Barrenjoey House at Palm Beach has recently finished renovating and re-opened, just in time for a delicious spring lunch with a view. The heritage listed building has been lovingly restored. It boasts a stunning, light filled dining area filled with the signature greenery style that The Boathouse Group is known for. The food and drinks menu is pretty great too.

Mark did great at booking a table months ago to celebrate the fact that yesterday marked the date that we had been together for 18 years….scary! His organisation skills impressed me, and meant that we got the best table in the house. We sat out on the veranda where we enjoyed dappled sunshine, watching yachts sail by, inhaling the fresh salty air, and people watching.

As always on a beautiful spring day, the drive to Palm Beach was a slow one with many cars in front of us going to enjoy all the beauty that Palm Beach has to offer. This is probably thanks to the success of the Palm Beach movie.

Barrenjoey House Window Seat

Sitting on the veranda, reading the drinks and food menu it was really hard to decide what to order. On our way to Barrenjoey House I was thinking that it would be nice to sip on a Bloody Mary. I was pleased to see them on the cocktail menu when we arrived. I was also considering the Cucumber Cooler, but in the end we just had to get a bottle of champagne to celebrate, and it went down a treat.

When it came to the food I did my usual trick of loving the sound of all the entrees on the menu and wanting to taste them all. So I had two entrees and left room for dessert. Which meant we also had room to start with the house baked bread and handmade butter. The bread was the perfect combination of a light and fluffy middle with a crunchy crust.

Just as we started to slice the cutest, small loaf of bread and spread butter on it our entrees arrived. This wasn’t ideal timing, but it could have been worse. I started my meal with zucchini flowers with sultanas, ginger, and pecorino. It arrived as deep fried flat squares which I wasn’t expecting. But the crunchy, fatty vegetable flowers that were practically healthy, teamed with sweet sultanas and a great pecorino made me happy from the inside out.

Mark did well ordering the exact opposite entree to my choice. The beef tartare with egg yolk and crustini. Even though I’m not a lover of red meat these days he insisted that I tried it. I’m glad he did because I’d go so far to say that he picked the best entree on the menu. The quality of the produce was second to none, and the flavours were perfectly balanced.

Main Courses

My second course was Kingfish ceviche with fennel, cucumber and jalepeno. This dish got me excited about growing cucumber and fennel again. You really can taste quality produce, and the chef did a great job at letting the food really shine.

For main course Mark ordered the Murray Cod with fennel, orange and cucumber. I may have overheard him last night saying that it was the best Murray Cod he has ever eaten.

Dessert

For dessert we shared a banoffee pie with dulce de leche, banana and chocolate. It was nice, but was lacking salt. So on my suggestion Mark sprinkled some salt over it and all of a sudden the caramel came to life and the pie was delicious. It went perfectly with a really good strong flat white. Before we knew it, it was time for us to start heading home, so we slowly strolled along the beach to savour our last few moments at Palm Beach.

It would be nice to have a stay at one of the new apartments, but that’s one for the future. That little lunch break in amongst all the work of renovating was the perfect little escape. If you’re thinking about a northern beaches adventure with lunch in the mix, then Barrenjoey House certainly is a good choice.

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