Flying Fish: A Refreshed Menu | Pyrmont

At Flying Fish, first class seafood beckons. Time … this is what you need when dining at the main restaurant of Flying Fish as an hour drop in lunch just won’t do to appreciate what this upscale, indulgent, fine dining restaurant has to offer. We leisurely strolled along Jones Bay Wharf over the long weekend watching boats in their winter covers bobbing on water as we headed towards Flying Fish located right at the end of the wharf. More often than not, I yearn for seafood and I could not ask for a better way to spend a long weekend with a fine seafood menu looking over the water on a beautiful Sydney Winter’s day.

The views of Sydney Harbour from Jones Bay Wharf whilst dining at Flying Fish from the main restaurant competes with fare on the plates prepared by chefs in the kitchen which is why you need time to let the whole dining experience sink in … which really is the point of waterfront dining.

Flying Fish is a beautiful sleek and spacious venue, with upstairs and downstairs dining and a separate private dining room. It has a rustic feel to it with exposed wooden beams constructed from an original heritage wharf site, which blends a contemporary mix of design highlights.

Our Saturday lunch was epic, starting from 12.30pm and ending around 4pm. A special thank you to our Restaurant Manager Daniel (in the black and white photo below) for his exceptional lunch service and looking after us for this incredible dining experience.

First up, French born mixologist Adrian, served us a few delicious fruity refreshing mocktails.

There are alternative options than dining from the main restaurant though: you have the option to entertain privately in the Arcadia Room or The Wine Room which are suitable for corporate or special occasion functions, or sit up at Raw Bar and watch Sushi/Sashimi being prepared. Alternatively, call by for the more affordable post-work cocktail at Little Fish Bar the restaurant’s outdoor wining and dining area where you can just admire the waterviews. The bar menu at Little Fish Bar is cheaper and more relaxed than the menu from the main restaurant.

New Zealand born Head Chef Ian Royle of the Flying Fish is the man that made my Blog posts look exceptionally good this long weekend after presenting beautifully plated dishes to us for our Saturday lunch from Flying Fish’s new menu which is only a week old.

“I’ve always liked art and maths at school” Chef Royle says as he explained to me how his career as a chef started. “Maths?” I asked with some curiosity and images of high school algebraic formulas starting to float in my head. “Well, yes, cooking is a bit like maths, you have to get the ingredients right” … and speaking of school, another smallworld discovery after posted a photo of one of his dishes. An old high school buddy who now lives in the US messaged me to advise me that Head Chef Ian Royle was her first cousin! How incredible. You never know where your journey in life leads to!

Chef Royle was in charge of the starters, entrees and mains whilst their Pastry Chef, Eddie Pinn, also New Zealander was in charge of all matters sweet. Chef Pinn, has an impressive track record having won many gastronomic competitions in New Zealand.

This is the showcase of a selection of the dishes we had from their new menu. There were three of us and we shared the plates so we could taste the goodness of each. The flavours in each one of these dishes were truly a blessing to experience.

Snacks

Tops for creativity were the following appetisers, a most attractive presentation …

#1 Mexican style sweet corn

#2 Quail eggs

#3 Rice crisp, roast garlic mayonnaise, shaved fois gras

Entrees

#1 An entree of succulent seared scallops arrived with engaging potpourri of scampi, salsify, sauce vierge, lemon thyme veloute.

#2 The delicious spatchcock was teamed with foie gras mousse, mushroom, pistachio, pickled radish.

#3 And on the lighter and sweeter side for an entrée was the Jerusalem artichoke custard, beetroot, smoked almond, persimmon.

Mains

#1 I really enjoyed Head Chef Ian’s novel rendering of the New Zealand John Dory was plated with exotic Japanese flavours of edamame, radish, seaweed & miso butter ensuring the flavours of John Dory were incredible.

#2 Equally pleasing was the line caught snapper spiced up with prawn, dahl curry, spinach, amberella chutney. The spices in this dish tantalises your tastebuds.

#3 The Grain fed Rangers Valley sirloin, pumpkin, burnt onion, broad beans, breaking away from the seafood fare, was delightful. Normally, it is difficult for me to take good meat dish photos but with a dish plated like this, was easily done in one shot.

Desserts

Chef Royle hands over the batton to Chef Elliott Pinn when it comes to desserts

#1 We tried the Vairhona white chocolate marquise straddled with preserved cherry and cocoa nib. A dessert for chocolate lovers.

#2 The pear, gingerbread & brown butter cake was my favourite enlivened with rose milk sorbet, walnut. This was our clear favourite. So delicious!

#3 The beautifully plated lemon aspen curd, sesame crunch, honey, yoghurt, basil was light, tangy and delicious too.

And right at the end whilst we were presented with petite fours… all beautifully crafted in house by the talented Pastry Head Chef Elliot Pinn, the very last thing to taste from our long lunch. Should I or shouldn’t I? By the time the petite fours come along, we’ve travelled so far there’s no logic in late found restraint. And 3 by 3. Enough for each one of us to indulge. The marshmallow has been reinvented. The chocolate marshmallow petit four is elegantly divine.