the bathers' pavilion restaurant

the bathers’pavilioncafé is situated inside the historic bathers’pavilionbuilding on balmoral beach. the café sits on one side of the building, while the one hatted bathers’pavilionrestaurant sits on the other. unlike the café, the restaurant was almost empty. the bathers’pavilionbuilding finally, our name was called and we were shown to our table. we were starving by that stage, and wasted no time in ordering our meal. we started off with a small entrée of oysters. coffin bay basket grown oysters with a

the batherspavilionoccupies a prized position overlooking balmoral beach - a beautiful spot for a meal. there is a popular cafe in the building and then the more expensive a la carte restaurant, where we had the good fortune to be dining.
between two adults and two kids we had 10 dishes, and with the exception of a child’s fish and chips which fell into the ‘nothing special’ category, everyone of them was exceptionally presented and cooked. the last time i had a similar quality meal was at the dorchester’s a la carte grill in london - but this was better, lighter and more playful.
it began with an amuse-bouche shot of fennell and cinnamon soup - creamy and delicately flavoured - and a basket of caraway seed bread and some plain or salted butter.
we each ordered from the three-course set-price menu, good value at $95, and probably saving about $15 a head on the overall cost of adding up individual dishes.
our entrees consisted of a dozen freshly shucked oysters with mignonette vinaigrette, seared scallops with pancetta and pickled apple smoked yoghurt & chorizo oil and kurobuta pork belly with pickled pine mushroom, braised lettuce, hazelnut crumbs and pork skin.
the oysters were as fresh as you can get and presented simply with nothing too fancy to obscure their taste. the scallops were an attractive dish, but a lot of restaurants seem to be following the same rule with this dish these days and so it had a familiar look to it - perfectly cooked.
the pork, from the japanese strain of black berkshire and generally regarded as the best on the market, was light and full of flavour, neither overly fatty nor devoid of juice. the airy puff of crackling sat on top like a chinese prawn cracker, bearing little resemblance to crackling or rind, and all the artery hardening we associate with it. best though was the accompanying savoury bed of mushrooms, lettuce and nuts - delectable and a real winner of a dish.
for the mains we ordered the poached blue eye trevalla with crab consommé, new potato confit, wilted kale and herb emulsion, the ora king salmon with confit celeriac and avruga caviar, yuzu orange sauce and salmon crackling and duck breast with smoked pear puree, glazed australian wild fig, turnips and walnuts.
these were all beautifully presented. our waiter served the trevalla and then poured a small jug of consommé over the fillet. soft and falling apart it was given a little piquancy by the dobs of herb emulsion.
the salmon, again wonderful to look at, was perfectly cooked - the flesh soft and flaky, the skin crisp. the avruga, a herring derived caviar substitute, was arranged on the dish like blackberries and sat amidst cubes of celeriac and globs of herb emulsion. the smear of yuzu sauce, with its tart, grapefruit like notes was a good accompaniment.
perhaps the most satisfying of the mains was the duck - so tender and wonderfully combined with nuts and fruit puree - a real standout.
throughout this we weren’t over-indulging on the alcohol front, so only had a glass of wine each - both from the margaret river - at around $15-$20 a glass (whole bottles are roughly twice the price of a glass).
if we thought the appetisers and the mains were spectacular the desserts took it up another level again.
of these the raspberry meringue with strawberry, lychee sorbet, prosecco jelly, lime and olive oil curd was simply a work of art. stunningly presented the delicate meringue casing gave way to an orb of delicious sorbet. a real ‘wow’ of a dessert.
the dark chocolate mousse with hazelnut cremeux, sesame praline and dark chocolate sauce was the height of sophistication with richly satisfying ingredients and hints of gold.
lastly my mandarin mousse with valrhona dulcey blond chocolate, turmeric and lemon sauce with orange sorbet came out looking like some delicate japanese flower arrangement or a joan miro painting. again, so wonderful to look at and a beautifully conceived dish.
in addition to all this the staff were extremely relaxed and helpful and the atmosphere was refreshingly casual for such quality dining.
all up i couldn’t fault the bathers, an impressive meal worth every cent and a great place to treat someone to a genuinely classy meal.

the batherspavilionis an elegant venue in a spectacular setting, with renowned chef and co-owner serge dansereau at the helm. it is so disappointing that the service is lacking (in experience, professionalism and any interest at all in its diners) and the food is so poorly executed.

at breakfast my friend, a vegan, ordered sourdough with avocado and i ordered the fritters. the sourdough with avocado came to the table with an egg, so had to go back to kitchen and the fritters were cold ( which when pointed out received the question "what would you like to do?") so also went back to the kitchen.

the sourdough and avocado sans egg came to the table and this time was ok - not spectacular or even great. after my friend had almost finished her breakfast (and she is quite a slow eater), my fritters turned up, this time warm, but inedible due to their saltiness.

when plates were cleared, given one meal was almost not touched, i expected to be asked was something wrong - i wasn't, so pointed out how salty the fritters were, simply to receive the response "oh, ok."

sadly this is the second similarly bad experience for breakfast here, so wont be going back again. i sometimes wonder whether people get caught up in the atmosphere and hype of restaurants when they write reviews - because the bathers has received some good ones - because the problems with service and food are not one-offs, rather they show a lack of training and oversight.

we had an amazing time at bathers'paviliona 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'pavilionfor a wonderful time!

i came to batherspavilionusing 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

the bathers'pavilionis 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.

balmoral batherspavilionis a restaurant for people that have eaten well in lots of places. this restaurant is near the cutting edge with interesting combinations in its dishes and daring ideas. owned and operated by well-known chef serge dansereau, balmoral bather’spavilionoffers creative food with a culinary precision not seen in many other sydney restaurants.

i went to batherspavilionfor brunch with my sister and my 2 year old daughter today, for my birthday.

the location is definitely fantastic, with a great view. the food is ok but the service is pretty terrible. i had chosen the batherspavilionfor my birthday last year too and almost as soon as we sat down i remembered the poor service. while it is a nice place to spend a bit of time over a meal i don't like waiting a long time to order or a long time to receive my meal. we waited ages for coffees to be delivered then again for the food. when it arrived it was nice but not special. we only received one of two ojs we had ordered, we had to specifically ask for butter for some toast and we had to remind the waiter we had ordered a side spread.

they do cater for kids which was great though. they have wooden highchairs, the chef agreed to change the menu for my daughter and there is a specific small kids toilet.

overall, our visit was ok but for the cost i don't think it is worth it. we won't be returning anytime soon.

price doesn't mean perfection. bathers'pavilionrestaurant has a great location and good service, but falls short in significant ways.

while most of the food is very good, some dishes are just "different" for the sake of it and are not enjoyable - the swordfish entree for example is mediocre.

and the wine markup seems quite excessive, even by reference to the price levels at other top restaurants.

perhaps their cafe section might represent more acceptable value.

the bathers’pavilioncafe is my favourite cafe at balmoral, especially for an early breakfast while the beach is still relatively quiet. the cafe has a stunning view over middle harbour which can’t be missed from most tables but i still like to get there early to ensure a prime view from a front row table. the cafe has a big breakfast menu that caters for a range of healthy, sweet and savoury tastes. lighter options include quince and figs with sheep milk yoghurt ($17); sweet lovers (me) can try the blueberry pancakes with canadian maple syrup ($21.50) and there’s plenty of choice for a more substantial breakfast including fried eggs and bathers’ blood sausage with roast pear and apple, with herb butter and sourdough toast ($24). my love of papaya and coconut was well satisfied with a glass full of creamy c

balmoral’s beauty has attracted thousands of bathers since the early 1920s when the beach was served by a now retired tramline. where once bathers arrived armed with picnics today many visit looking forwards to lunch at one of balmoral’s beachside cafes. the cafe i’m covering here is no ordinary cafe. it’s part of the chef’s hatted bathers’pavilion– a sydney dining institution that celebrates its 15th birthday in 2014. serge dansereau, the head chef, owns both halves of the bathers’. he’s one of australia’s top chefs with over five cookbooks under his belt. the setting is so spectacular it can distract you from the food – sit alongside the sand with harbour views that stretch to the ocean and watch the manly ferry on route from circular quay. on one side the fine dining restaurant menu emphasises fresh produce grown by small producers. it’s priced as you’d expect for an established chef’s hatted restaurant by the water. put it on your special occasion dining bucket list. on the other

breakfast tradition. whenever my grandson or other family and friends arrive in town breakfast has to be at the batherspavilionat least once ... the view is exceptional, the service professional yet friendly, the food really good too. this space is my sydney breakfast place for special occasions and also non events. love going there and will be back.

sit and watch the ferries go by or the waves lapping on beautiful balmoral beach. bathers’pavilioncafe is great for little ones with the beach offering the perfect playground and adults will enjoy the ambience and food. it is great for a special family meal.

set within the very exclusive suburb of mosman, the restaurant and cafe at the bathers’pavilionis owned and operated by sydney celebrity chef serge dansereau.

the breathtaking views toward north head and beyond set the tone for some of the most expensive real estate around sydney harbour.

best kept secret. tucked into that blissfully calm beach of the north shore, the bathers'pavilionat balmoral beach has the gentle waves literally lapping at the door and a view out to middle harbour and the heads.

the best thing about bathers' is that with the cafe and restaurant occupying two halves of the same building, you can choose exactly what kind of money you want to spend. breakfast here is one of the best-kept secrets of restaurants with a view. grab a coffee at the canteen, take a lazy lunch in the café, or make a night of it with the degustation in the restaurant. either way you'll be taking in a view that has inspired both art and poetry over the years.