ReviewGood Food Guide (NSW)Mcmahons Point

Sails

Harbourside stalwart gets a French Riviera-style glow-up.

November 11, 2024

1 / 6Sails overlooks the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Jacqui Turk

3 / 6Silver trevally crudo with cucumber, preserved lemon and fennel cream.Jacqui Turk

5 / 6Hervey Bay scallops with pomegranate ponzu.Jacqui Turk

6 / 6Moreton Bay Bug spaghettini.Supplied

14.5/20

Italian$$$

Welcome to Sails on Lavender Bay, but not as you know it. Linen tablecloths? Gone. Fusty off-white interiors? Out of here. Sydney Restaurant Group took the keys to the 1970s-built fixture in 2023, and the dining room is now a quiet riot of pastels, floral upholstery and pink scallop shell sconces.

The commanding Harbour Bridge view is still there of course – plus formal service, oysters and an up-to-scratch creme brulee – and most dishes play it safe with the occasional off-piste flourish. XO-boosted spaghettini, for example, with Moreton Bay bug and a Thai basil oil that doesn’t overstay its welcome, or refreshing silver trevally crudo with cucumber, fennel cream and a restrained use of preserved lemon.

Perfectly fine steaks are on hand if you’re keen to splash out on triple-digit Bordeaux, and the martinis come dry and cold. Certainly worth a lunch if you’re entertaining guests from out of town.