kept shut to keep out the cold weather. In contrast to the open kitchen of Jacks Newtown which added to the happening vibe, all the cooking action now resides behind closed kitchen doors so no cooking show to be had here. With previous burger write ups by Good Food, TimeOut Sydney, Broadsheet and The Daily Telegraph when they resided in Newtown the past experience and successes should hopefully help the only dedicated burger shop in Rose Bay become another local gem.

Bernasconi's, Rose Bay (5 July 2018)

23 Plumer Rd, Rose Bay NSW 2029
https://bernasconiscafe.com/
https://www.facebook.com/BernasconiCafe/
https://www.instagram.com/bernasconiscafe/

The simplest art of plating

I wasn't quite expecting my fancy named "T.A.R." ($14) of turkish toast, avocado, fresh tomato & ricotta to be such a simple presentation of sandwich pressed turkish toast, half scoop of avocado, sliced tomato and a few scoops of ricotta sitting on a plate, unseasoned and separated the way my 6 year old would probably prefer. But perhaps my expectations were too high for this well-located corner cafe in the heart of village surroundings. It made me wonder if that's how the local customers just prefer it served? But at $14 I'd hope for some presentation skills by the kitchen that's more than what I'd be bothered doing at home as a lazy weekend snack unless it's renamed the "D.I.Y T.A.R". Some sliced and fanned out avocado would at least show some passion has gone into the dish. At the very least the turkish bread should be toasted under a grill to retain some lovely light bubbly texture rather than being flattened and compressed in a sandwich press. A slice of lemon dipped in spiced dukkah would add some extra flavour when squeezed over your D.I.Y. smashed avo. In hindsight I think I should have gone for the Ricotta Hotcake with poached berries and honeycomb mascarpone that was also tempting me — hopefully not served in the same fashion. I was very happy with my Cappuccino ($4) though using Aroma Coffee with nice flavour and a decent amount of froth. The smaller cup sizing helped provide a good hit of flavour. Service was friendly and I liked the pleasant cafe outlook towards the other shops and green of the golf course and trees across the road. Free parking in the area with varying time restrictions.