the UK Restaurant and Hotel Zine

The Menu at this wonderful restaurant, which was established in 1855, opens with the words:

Dear Customers.

On behalf of our family, let us welcome you to our Seafood Cafe 
and hope you enjoy our seafoods.

We have been serving local seafoods for over five generations and we
maintain that if we can't obtain local seafoods it is better to sell
nothing.

Doyle's

So what's on the menu? Well that depends on the catch of the day. We were lucky as the superb Sydney Rock Oysters were available that day. The good thing about these oysters is that you can eat a dozen with impunity, as they are so small. I went for the Mornay version, which were great, although most people enjoy them plain. Clare went for Barbequed Octopus, which came from Shark Bay in Western Australia. One of the reasons they taste so good is because they feed mainly on shellfish such as lobsters, mussels and crabs. We also had an extra starter of Steamed Fresh Caught King Prawns, served with sweet chilli dipping sauce.

If I liked scallops I would have chosen the Seared Tasmanian Scallops, grilled on the half shell with lemon, butter & Pernod. On my next trip there, which I hope will be very soon, I will try the bowl of Local steamed mussels, topped with a sauce of tomato, leeks, port wine, garlic & herbs.

The main courses were even harder to choose from, they were all so enticing. The Moreton Bay Bug Tails< simply grilled with lemon butter were by far the best -a Bug Tail is like a big crayfish without the claws - sweet and delicious. I was also interested to try the flounder from the Bay of Plenty. Next time I will try the Long Reef Jewfish Cutlets, chargrilled & served with oyster sauce or maybe the South Australian Blue Swimmer Crab Salad or the Grilled Evans Head Snapper Fillets.

One word of warning; avoid the batter. It's not that the golden beer impregnated variety isn't good, it is just that there is too much of it and therefore masks the delicious flavours of this fabulously fresh fish.

Also don't allow yourself to be fobbed off by your Hotel Concierge who will tell you you can't book. You can, and you should. Insist on an outside table and bas k in the sunny clean air.

On the wine front, do yourself a favour. Just order the Petaluma Chardonnay, (AU$ 20 cheaper than in downtown Sydney), sit back and relax.

I had my first lobster here in 1978, which was a memorable experience. How wonderful to return over 20 years later, with beloved spouse, and find it even better.

Charles Pelham, Sydney, June 1999

Doyle's, Watson's Bay, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Tel: 612 9337 1572

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