Yahoo Lifestyle Rick Stein’s namesake serves the man well
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It’s always hard for a restaurant with a name that precedes it to live up to the expectation.
When that name is an international TV chef, the expectation swells. And when the restaurant’s just been awarded a Chef’s Hat, the hype heats up. That Rick Stein at Bannisters manages to surprise and delight in equal measure is an accomplishment that I’m sure would make its namesake proud.
Mollymook, a sleepy holiday enclave on the New South Wales south coast isn’t geared up for the wet. When we visit – all 14 of us – the rain’s torrential. As we schlep the 400 metres from Rick’s Place (Rick’s beach house, which we’ve rented for the weekend) to Rick Stein at Bannisters (with only one umbrella turned inside-out, a feat given the severely inclement weather), we’re a bit miserable.
It’s a birthday weekend and the restaurant has been incredibly accommodating of our large group in the lead up (normally bookings are no larger than eight). Head sommelier Toby Evans has even been on hand, agreeing to pre-arrange some of the best bottles of wine on the list to surprise my buddies as they arrive at the table.
None of us know exactly what to expect. It’s a hatted restaurant, with a big name behind it, but we’re used to that in the city, not in sleepy coastal hideaways. Immediately I’m taken with the perfect balance between beach-side casual and fine dining. We first park on the sofas, all bright and nautical and holiday-like. Evans quickly appears to crack open a bottle of Moet and equally as quickly the rain lashing the floor-to-ceiling windows is forgotten. The restaurant feels warm and cosy, though I imagine in kinder weather would also feel fresh and breezy, given its location right by Bannisters’ infinity pool and the ocean beyond.
When we move to our two tables of 7 (long tables) right by the window, the bottles of wine are waiting and everyone’s eager to get their hands on the much-talked about menu.
The wine list is extensive, with lots of old and new wines along with some great food and wine pairing recommendations from Rick himself. Together with his sommelier Evans, Rick Stein lists “wines that we are particularly enthusiastic about”. Among these is the 2011 Rick Stein Semillon Sauvignon Blanc (Hunter Valley/Adelaide Hills, $47) – “a lively blend from our Tower winery in the Hunter Valley. Lots of fresh fruit and pleasing acidity. Currently the best selling wine at my restaurant in Padstow (UK)”. So the man’s a wine-maker too!
We opt for a (nostalgic for a couple in our group) 2010 Petaluma Riesling ($79), a fabulously bone-dry Sancerre (perfect for the seafood to come, $85) and Henschke Keyneton Estate 2008 Shiraz ($94).
The menus arrive and the din of chatter and examination begins. Restaurant manager Lola and her team are on hand for the – many! – questions we have. The choices are vast. Of course, this is a seafood restaurant and the debate rages as to whether it’d be wrong to go with the ‘Roast Rack of Junee Lamb’ as it sounds just too good to pass up. While we’re deliberating (salivating) over the menu, we’re bought two large plates of freshly shucked oysters. The chef’s kindly mixed up the varieties – Foster, Albany and Carrington Bay. They’re slippery, flavoursome and pungent – natural and perfect with the Sancerre.
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The starters are a mixed bag – some are so taken with the oysters they order more. The ‘Sashimi of Ocean Trout, Tuna, Swordfish and Kingfish’ is a hot favourite (it’s my choice and it’s melt-in-your-mouth good), while others opt for the ‘Carpaccio of Salmon with Soy, Miso and Rice Vinegar’ or ‘Raviolo of Lobster with Spinach and Basil’. When the plates arrive, food envy erupts. The lobster is a hands-down winner and the lucky few who choose it are guarding their plates with care.
More rounds of wine (and a couple of beers for the boys thrown in for good measure) and we’re on to the mains. It seems a no brainer to try the ‘Bannisters Fish Pie (Blue Eye Trevalla, snapper, scallops, mushrooms and prawns in a creamy fish veloute sauce, gratinated with bread crumbs and parmesan)’. Other popular choices include the ‘Grilled fillet of Snapper, Spanner Crab and Baby Asparagus’, the ‘Braised fillet of Cone Bay Barramundi with Truffle, Slivers of Potato, Mushrooms and Truffle Oil’ and – especially for those who missed out on the lobster joy at entré – the ‘Grilled Local Eastern Rock Lobster (Split open and grilled, served with a sauce made with lobster fumet, parsley, chervil, tarragon and chives’).
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The fish pie is a Bannisters signature dish, and delivered well on expectations. Each piece of the mix of fresh seafood was audible and not overpowered by creamy sauce. The only complaint came from a beefy friend who said he could’ve done with more. The Barramundi was a real winner – the truffle touch was raved about extensively down the table - and the juicy Junee Lamb (obviously that debate was lost) was fall-off-the-bone good.
Water was topped up regularly, something that seems annoyingly increasingly forgotten in restaurants nowadays.
I must be honest – I’d heard mixed reports about the Rick Stein at Bannisters wait staff. But tonight they’re faultless. Attentive without being overbearing, offering advice without being opinionated, they happily put up with our increasingly rowdy group. Plus, they give us just long enough a pause between main and dessert menus being delivered for us to contemplate even more food.
The dessert list isn’t arms-length, but there’s plenty enough to make your mouth water, even after two courses and a belly full of vino.
The ‘Chocolate fondant’ is an easy choice. Served with intense coffee ice cream, it oozes thickly onto the plate dobbed with extra clumps of rich, dark chocolate. The ‘Chocolate and Hazelnut Mousse Cake’ is a stack of rich, almost black, thick goodness accompanied by white chocolate ice cream (no calorie counting happening this weekend!) a tangy-but-not-tart raspberry coulis and fresh, ripe, perfectly plump raspberries. Big yum. I notice my girlfriend’s husband whip his spoon right into the centre of her mousse cake stack the moment she turns to take a sip of sticky ( we opt for the 20087 Delatile ‘late picked’ Riesling from Mansfield, $56).
A couple of us opted for an ostensibly healthy option of ‘Fresh mango, lime and coconut panna cotta’ – light, bouncy and tangy to taste. We’d heard Rick Stein’s desserts are “to die for”, and we weren’t about to argue.
There was some – admittedly highly juvenile – giggling about the “semi-hard cow and goat’s milk” Roy des Valles cheese from France. But rude to chuckle without trying, one of us quipped and so we order a selection of cheeses. Where we fit these four different tastings of potent white goodness I have no idea.
Luckily by the time the bill arrives, we’re all too tipsy to care about the cost. At $180 a head, it’s certainly not a cheap meal. But just a meal it’s not. Rather, it’s an incredible experience, the highlight of a very special weekend. Long after the price is forgotten the memories of those killer fresh flavours (the Lobster Raviolo is still raved about), good service and unsurpassed views stay with us.
Average Meal Price $99 (two courses only)
Entrees $18.00-$30.00
Mains $35.00-$115.00
Desserts $16.00
Rick Stein at Bannisters:
191 Mitchell Parade, Mollymook NSW 2539
Website - Rick Stein at Bannisters
Phone: + 61 2 4455 3044
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