Last year, for my hubby’s birthday, we visited Bathers’ Restaurant in Bathers pavilion. It’s a 2 Chefs Hatted Restaurant with a fantastic view overlooking Balmoral Beach, the closest beach to our place.
We’d been eyeing this spot for a while, and finally made it!
A great view from the restaurant
I had called ahead to ask if they could accommodate vegan options for me, and they were happy to accomodate. Meanwhile, my hubby ordered the regular tasting menu with meat and fish.
Photo of the Vegetarian tasting menu
I had just a nibble before the course starts.
Cracker with seaweed and Karkalla with Tasmanian berry salt
It was the first time I had Karkalla – little bit bitter, yet it had a great texture, yum! Karkalla is a succulent commonly seen on sand dunes and cliffs along the Australian coast. Among its varieties, Disphyma crassifolia stands out with its delicious leaves.
Green strawberry with radish and finger lime
This pretty dish is green strawberry with radish and finger lime. Yep, green strawberry! It’s an unripe strawberry, something I’ve never tried before. It’s served with a sweet and sour sauce that enhances its unique flavours. The dish has a delightful sourness and a fresh green aroma. It’s garnished with red finger lime and dill oil for an extra touch of flavour. From trying green strawberries for the first time to enjoying kale with burnt mandarin, each plate was a delightful surprise. We even tried Salsify, a type of weed, which was surprisingly tasty!
Curly kale served with roasted kombu, parsnip, and burnt mandarin
Burnt mandarin! Now, that’s intriguing! Back in my grandma’s time in Japan, burnt mandarin was often consumed by people feeling under the weather, as raw fruits were believed to make the body cold.
In addition to the mandarin, this dish also features kombu, a type of Japanese seaweed. Despite its appearance, this dish is definitely infused with Japanese flavours.
Roasted cauliflower, roast almond and karkalla. another Japanese inspired dish with miso.
Here’s another visually appealing dish: Roast Beetroot served with sunflower seeds, red cabbage, and warrigal greens.
The sliced beetroot is layered with red cabbage and topped with a slightly spicy plum puree. Warrigal greens, also known as New Zealand spinach, add a unique touch to the dish. These bush tucker greens have been used as a substitute for spinach since the early days of European colonisation in Australia. These white veggies caught my attention! Known as Salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius), this plant is classified as an environmental weed in Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia, and the ACT.
Jerusalem Artichoke
Black barley, hazelnut, and karkalla make up this dish. It’s a combination of thinly sliced artichoke with cooked black barley. While I’ve had barley many times before, this is my first experience with the black variety! Surprisingly, even with grains, the dish feels light. The brown powder sprinkled on top is hazelnut crumbles.
This salad came with the main meal!
Leafy Salad and Wholemeal Sourdough Bread –with olive oil for vegans
Time for Dessert!
Strawberry, coconut and calamansi sorbet
So cute!
You might be curious about Calamansi—it’s a type of lime or lemon from the Philippines! The freeze-dried thin strawberry paper is just as cute and delightful. It served as a refreshing palate cleanser at the end of the meal.
Coffee with orange jellies (not included in the tasting menu)
The dishes were nice, clean and sophisticated. I could tell it took lots of effort to make, and it was worth it enjoying these meals by a pro– they were definitely healthy! Dining out is a big hobby of mine, and I’ve had the pleasure of trying a wide variety of foods over the years. However, this time, I got to try something completely new to me.
Overall, the experience was wonderful, though I must admit I was a bit hungry afterward. The meal mainly consisted of vegetables and grains, so I ended up having two pieces of bread. You can eat as many bread as you can!
Those who love sophisticated dishes as myself, try out some new ingredients, I highly recommend it.
If you’re planning to visit, just a heads up that there’s no option for a vegetarian tasting menu on their website, so it’s best to check beforehand with the link below:
https://www.batherspavilion.com.au
WATCH MY VISIT TO BATHER’S RESTAURANT ON INSTAGRAM:
Click HERE or on the image below to catch my video on my visit!
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