Review: New pub, Patonga Beach Hotel, for the Boathouse Group
The Boathouse Group has welcomed the Patonga Beach Hotel to its beachy-chic portfolio. And getting there is the fun bit.
Manly
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BOATHOUSE fans there’s a new one. The Patonga Beach Hotel is the group’s latest acquisition.
This iconic Central Coast pub, the fish and chip shop and the cafe joined the group’s beachy portfolio last November. Just quietly, no fuss.
However our sister paper Central Coast Express did out Andrew Goldsmith and his wife Pip Robb as the mystery buyers back in September.
The pretty white pub with its beer garden located under a stand of Norfolk pines combines the best of both worlds, owner Andrew Goldsmith explains.
The group gets a pub in a beautiful spot and the opportunity to expand beyond cafe food and the pub gets an injection of stylish coastal chic and a renovation.
That will be done in stages and will include a new, larger kitchen ready for Spring and to cope with demand.
For the time being, pub and menu have had a mini makeover and so they feel much more Boathousey. As I haven’t been before I’m not sure exactly what’s been added, but there are oversized pots filled with hardy plants, white umbrellas, shades of blue drinkware and lime washed beachy furniture — all so trademark Boathouse. No doubt it’ll appeal to the group’s 80,000 Insta followers once it’s finished.
Getting there in the height of summer is the fun bit. The best way, if you’ve got the time is by ferry. So it’s all aboard Palm Beach and Hawkesbury River Cruises’ packed Merinda II departing Palm Beach wharf at 11am.
What’s a 130km drive, is a 30-minute, 8km crossing. The $17 return ride is leisurely way to de-stress after the nightmare of parking in Palm Beach and forking out $25 for the pleasure.
The timber craft is filled with daytime pleasure seekers like ourselves, who are off to the pub for a big day out and a leisurely lunch before the 3pm trip back to Palmy.
The best spots, if you can get one, are the umbrella-covered tables in the beer garden, however they’ll only take reservations for groups of 10 or more.
In the melee, we miss out on an outdoor table and settle around one of the indoor tables. Then the fun starts ordering drinks and waiting for the food.
House wines are $7 a glass for an extra buck, a step up is Pikes Luccio pinot grigio. A chilled glass is consolation for the hour-plus wait for five pub-style meals including fish and chips and an American style burger.
Best dishes are the $25 local grilled jewfish topped with tomato caper salsa and the salt and pepper squid.
Since our visit at the end of December, chef Cameron Hackney has already reworked some of the menu adding Boathouse classics like the trout board, this recipe’s also included in the Boathouse Summer branded mag dotted around the venue. There’s also kingfish ceviche and market fish with peas, zucchini, smoked paprika aioli. For pub traditionalists, beer battered fish and chips is still on the menu.
It’ll be interesting to see how the restyled pub earns its blue and white stripes.
Patonga Beach Hotel
The Verdict: ***
The Price: $113 for five meals, drinks extra
Details: Hotel kitchen, 11am-8.30pm fish and chip shop, 11am-3pm (4pm on weekends), cafe 7am-3pm