the bathers' pavilion restaurant

lunch here on australia day with offering 50% off the 3 course menu. food was good and well presented, however the head-wait made us felt humiliating, he placed us in a table right next to the entrance door though the whole restaurant was almost empty when we arrive and already asked for window seat in while making reservation days ago. we approached him asking suggestions about cocktail and fish, he yelled at us as if we were school students. will never come back.

we had an amazing time at bathers' pavilion a few weeks ago. my partner had told the restaurant that he would be proposing after dinner and would need to leave by a certain time. they were so discrete (i had no clue), they were so attentive and looked after us so well. the food was beautiful and the view was amazing. the manager (?) took some wonderful photos for us too. thank you bathers' pavilion for a wonderful time!

second visit for the year and pretty disappointing experience. ludicrously overpriced.  on the positive side, the view is outstanding and our party was given a nice window table.   service was ok, a little slow to fill wine glasses and starters were served to the wrong guests.  no big deal but you expect better.  the bread was delicious, thankfully, as we needed plenty of it to make up for the miserable portions.  
my yellowfin tuna tartare appetiser was very tasty, beautifully presented and a definite highlight, albeit pretty small.  it's a starter so ok, can live with that.  
the lamb rump with confit belly main i can only describe as a bad joke.  3 pieces of lamb no bigger than a 20c piece each, and a quarter of that fat.  a miserable serve of couscous and 3 or 4  "organic carrot" pieces the size of fingernails.  honestly i thought we left that portion size behind in the 90's.  taste was good, albeit not outstanding.  i am not some overweight glutton;  unfortunately this meal would not satisfy a child.  basically insulting.  i had to order more bread to save a trip to macca's on the way home.  $105 for 2 courses.  don't think so.

a friday afternoon so well spent at this beautiful restaurant on the edge of the beach. the salads were amazing, the cocktails well made and the mains to die for.
a must reserve for anyone going to this part of town. well done.

went here with dimmi offering 50% off the 3 course menu. the food was good, the service prompt. the entrees and mains were nice but i think the flavors could have been balanced a bit better. i really enjoyed the passion fruit dessert. that was a highlight and probably a 8/10. the raspberry, rose dessert was ok. we had the mushroom consume and the pork for entree and then the duck and cod with linguine for main. overall it was good value at 50% off but i wouldn’t want to pay $110 for the 3 courses

the place which i would put in top 3 breakfast places in sydney.
always great customer service and well designed menu.
coffee nice as always. not hot, not cold, not burned, not sweet,- just a normal, tasty delicious coffee. that’s what we all want, right?
food is a separate chat though. i don’t know who is doing this magic, but whatever we eat here is simply the best food we ever had every time. you simply can’t go wrong with any choice from their menu. i would recommend to try bathers rice bowl while it’s on the menu. interesting composition and healthy ingredients if you’re trying to get ready for the beach season but still want to spoil yourself with something tasty.

i came to bathers pavilion using dimmis 50% off deal for their 3 course meal. located just next to balmoral beach, the venue at bathers has it all. sea views, themed decors and spacious cushioned chairs. the food at bathers also didn't disappoint - the seafood were all cooked to perfection and the desserts were beautifully presented. however, the flavouring of some of their dishes could be improved on, for example the sesame oil seasoning on the tuna tartare was way too overpowering. also, their service did not live up to the standard of their venue. the waiter who served us was unenthusiastic and did not properly explain our dishes to us when served.

although i loved my dining experience at bathers, i probably would not come back without the 50% off dimmi deal. $110 for a 3 course lunch is just too steep for me and i believe i can eat better food in sydney at that price point.

* recommended dishes *
- for starters: oysters (they serve 8 fresh sydney rock oysters as starters - so worth it!)
- for main: poached murray cod with squid linguine, squid ink crumble, cauliflower and dashi (this was favourite dish of the day. the flavours of the different components just complements each other so well and the dish was also visually stunning.)
- for dessert: raspberry and vanilla petits gateaux pistachio, rose petal ice cream, strawberry jus (that rose petal ice cream though, mhm so good.)

* rating *
food: 4/5
venue: 5/5
service: 3/5

love the location of this place. it’s located right in front of the beach you can look out from the windows to an amazing view. the food here is average. i did enjoy the mains, the duck and the beef. the beef was cooked perfectly, medium rare. the desserts were a big let down. they were both really heavy. my fave part was the bread platter. so many options. i love when places have bread, butter and salt.

awesome food, great service and atmosphere! will go back again definitely
waiters are attentive, friendly and nice. they gave me very good window seat and even sunset is gone but the view is still awesome

came here for my girlfriend’s 21st birthday dinner with the dimmi 50% dining offer. best dining experience i’ve had to date - food, service/staff, venue all superb and couldn’t fault anything. the diverse mix of flavours in each course was a true experience, and right on the beach. must go!

this restaurant has to be one of the worst. $400 and you’ll still be starving. food is minuscule and boring.
the only salvage in the view of balmoral, otherwise the decor and ambience is so dated and depressing. spend your $$$ elsewhere.

what a fabulous location! it's hard to beat this historic old site, right on the sand, as a wonderful restaurant venue. sadly this place falls into that sydney category of view>food, and the crowds! breakfast might have been quieter at the train station. have been for breakfast and dinner here and both times have been disappointed by the food, and the pricing. the portions are generous, so there’s that.  with so much more to try in sydney we'll probably come back with out of town guests.

we had heard many good things about this restaurant and decided to try it on a sunday night after being tempted by the dimmi half price dining offer. the location was stunning especially on a summer's evening, the setting was pleasant with most tables getting a good view of the beach. we had the 5 course degustation which was very enjoyable - the fish and meat dishes were perfectly cooked and flavours were well-balanced and refined.  the generous bread basket, amuse bouche and petit fours were a lovely nice touch. service was non-intrusive and professional.

there is no doubt the setting is amazing. and the food is also very good. a group of 8 of us dined here on sunday and, even with the location and the meal, we all left very disappointed.

we were completely ignored by waitstaff the entire time. no-one came and introduced themselves/the restaurant; no-one came to take our drinks orders; no-one came to take our food orders. we literally had to wave people over to get their attention and even then they seemed to be avoiding eye contact. they would simply write our orders down and scurry away. and when meals were delivered there was no explanation given. when you are paying a mandatory $120 for 3 courses you expect a certain level of service and certain type of personality. they couldn't have been more disinterested and inattentive, which just ruined the whole experience for us.

the bathers' pavilion is an impressive dining destination at balmoral beach which is synonymous to the history of the community. built by the mosman council in 1928, the imposing landmark was a large changing shed for beachgoers and equipped with modern sanitary facilities.

the restaurant, which overlooks the energetic beach, offers a compelling menu of french leaning dishes. the appetizer, a slowed cooked pork cheek with smoked yoghurt carrot and dipped in chicken and pork stock, was absolutely mind boggling. the soft silky pork cheek melts at the tip of my tongue and dissipates a savoury burst of flavours.

the main dish, a duck breast with miso eggplant and accompanied by orange and carrot purée, hibiscus and duck jus, was a miss more than a hit. the tongue tickling miso overpowers the natural flavour of the eggplant and everything else whereas the duck breast was tough and unchewable.

the dessert, a passion fruit mousse with varholna dulcey blond chocolate turmeric and lemon sauce and passion fruit sorbet, was a nice conclusion. the sour and acidic sorbet serves as an detoxifying natural diuretic and stimulates my gastrointestinal tract.

a worthy and decent and dining restaurant. the service is prompt and i do not have to wait for hours between courses (just 5-7 minutes). however, the main dish was probably too disappointing.