What: Scratchleys on the Wharf
Where: 200 Wharf Road, Newcastle
Prices: Entrée from $12 to $21; main from $22 to $40 (except platters); Dessert $9.50 to $12.50
Chef: Peter Hatton
Wines: Extensive wine list including some prestige Australian and NZ wines; 18 by the glass
Hours: Monday to Saturday, 11.30am for lunch, 5.30pm for dinner; Sunday from 11.30am
Vegetarian: Two entree/mains, and three pastas
Bookings: 4929 1111
Bottom line: Entrée, main, dessert and coffee, about $140 for two (unless ordering platters), without wine
Some of us can recall a time when Newcastle waterfront was a waste land of wharf buildings and railway workshops.
But times were changing and bicentennial celebrations were just around the corner. Seemingly overnight came the transformation. Tidy turf replaced long grass where unnamed rubbish lurked. Trees sprouted full grown overnight; a boutique brewery appeared and a pleasant walkway lined with restaurants and cafes replaced broken wharves and dilapidated buildings.
One of these was a steel and glass structure, seeming to float out over the water thus commanding the best views in the place and providing a stunning venue for functions and visitors alike.
It's immediately obvious that the surf reigns at Scratchleys. But don't worry; there are enough choices to keep the carnivore in your party happy - rump steak, lamb loin, chicken breast, chicken schnitzel, Peking style duck - as well as surf and turf for the undecided and three or four vegetarian offerings. Shared seafood platters (about $65 for one, $133 for two or $170 for three) are popular but so is the range of fish dishes.
Oysters natural say a lot about how a restaurant treats its seafood. Here ($17 for six), they are plump, fairly freshly shucked and not completely washed clean of their iodine rich juices. It's hardly necessary to add that squeeze of lemon.
Six Hervey Bay scallops in their half shell ($21) are juicy little babies, just cooked and clad in enough black truffle and basil infused melted butter to make it very difficult not to lick the plate.
If you like to see how a kitchen handles fish choose from the specials menu. Depending on what's available in the nearby coop, this might be kingfish, snapper, swordfish, mahi mahi, tuna, Spanish mackerel, jewfish, barramundi, blue eye, flathead or red emperor. One small quibble, most have so many ingredients that sometimes they threaten to overwhelm the dish.
Chilli salt saku tuna ($39) is coated in a chilli salt seasoning, simply seared in a wok, sliced to reveal perfectly pink, silky flesh and arranged on a rectangular bed of fine salad leaves, soba noodles, julienne carrot and zucchini, all enlivened with a couple of splodges of orange chutney and a squeeze from the wedges of Tahitian lime.
A decent slice of red emperor ($38) with a lemon, garlic and thyme crust perches on a salad of puy lentils infused with preserved lemon and coriander and scattered with pine nuts. The acidic lemon in the crust is balanced by the yoghurt dressing and slightly sweet preserved lemon in the lentil salad which along with the pine nuts adds a nice texture contrast, but tonight the fish is slightly overcooked.
Tonight creme brulee is the dessert du jour but I can't go past the blackberry and apple pie ($12.50). A light hand has produced the fine, crisp sweet pastry completely encasing the tangy filling. The strawberry garnish is bursting with flavour and the boysenberry swirl ice-cream adds a rich and creamy note.
It's almost impossible to lose when you can provide fresh seafood alongside one of the best views in town.
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