3 min read

Best Restaurants in Sydney: Cala Luna Middle Harbour Yacht Club

I was invited by Cala Luna to check out the restaurant at Middle Harbour Yacht Club. Sometimes I attend restaurant reviews with a friend, and sometimes, I choose to do them by myself. I believe if I can attend a restaurant review by myself, as a woman in her mature years, and have a great time alone, then I know the restaurant is fab. Today I proved my theory to be correct, once again.

On arrival I was greeted by Graham, who asked if I wanted to sit outside on the veranda, or inside the restaurant, which was delightfully cool. Today happened to be one of those awful 40°C days, and any sane person would have opted for the beautiful cool inside, but not me, I wanted to experience dining on the veranda looking over the yachts. I’m no stranger to Middle Harbour Yacht Club, in fact I've spent a number of years Twilight Sailing on Thursday nights. Today brought back fond memories of this delightful part of Sydney.

Once I was seated I was brought a glass of water, I opted for the tap and was pleased that it came with a hint of lemon. Executive Chef, Beau Lawson (pic above) came to have a chat and explained some of the history of Cala Luna and the menu. Beau told me that his love of food came from growing up in Melbourne with parents who owned restaurants. Beau has worked with Michel Rossetti, CEO of the Cala Luna Group for a number of years. He has also worked in Europe.

The restaurant prides itself on fresh produce and some of it is homegrown. For Beau, taste and fresh ingredients are more important to him than plating, but I’m here to tell you I was soon to find out his plating skills are excellent.

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I started with a glass of Villa Jolanda Proseco, Venetto Italy. A delicious sparkling that was perfect for a hot day. First on the menu were six very fresh oysters, a mix of Pacific and Sydney Rock.

The next dish blew me away! I’ve featured it above as the main photo. Chef had prepared for me a beautiful plate of Marron with scallops marinated in Grappa and served with a delicate citrus-based sauce and nectarine. I couldn’t have asked for a more delicious and refreshing dish for such a hot day. Truly remarkable!

Next on the list was lamb cutlet, cherry tomato, yellow baby beetroot (from Michel’s Southern Highlands property) on pea puree. The baby beets were not as strong as your everyday beetroot, the vegetable combination was perfect with the lamb and I thought the pea puree complemented the meat very well.

Served with this was a glass of 2009, Avenue Cabernet Sauvignon, Clare Valley that was recommended by Graham. Totally the right choice!

By now I’m thinking how much more can one girl eat? Well it turns out there are two more dishes to go, and next up was the Kingfish (wild or farmed) whichever is best of the day. Served with gremolata, potato, baby beets. Again, I can’t fault this dish. Very fresh fish, cooked to my liking on a bed of creamy potato. I rarely indulge in potato but I certainly ignored my rule today. If you love mashed potato then this gets 10/10 in my opinion.

By this time Graham and Matt knew I was struggling to eat anything else but they insisted I try a little dessert. Rhubarb crumble with mascarpone! OMG! OMG! OMG! I love rhubarb crumble and this dish was delicious, and I even picked up the flavour of violet petals. This creation was just right to finish off with a macchiato.

Thank you for the amazing service, from Graham, and Matt (pic above), who made me feel extremely welcome. I had a great time and Cala Luna Mosman gets a big tick of approval from Sydney Chic.