The Shorehouse

We were feeling classy this morning so we headed to The Shorehouse for breakfast.
The place is just gorgeous — very Hamptons-​beachhouse-​esque. There isn’t a bad table in the joint. All the tables seem to have a bit of shade and a great view of the ocean. The two of us got sat next to each other at a high table facing out into the ocean (so we didn’t have to fight each other to the death for the seat with the view) — and it was a couch we were sitting on, not an uncomfortable bar stool. Nice one.
Service was good. I was particularly impressed with the hostess who managed to calmly manage a ton of walk-​ins.
Dranks! The coffees, fresh grapefruit juice and cacao smoothie were lovely. The ice coffee we took away at the end was phenomenal. The perfect milk, espresso and ice-​cream blend.
Fewd. I ordered the heirloom tomato toast with chilli vinaigrette, goats cheese curd, poached egg and quinoa. It was divine — so many fresh flavours and an awesome zing from the chilli vinaigrette running through it. My breakfast date ordered the eggs benedict with pork neck and fennel salad. It wasn’t so good. The hollandaise was watery and sweet and very creamy — and it was everywhere. The whole dish was just crying out for some acid to cut through it all. But my date, being the garbage disposal he is, still ate it all. But, basically, I won breakfast.
We’re definitely going back to try the other dishes.

I booked a month in advance online for 6 of us, and said that three were gluten-​intolerant. I received confirmation, and a few weeks later, replied to the request for confirmation. I also asked if it would be possible for one menu to have dishes containing onion and garlic marked (like, asterisked by pen) — I’m Low Fodmap.
The night arrives. The waitstaff are all over the place, and are «all over the place.» It became farcical. Either the waitstaff were telling us about their own adventures (we listened politely, not wanting to piss anyone off who might be handling our food!) only for our shared starters to be either forgotten or brought twice.
No one was aware of our dietary requirements. Nor was anyone interested in following up on what we’d asked for, with regard to what dishes contained onion or garlic. It was clear this was not part of their job description.
The food was good. Portions were definitely on the small side. The location was good. The décor is great. Waitstaff shirts were laughably ugly. But all in all, I left feeling pretty pissed off.

I expected so much yet so little was delivered.
Firstly, upon entering, I was completely ignored for about 10 minutes. I was then chastised for just sitting outside… with the end result being it’s not really a problem because they’re not busy anyway. What? I made it clear I was waiting to be served before I sat down, and multiple people looked at me and ignored me (I must be really ugly?).
I’ll start with the good: I love the interior, it’s absolutely stunning. The colours are perfect for the beachy vibe and the location is obviously superior. However, this is what you are essentially paying for.
I ordered two things– Unfortunately I lost the picture of the risotto. I paid a hefty price for the entrée size (close to $ 20 from what I recall), and it was just OK. It was a leek-​parmesan type of risotto. It was a little flavourless and I don’t think the price matched the quality.
The next was the greens smoothie– It was ok. I felt like it’s something I could still make in my nutri bullet.
Perhaps the the thing that ultimately vexed me was paying at the end. It’s as though no one wanted to charge me. When someone did eventually arrive I was informed there’s surcharges on credit card, savings card… oh. and any card in general.
I am surprised there is no surchage on paying cash. The entire cost was about 32.50.
Unimpressed.

Had a great birthday breakfast here on Monday. Everything on the menu looked good so it took me awhile to choose. I went with the eggs Benedict with pork neck and a fennel salad. My partner had the classic bacon and eggs and a couple of coffees as he thought it was one of the best he’s had. Price wise it’s very competitive with most breakfast places and here you get the amazing beach views.
Another thing was they nailed our poached eggs which a lot of places find difficult these day.
I had a peek at the dinner menu and will definitely we back to try!

Second time round and we made it to The Shorehouse.
The interior design and décor gives a modern beach vibe and the views are fab.
Out of a group of 6, 5 ordered Bacon & Eggs with a side of bacon and avocado. I ordered the Potato, pork belly dish to be a little different.
I was so disappointed with my breakfast, all of the food was able to be hidden under a single fried egg, that’s how little food there was! It was $ 23.50 and given the choice, I would only have paid something close to half of it. I had the dish eaten in about 4minutes and was still hungry after it.
Don’t get me wrong, everything was lovely on the dish but one egg, a few chunks of pork belly, one potato, a few bits of sausage and caramelised onion does not make a breakfast. I definitely won’t be ordering it again or advise to order it if you are hungry.
Considering the most expensive breakfast was the smallest and most disappointing, I’m not jumping on the band wagon and won’t be in a rush back.
The other breakfast was good and filled the girls up before we headed off to the beach but it wasn’t anything special in comparison to other breakfast spots.

We were walk-​ins on a scorching hot Saturday for lunch. I think it is the type of place where they recommend you make reservations but we had no trouble getting some prime real estate on a table outside under an umbrella with a view of the water.
They have a great list of just gin and tonic cocktails served in the Espanola style (whatever that means) — all I know is that they are delicious! I had the Light & Crisp one with cucumber tonic, orange bitters and kaffir lime leaves. So incredibly refreshing on this extremely hot and humid day, really just too easy to drink…
My partner ordered the Cold Drip Negroni which came in a cool little flask style bottle and poured over a big circular ball of ice. There’s a massive list of Bloody Mary’s as well for all you Bloody Mary enthusiasts, and by the descriptions, most of them are spicy! On top of that, there’s a massive wine list, with a great selection of Aussie and European wines.
The raw menu was perfect for cooling us down so we started with the yellow fin tuna. It was fantastic! The delicate tuna was sliced thin and topped with bright diced nectarine and toasted hazelnuts that brought a nice and unexpected crunch. The beef carpaccio was amazing — paper thin layers of raw beef were piled on top of brown bread croutons, mild horseradish cream, and pickled shimeji mushrooms that were so perfectly pickled that they even converted my mushroom hating fiancé. We also tried the risotto with cheesy buffalo mozzarella dots, fresh tomatoes and tangy capers and olives.
There was an interesting section of the menu called Josper (apparently Josper is a type of grill/​oven) with a small selection of grilled fish and veggies and of course the heartier meats like pork and steak. On this hot day, a big chunk of steaming meat was the last thing we wanted but I’d love to come back and give Josper a try.
The Shorehouse has a little something for everyone, but still doing each dish proper justice and without being too overwhelming. I’d happily come back to enjoy the amazing drinks, sophisticated food and charming view.

Lovely food, fantastic G&Ts and a great spot — just a little on the expensive side.

Goodbye Naked Fig and HELLO Shore House! Location. location. location. Light and bright décor and open plan right by the beach with magnificent views and fresh sea air. The perfect lunch time or early evening sunset destination.
The pork belly was spectacular with every bite dissolving in my mouth and caramelised sweet apple, onion and mustard seed tantalising the taste spuds.
The summer fruits sorbet was hands down the best sorbet ever. An artfully presented and clever dish. The sorbet had a light dusting of dehydrated strawberry to add some sweet crunch. It was simply delicious.

Amazing Venue, Great variety of Bloody Marys and the food is pretty good too!

Had a fantastic dinner here tonight. I’m so impressed with the new fit out. Everything is so white, bright and beachy. Definitely a huge improvement compared to the Naked Fig.
The wine and cocktail list is extensive. Interesting list of gin and tonic combos starting at $ 11 including flavourings such as lemongrass and coriander. If I had known my Pepsi max was going to be $ 6 I probably would’ve had another g&t!
Shared the sweet corn and manchego croquettes, fries and buttermilk fried chicken with coleslaw as entrée. Croquettes were gooey and very cheesy but couldn’t taste the corn. Still yum though. Fries were below average. They were so pale and kinda soggy didn’t even come with aioli! Fried chicken was good. Would order again.
Opted for the slow cooked pork belly which is cooked in a charcoal josper oven and was served with sweet n sour shallots, mustard seeds and peaches. Loved the smokiness of the pork, charred crisp outer and fatty, tender middle. Crispy crackling. Meat was cooked to perfection but the sauce was so-​so with some very burnt bitter bits.
Service was good throughout the night, very attentive. Will most definitely be back. Could lounge around on that deck all day under the umbrellas!

Stunning view with a casual beach feel. But the food is anything but casual. Closer to fine dining the food is fresh and packed full of flavour. I had the selection of three crudo (sashimi) and my only complaint was I wanted more. The fries have a smoked flavour added to them and the crab linguini was chilli, garlicky and tomatoey (all in good amounts). Agree the slow service is probably what let’s the place down but once you get the waitstaff’s eye they are very friendly and willing to help. Otherwise it gets it right on everything else.

3.5÷5 for food ⁴⁄₅ for drinks ⁵⁄₅ for service and views
First time here for mid week dinner. Great views from the deck overlooking ocean but gets really windy and cold after sunset even in summer. Was super busy because of Christmas dinners but service was still good. Very attentive wait staff. They found us a table next to kitchen in no time. We tried Blue Swimmer Crab Linguine and Pork Belly from Josper oven. Had Pannacotta for dessert. Looks like price tag is more for views and not quality of food.
Over all good experience and need to try other food options to give one more star.

Popped in today to what we thought was going to be the Naked Fig on a stormy summers day but was still delighted to find this new restaurant in its place.
With a beautiful yet simple décor and a great variety if seating options, the cool bar style for 2, long tables or the funky booths, The Shorehouse came up as a great spot for lunch. Service was lovely, explaining the menu and checking on us regularly enough to feel important but not smothered.
I had trouble deciding what to eat, everything on the menu looked amazing and they also have a good wine/​drinks menu aswell. Settled on the bread and salted butter as a starter and then had the Blue Swimmer Crab Linguine, a glass of SBS my lunch companion having the Bouillabaisse and a Shiraz. Finished with the seasonal Sorbet, baby chino, cappuccino and the Chocolate Hazelnut Pavè. All the food was delicious!
Whilst not the cheapest spot, all of the about came to around $ 140, the food and the view were both worth it in my opinion.
Can’t wait to go back on a sunny day and sit out on the deck!

I visited The Shorehouse on an unusually warm spring day. Yep it was a baking 35C and I joined my friends on the deck, under an umbrella for a cheeky prosecco and bloody mary.
The Shorehouse has taken the place of the Naked Fig and brings a classy beach vibe to the venue. The large deck remains however they are going to have to look into some sort of shade screening out there as it is going to be stinking hot when summer really hits.
I loved the huge copper tub filled with wine bottles and ice as a feature between the booth seating area and the tables. I loved the couple tables all facing the ocean giving people sparkling views of the ocean.
And I really loved their bloody mary menu and gin menu. They are both impressive. I didn’t get a chance to sample the food, but I’ll surely return one day soon.

I visited The Shorehouse on Saturday night for dinner. I booked this well in advance as I expected it to be busy being fairly new.
The fit out of The Shorehouse is excellent, there are a wide array of seating options, and we were lucky enough to be sitting in one of the comfortable window booths.
There was a bit of a wait for out table so we were asked to take a seat in the outdoor area and wait — the wait was probably 10 –15 minutes which wasn’t too bad. We were given menus and water to fill in out time.
I was very impressed by the staff, given they have only been opened a short time. They were more then happy to go through the menu and answer our questions, they really knew their stuff. The one query our waitress wasn’t 100 percent sure of she provided the answer before double checking and coming back to our table to verify it.
We started the night with a serving of olives and bread. The waitress advised the bread was supplied by Bread In Common and it came with a very generous serving of delicious butter. We were then left to go through the menu to select our mains, I did at this time find that the staff whilst eager to serve us could have left us a little bit longer to make our decision on this.
I decided on the BBQ Beef Short Rib, this dish was delicious the meat fell off the bone and was perfectly cooked to my liking. We ordered the Duck Fat Potatoes and Wood-​Roasted Broccolini, Parmesan, Horseradish as sides and this was enough for 4 of us to share.
The Shorehouse are another restaurant using The Josper Oven, and it definitely makes a difference to the flavour of the food; the BBQ Beef Rib and the Broccolini were both cooked in this oven.
The drinks menu is extensive and it was good to see a wealth of local breweries and wineries on the list. There was also a good selection of gins and coctails as well as jugs of drinks to share if you wish.
Pricewise it isn’t cheap but given the quality of the food and service I would certainly not hesitate in returning.
The view from the windows and balcony was stunning and they have certainly taken their time to get the renovation correct. The only think to be wary of is the decking underfoot a few of us had trouble with our heels and moving around the restaurant.
Definately worth checking out for a special occasion, catch up or date-​night dinner.

This was my second time here and I really enjoyed it. The BBQ short rib from the josper oven was delicious and the duck fat potatoes were perfect. We shared the raspberry parfait for dessert and it was the perfect amount of tart and sweet. Spectacular view and I am keen to try their breakfast menu.

Great food with a view.
Located at the site of the old Naked Fig restaurant, this new offering has been open for only around 2 weeks but this week being the first where the public have access. I have to admit I never dined at the site of the old Naked Fig so I can’t comment about décor comparisons however the seaside restaurant vibe is strong in a good way here. The large balcony mixed with good weather made for a memorable lunch time dining experience.
We couldn’t believe our luck when we snagged one of the tables right at the front of the balcony with a view of the ocean and shaded by one of many colourful beach style umbrellas. The staff greeted us with a smile on our arrival and were very accommodating with menu questions.
For drinks we opted for several cocktails: The «Light and Crisp» and the «Sweet Sips». We started with several fresh oysters that were accompanied with several house dressings. The three choices on offer were Bloody Mary, Cabernet and Apple Cider with our preferences in that order also.
We then moved onto a selection of 3 crudo (essentially ceviche) being a selection of Goldband Snapper, Swordfish and Yellow fin tuna. The swordfish and snapper were our pick of this selection of raw fish and all fish servings were nice and fresh.
We then moved onto a blue swimmer crab linguine (we both highly recommend this as it is absolutely packed with flavour) and a selection from the Josper portion of the menu being the Market Fish. On the day this was a Red Throat Emperor with Salsa Verde. This selection would have to be the only slight disappointment of the day (as even the staff admitted the restaurant is obviously still finding its feet) as it seemed to be slightly overcooked and be it not for the salsa verde lacking in flavour also.
To finish off the dining experience we opted to share a Coconut cake desert which also comes highly recommended if citrus flavours are your cup of tea. Overall the experience, customer service and food and drinks was spot on bar the minor glitch with the Market fish.
Open from 10 am to 10 pm Tuesday to Sundays, there is currently just the one menu available but we were advised by a waitress that eventually there will be a separate diner and even breakfast menu to come.
Watch this space …