The South Coast seems to becoming somewhat of a gastronomic destination with a number of places making the foodie bucket list such as St Isidore and Cupitt’s kitchen. However, the famous and favoured seafood restaurant by Rick Stein is holding its own. It is located in the luxury getaway boutique hotel, Bannisters in Mollymook. You don’t have to be staying in the facility to eat in the restaurant. We often pay this place a visit on our journey down the south coast and have dined here on a number of occasions. If you’re planning on heading down, it’s a 3. 5 drive from Sydney and certainly is worth it.
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
Came here for a birthday dinner. Started with a margarita at the pool side bar. Was a bit sour and not a great balance but views great. Went inside and started with a few oysters which were ok. I then ordered the fish soup. OMG was incredible. Came with a paste you spread onto croutons sprinkled with parmesean cheese then put on top of the soup. I could of had another bowl it was so tasty. Even my 12 yr old changed her order to the soup. Next i had the coconut chilli prawns. They were plump, juicy and in a cococut curry broth. Also came with indian bread to dip into the sauce. It was delicious. Nice kick of spice without ruining the subtle taste of the prawns. My husband had the Hervey Bay scallops and seafood curry. Although both was very nice he admitted my choice was better esp. The prawns. Finished with spiced banana brulee which was perfect. My daughter had 3 scoop icecream which she devoured and husband chocolate fondant. Staff are very friendly and eager to please although they forgot an order which worked out well as i cancelled it as was so full. Rick Stein's was everything i hoped it would be and will definitely be back but maybe at the Port Stephens location as closer to home. Only slight downside was they didn't wish me a happy birthday although my husband told them when booking.
Beautifully designed restaurant which isn't too overcrowded.
I had the zucchini flower entree which was ok but a little too much to eat all three in the entree, would maybe help to put something fresh with it. However my family all had the oysters with side of sausage and loved it!
Main was the steamed snapper which was beautiful, the meat was so juicy and not over powered with seasoning/sauces, the meat fell off the bone and made it so easy to eat (without accidentally swallowing a bone).
Service was good, not too over the top but at the same time didn't leave us sitting there trying to catch ones attention.
Situated in a beautiful spot in Mollymook, I'd suggest to visit if your holidaying around town.
Such a wonderful restaurant with spectacular views of Mollymook. Every single dish we had was divine with amazing flavours. Standouts were the seafood pie and Snapper fillet. Be sure you save room for dessert.
100% worth the 3.5 hr drive from Sydney.
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
Weekend getaway with four friends dined here on our first night. Upon arriving we were greeted by friendly waiters. We opted with few oysters from different regions; it was prepared well and ultra fresh, a perfect start. Then each ordered entree dishes. I ordered mussels with almond and garlic on slight creamy broth which were everyone's favourite. I loved tuna sashimi marinated with passionfruit and corriendar. It was truly fabulous especially it had sweet flavour but it worked perfectly well with aromatic corriendar. this is my favourite dish of the evening hands down. For our main I ordered fish pie and others got a whole snapper and seafood curry. Every dish was great; the pie was not what I expected - i was expecting a crusty pie but it was more like seafood on creamy sauce topped with bread crumbs. It was unique and I enjoyed it. Snapper with Orange was zesty and well flavoured. From our main dishes i thought the curry was a surprisingly good. It was really well spiced had slight kick which was pleasantly delectable. All in all enjoyed our dinner; fantastic start of holiday :)
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
One of the highlights of a trip down to Mollymook should be to experience the dining pleasures of Rick Stein’s only restautrant outside the UK (I think).
It’s located at the end of Mitchell Parade on Bannisters (not Bannisters Pavillion). Bannisters is a swanky upmarket holiday joint (think white walls, white linen, men in white trousers and shirts and panama hats - OK I’ve taken some liberty to the description). Outside are parked Porsche Cayannes, Range Rover sports and a couple of Mazdas (you get the picture).
We are greeted by the sounds of the pool lounge singer downstairs doing her rendition of Noiseworks “Reach Out” [OK, this now probably classifies me as a 1980s Aussie Rock afficienado - yes its a bit sad]
All the wait staff were fab. Whilst some were probably on a working vacation, they all seemed like that they had a private school education. It was formal yet casual; courteous and friendly but not too matey.
We ordered the:
- sashimi as a starter (hmm, its a Stein staple but to those who have had sashimi from Japan, this is average)
- shellfish soup as a starter (Wow! just the way it should be It packs a lobster-shellfish bisque punch. Love it)
- The indonesian curry served with basmati rice and a midly-spice salad condiment (Lovely, almost brings you back to Indonesia)
- The special of the day; which was the whole baked/fried baby snapper in orange sauce (O’la’la, this was FAB! I have always despised the ideal of Duck’la orange and the like; but this since dish and experience has fundamentally shifted my preconceived notions of a ‘sweet sauce’ for a main fish dish.)
Lovely place, lovely decor, lovely service, lovely food. Next time I am up Mollymook, I will do another visit. Probably after I have saved up enough. You may want to go with a wealthy friend or partner. PS: going to try the hot-cold shellfish entree next time.
Bannisters at Mollymook is a must visit destination if you are ever in the area. Apart from the beautiful location, it is the Australian home of Rock Stein. On this second visit, I took some friends with me which made for an already entertaining evening. The staff were lovely but had a slight mishap with a gluten free roll that was frozen on the inside and nuclear hot on the outside (I'm thinking it might be a microwave issue)! The rest of the meal was delicious, timed well and cooked to perfection except for the fish pie which was a little too (temperature) hot. I give them 4.5 mainly because it is a lovely restaurant, the staff are very accommodating and the menu is excellent. Definitely recommend if you love seafood.
Was lucky enough to visit Rick Stein at Banniters couple weeks ago.
I thought it was very nice and I really enjoyed my meal. Seafood dishes are the stand out and I loved the salmon tartare.
Mains were also amazing - fish fillets with Asian flavours done so well. But I'm a dessert person and the mandarin trifle! Wow absolutely amazing.
I didn't find it too expensive considering what we had.. Worth a trip down..
Love this place. Zucchini flowers were crisp and light - a perfect starter! Then we had the special - the crab ravioli which was divine. For our main we shared the grilled lobster... 10/10. And finally, for dessert we shared the special - chocolate ganache which was a perfect ending to our meal. Everything was great from start to finish. Highly recommend trying out this place!
Does My Bomb Look Big In This
+3.5
"There's plenty of people who want to be out here," our waitperson says, as we apologise for the trouble of relocating our table indoors when the late summer sun made lunchtime dining unpleasantly warm.Once ensconced in our new digs, we enquire after our wine, missing in action for at least twenty minutes.When it finally arrives, our super-heated wineglasses struggle to do justice to Gary Mills’ 2014 Jamsheed ‘Harem Le Blanc Plonk’ ($58). They usher this blend of Upper Goulburn and Grampians Riesling quickly past fresh ginger and kaffir lime, and straight towards funkiness and sweet.Around me, the open-plan restaurant oozes casual coastal luxury, with a slight Mediterranean twist. While staff seem relatively plentiful, we find ourselves topping up our own wine glasses, and, once emptied, our water glasses too.We wolf our bread with cleverly briny nori butter, and make short work of Oysters ($4/each). They’re not cheaper by the dozen, so
Wow what a surprise was our visit on new years eve! We booked a lunch to try it out again sonce we heard about a new French chef had take over the kitchen. And we were not disappointed at all. The food had such an uplift from the last time we visit it. Instead of heavy creamy dishes, the food was elegant, well-balanced and refined. As we love our food, we were so pleased to find such an improvement from our last visit. We highly praise the new chef and definitely will be back! The staff was lovely as well and very helpful. Highly recommend to try out the food. Especially the Smoked BBQ prawns with semolina!
We absolutely loved our lunch at Rick Stein at Bannisters. We started with a pre-lunch drink in the garden overlooking the ocean which set the mood for what was to come. The relaxed atmosphere, delicious food, impeccable service from our waiter John and every part of this experience was exactly what we needed after two years of ups and downs running our own business. It was everything we had looked forward to for so long. We can definitely recommend adding this to your South Coast itinerary.
The food was absolutely amazing. The service was next to none. It was an incredible experience. Food is expensive for what you get, but the name and service make up for it. I went all out with the seafood, and I feel like that was definitely the right choice. Next time I am in the area, I will definitely go back.
Had a lovely dinner here, despite the rain the view on the covered alfresco area was nice. The staff were very professional and friendly. The sizing portions were nice and loved their snapper!
The service was very nice with constant water top ups and fresh bread, one server continued to make us laugh and explain each dish to us, super kind!
The food is delicious and fresh. The drink options were wide.
For 6 people we ordered Sydney rock oysters and all the entrees (sashimi, fish and shellfish soup, kingfish ceviche and chargrilled prawns with soft polenta). For mains we each ordered one, mainly the grilled snapper with prawn and mango salsa. We all left full!
We were welcomed an hour before our booking with a nice seat overlooking the sea for drinks. Dinner was excellent. Having watched Rick's shows, I could hear his voice describing how to have the dish! The staff were very attentive and we really enjoyed the experience. Chalky's picture was above the fire :)
There was nothing we could fault, the service and friendliness of the staff and their knowledge and help was second to none and the food was to die for ! Everything was beautifully presented and was sensational.We will definitely be back.
Make a reservation
Order online
Find the best restaurant in Mollymook
An error has occurred! Please try again in a few minutes