Dining review: deals at Garfish on Sydney’s northern beaches

It’s not too cold to rug up and try Garfish Manly’s special lunch or early dinner deal.

Salt and pepper squid (front) with mirror dory and rocket, roast fennel and beetroot puree with almond flakes and feta dressing. Picture: Braden Fastier

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ONE hour does make a difference. Dinner at 5.30pm makes it too nursery-centric for most, but add on another 55 minutes and it’s almost nudging respectability for a dinner date.

The all-important time factor is part of Garfish Manly’s longstanding and popular prix fixe menu.

Come in for lunch from noon any day of the week except Sunday, or dinner from Monday to Thursday and you’ll get two courses and a glass of wine for $40 a head. Sit by the big glass windows and you’ll get the views too.

The one catch, and it’s not a big issue, is that evening orders must be in by 6.30pm.

Garfish’s changing pris fixe menu has dishes like the mirror dory with rocket, roast fennel, beetroot puree and almond flakes from the blackboard. Picture: Braden Fastier

The choice of three entrees, mains and desserts changes daily and can include some of Garfish’s signature dishes. But it’s not all fishy, particularly over winter. The addition of a chargrill to the open kitchen brings meat to the revolving menu, head chef Michael Nash says.

There’s five seconds of disappointment from the other side of the table because the signature snapper pie isn’t on the midweek early evening menu. Don’t expect to order one, the puff pastry-topped pie is rarely on the special deal.

Google it and you’ll find the recipe on Garfish’s website and an instructive how to make one.

Instead the Thai red curry is a worthy consolation prize and peps up the conversation.

Heatwave: the thai red fish curry. Picture: Braden Fastier

We’ve opted to share an entree, pick two of the three main courses, share a dessert and order two generous glasses of Geoff Merrill Pimpala shiraz to get the best value out of the deal. Most customers do the same and mix and match their courses, we’re told.

If you’re not into red, then there’s a SBS - a sauvignon blanc semillion to those who struggle with acronyms. Tonight it’s 2014 Cookoothama SBS from King Valley. Or there’s a local brewed beer, Dad & Dave’s #1 pale ale.

Our night starts with shared entree of two smoked swordfish and scallop cakes. They come with fresh corn salsa and perky chilli aioli. We could have ordered either duck liver pate with orange jelly and cornichons or the salt and pepper squid, which is another Garfish favourite.

There’s no contest for the main courses. The robust curry is already a done-deal, and why have beer batter fish and chips with tartare and lemon when you can have one of the blackboard choices?

Award-winning Garfish has been part of the Manly dining scene for almost a decade. Picture: Troy Snook

Tonight the kitchen has its grilled pink snapper on the menu. The fish sits atop an accompaniment of wintry seasonal veg, flaked almonds and a feta dressing.

It’s a very different dish to the volcano of flavours in the curry. Firm chunks of ling come with a fiery sauce that’s made with galangal, white pepper, garlic and long red chillies. Pickled cucumber adds a sweet and sour balance as well as texture to the dish.

Old favourites vie for order-me-at-dessert. There’s a modern pav with strawberries and a balsamic reduction and baby basil; sticky date and walnut pudding and caramelised pear and frangipane tart. The generous slice of sticky tart comes with rum and raisin ice-cream and a wafer-thin slice of pear.

Garfish has been part of Manly’s restaurant scene for almost 10 years. It’s a regular winner in the NSW Restaurant and Catering awards. Check out the trophies on the way out. And it is a metro finalist in the casual seafood category this September.

Garfish’s menu has seafood dishes like the crisp fried whole baby barramundi. Picture: Troy Snook

It’s not a fine-diner. Garfish’s awarding-approach is simplicity. There’s no mucking around tweaking, fiddling and fussing. It works well paired with the laidback setting, good service, interesting seasonal dishes, BYO wine and that pris fixe deal.

It is easy to see why it does so well year in, year out.

Twitter: @beverley_hudec

ESSENTIALS

Garfish

1/39 E Esplanade, Manly

Phone: [phone]

Open: Lunch, noon to 3pm; dinner, Monday to Saturday, 5.30-10pm, Sunday, 5.30-9pm.

Go for: $40 a head prix fixe two-course menu with a glass of wine. The selection changes daily but can include fish and chips, as well as some of Garfish’s signature dishes.

BYO: Yes, corkage $4 a head on bottled wine

Vibe: Reel deals

Bottom line: $80 for two