One year of our lives flew by with a blink of an eye. Before we knew it, it was our one year wedding anniversary. Looking back at this year, it seems as though we had done a lot, but at the same time, it seems as though we really didn't achieve much at all. For our one year celebration, we opted for Pier, a restaurant whose cookbook I've treasured for years.
Almost all tables at the restaurant had a view of the harbour. Unfortunately, the area was pitch black by the time we got there. Although the restaurant was relatively empty, every patron was ushered to the apex of the restaurant... and with the glass walls and non-carpeted floors, it meant that the area was relatively LOUD. We wanted their degustation menu. However, there was a main tuna dish that I didn't really fancy. Most restaurants would gladly do a simple swap... but not Pier. No swaps allowed. Hence, a-la-carte it was!
We started with bread. The bread was yummy... but not the softest crunchiest bread we've had. It also wasn't nice and warm or toasty but my hubby smashed a lot of these bits anyway.
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| bread |
For an entree, my hubby opted for a tuna tartare ($24). Round-shaped bits of tuna were yummily doused in a vietnamese dressing and served with mustard cress and thin slices of raddish. It made it really tasty and flavoursome.
tuna tartare - $24
I eyed a neighbouring's ordering of their 'cones' of fish. I couldn't resist but to order it too. They had 4 types of cones to choose from ($8 each) - tuna, kingfish, king salmon and ocean trout. I got all but the tuna. The cubes of fish were dressed nicely and served with tiny capers, all encapsulated within a super crunchy cone. My favourite was probably the kingfish one - it was the tastiest. The king salmon was really smooth and fatty and salmon-flavoursome too. All three cones supplied super fresh ingredients :)
cones of kingfish, king salmon, ocean trout - $8 each
For our mains, hubby went for the roasted barramundi ($43). The skin of this fillet of fish was crazy crunchy! Almost as though they deep fried just the skin. They did, however, manage to keep the fish really tender and moist and succulent. The fish was served with braised cos and shimeji mushroom. A small pot of mushroom consomme was poured on top of the fish at the table.
roasted barramundi - $43
My pick for the night was the crispy skinned snapper ($42). Two fillets of snapper were served with raddish, broccolini, pickled cucumber, pistachio bits. The fish was cooked well - it wasn't tough or chewy but rather really succulent. I'm not sure what the pink blobs of sauce was but it was OK...
crispy skinned snapper - $42
As a side, a seemingly healthy option of a zucchini, lemon and chervil salad ($12) was ordered. The zucchini was sliced into super thin ribbons, bits of bean were scattered everywhere and the salad was lightly coated with some vinaigrette. It was quite tasty and appetising really.
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| Zucchini, lemon and Chervil salad - $12 |
We glanced briefly at the dessert menu but nothing much met my fancy. I just wanted something with chocolate and icecream without fig or date or anything like that in it. Hence, we took our dessert cravings to Oliver Brown instead :)
All up, it was a relatively good meal. Not the best in terms of the noise, nor the attentiveness of the waiters... but, it wasn't too bad either.
Ratings:
Food - 8.5/10
Service - 6.5/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 29/40
Pier Restaurant
594 New South Head Road
Rose Bay
NSW 2029
Tel: (02) 9327 6561
