Dining review: The Bower reopens on Sydney’s northern beaches

The Bower is had reopened, ready for summer after those devastating winter storms.

Japanese influences: chargrilled beef salad with miso, pear, radish, sesame, wakame and brown rice.

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THE sun is shining, the water sparkles and the sky is blue. The walkway around to Shelly Beach is bustling with flashes of active wear, kids on bikes, strollers and mutts.

Halfway around is Cabbage Tree Bay and The Bower Restaurant. It’s a great place to enjoy the views and watch the daily antics. Summer in Sydney is on its way.

Here’s looking at you: the view from The Bower.

Three months ago, it was a completely different story. Hardy Schacker’s restaurant was smashed by massive winter storms. Three-metre waves flooded the premises, wrecked the place and forced the restaurant to close.

After a massive clean up and rebuild, The Bower is back and ready for summer.

Gone is that beachy interior, instead Porter and Maple, and designer Lucy Humphrey, have worked their magic with the fitout.

The Bower is now sharp as a tack, turning its back on the beach. The brief is inner city style. It’s understated and smart, featuring numerous shades of grey, exposed wires and copper pipes.

The Bower still has favourites like the chargrilled chicken burger with teriyaki sauce, mayo, tomato, cucumber and lettuce.

The new look heralds a new menu. Breakfast cherrypicks favourites like avo on toast and Bircher muesli, while brunch embraces burgers, a trendy vego salad packed with radish, cauliflower, poached egg and tahini dressing and a version of the American classic — a blueberry bagel pimped with chocolate soil, vanilla bean mascarpone, pistachio and maple.

Kick off your Havaianas and they’ll almost land in the water, so it’s hardly surprising that the menu has plenty of seafood. There’s local beer-battered fish and chips, as well as a grilled market fish of the day. There’s also chargrilled king prawns with Japanese-style seaweed butter on the small and share menu, and a daily seafood bar with prawn buckets, sashimi and oysters.

The Bower restaurant in Manly has just reopened after the devastating storms. Photos: Annika Enderborg.

Head chef Joji Shikama has introduced Japanese ingredients to his lunch dishes. Crispy chargrilled chicken adds protein to his delicious Asian slaw salad that’s made with fresh herbs, avocado, rice noodles and coconut dressing.

The real star is the Tasmanian salmon bowl filled with slices of lightly cured salmon, sushi rice, shiso, nori, enoki mushrooms, pickled cucumber and just a blip of heat from the wasabi avocado. Bring on summer.

ESSENTIALS

The Bower Restaurant, 7 Marine Pde, Manly

Phone: [phone]

Open: Seven days, breakfast from 8am to 5pm. Summer hours extended until 7pm

BYO: No

Coffee: Five Senses

Go for: Tasmanian salmon bowl, $25.50; Asian slaw salad with chargrilled chicken, $23.50; wagyu panini with chips, $27.50

Vibe: Beach meets inner city

Bottom line: $63 for two