Table Manners

Beachside suburban dining gets serious (and a little playful).

November 11, 2024

1 / 7Moreton Bay bug club sandwich.Jennifer Soo

2 / 7Sirloin with bone marrow buns and beef jus.Jennifer Soo

4 / 7Crisp-skinned red mullet on sauce Americaine with fregola.Edwina Pickles

5 / 7Puglia’s spaghetti all’assassina with prawns.Edwina Pickles

6 / 7Lemon polenta madeleine.Edwina Pickles

7 / 7Beef tartare, guindillas, quail egg and crispy potatoes.Edwina Pickles

14.5/20

Contemporary$$

Minding your manners isn’t much of an issue in sunny, barefoot Bronte, but first time restaurateur Alex Cameron has brought a level of Euro sophistication to the beachside suburb.

The linen-clothed tables, statement lamps, candlelight and silver ice buckets set the scene for civilised wining and dining. Chef Luke Churchill amplifies the elegance with snacks such as horseradish-scented raw tuna on toast and a beef tartare, the hand-chopped sirloin capped with fried quail egg and crisp wisps of pommes allumettes.

Some dishes shout – the Moreton Bay bug club sando with fries, or Puglia’s pan-fried spaghetti all’assassina topped with king prawns. But the more understated main courses are quietly rewarding, such as crisp-skinned red mullet with sauce Americaine and fregola, and lamb rump with baby peas and broad beans.

Mind, with a 400 bottle wine list, you may need to mind those manners after all.