Seafood lunch @ Rick Stein at Bannisters (Mollymook)

On a trip to Wollongong, we drove the long way to make a few stops on the way. One of these stops was Mollymook as we got a last minute cancellation for a 2pm lunch reservation at Rick Stein at Bannisters. Located right on a cliff overlooking the ocean, the restaurant is known as a dining destination with beautiful views. We easily got a parking spot in the undercover parking area (noting it was about 1.45pm). We were early for our reservation but I figured we could just have a drink and soak in the views. However, our table was already ready and we were asked if we wanted to stay in the bar area or go straight to our table. We still had some distance to drive to get to Wollongong, so we headed straight for the table.

Menus were provided and we were asked if we wanted still or sparkling water. The menus seem to change daily as the day’s date was printed at the bottom of each menu. There was a lot of seafood on the menu as expected, but I didn’t anticipate such an Indian influence in the dishes with quite a few curries on the menu. We asked our waitress for her recommendation and it was ‘any one of the curries’.

I was happy to see mocktails listed in the drinks menu and ordered the berry noice ($10) with blackberry puree, cranberry and pineapple juice, while Mr FPJ ordered the house white.

We were given a slice of warm sourdough with butter and kelp butter on the side. I love bread but tried not to fill up on it. Mr FPJ saved half of his slice to dunk into something later on. As I had devoured my slice, our waitress asked if I wanted another slice when she walked by. Yes please!

I was given quite a bit of cutlery for my entrée.

I ordered the warm shellfish plate ($39 for one person), which came with a crab leg, mussels, clams, scallops, prawns and an oyster. It had been tossed through olive oil, garlic, chilli, parsley and lemon juice (which is all you really need on seafood) and was delicious. A good choice.

Mr FPJ ordered the coconut chilli prawns with cumin puris ($26) which came with some flat bread. The menu states that this dish provides the holy trinity of Indian fish cooking with chilli, coconut and coriander. Mr FPJ hates coriander and asked if this could be cooked without, which the restaurant obliged. There was spice and quite a big hit of chilli, but he found it was a nicely balanced curry. Quite expensive for two prawns, but Mr FPJ could have just had a bowl of the curry with rice on its own.

For my main, I ordered the Bannisters fish pie ($45) with trevalla fish, salmon, snapper, prawns, and scallop with mushrooms in a creamy fish veloute sauce and black truffles. It was essentially a seafood stew with topped with breadcrumbs and parmesan. It was almost like a chowder but with less liquid. I did not see any black truffles (not in season) but perhaps it was a truffle powder. I was expected a bit of pie pastry so was a little disappointed, however it was perfectly seasoned with lots of chunky seafood.

Mr FPJ ordered the ½ serve of Eastern Rock lobster thermidor (market price at about $50). This is described as a classic French dish removed from the shell and coated with a white wine sauce flavoured with parmesan and mustard. He found it was quite salty and I have to agree after only one bite. I couldn’t imagine how salty it would have been to finish the whole thing. This was disappointing so we were lucky only a half serve was ordered.

Rick Stein at Bannisters is not fine dining, but more of an upmarket restaurant. It’s very much a relaxed setting with good food and views. I was expecting more picturesque views but the trees block quite a lot of it, particularly if you aren’t seated outside on the balcony.

Overall, we enjoyed three of the four courses ordered, and were too full to try dessert. Food arrived within a reasonable amount of time and plates cleared away quickly. I found service was not the most attentive. The tables were not wiped down after we left some crab shell debris and drippings from my entrée. It also took a while to get the bill and then a long wait to pay for it.

Rick Stein at Bannisters
191 Mitchell Parade, Mollymook Beach, NSW

Opening hours:
Monday to Thursday: 6.00pm – 9.00pm
Friday to Sunday: 12.30pm – 2.30pm; 6.00pm – 9.00pm

Foodgasm 7/10
Value for money 6.5/10
Service 5/10

FPJ score 18.5/30

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