Jane W.
Yelp
What do you get with a view? Often a subdued decor that focuses your attention outdoors. And it's common to be sceptical of food with a view.
At the Noosa Boathouse I was keen to shed the assumption that owners of these venues presume that if you're distracted by the location, you'll willingly part with big dollars for middling to poorly executed food. So I went with there with a relaxed holiday mindset.
This venue offers admirable eco, locally sourced and sustainable credentials. I like that it is a pontoon, a media venue which was brought north by barge to be repurposed after being used during the Sydney 2000 Olympics. l also enjoyed the company of pelicans on the water below our table. I wanted badly to love the food.
We dined on a Tuesday evening, risky. It's typically a hit and miss night in hospo when the head chef is likely not there. In a tourism spot where any night could be a big night it is even more important to have a strong second chef on those days, but in this case, only a handful of guests graced the room.
"Did we have a booking?"
"No." But 95% of the room was empty anyway.
A small slate above our table showed three sorts of fish available that day. We ordered wild caught barramundi with yellow curry that arrived on a plate on top of a board. There was a side of diced pineapple in a small jar and extra sauce in a chipped ceramic cup. A julienne of Asian salad ingredients formed a bed for the fish.
It was a big, pleasant dish, not pushing any creative boundaries, competently cooked, had flavour but it just didn't wow. The plating was weak, diminishing the anticipation. Mercifully the sauce didn't overpower the barramundi's flavour and the diced pineapple that stuck to the jar was crucial to the dish.
Our other dish ordered was noted as a 'chef's signature' dish. Presented identically to the barramundi it featured slow cooked pork belly, red curry and pickled cucumber instead. Not so signature, not so exciting.
Competent was again the word that came to mind, walking the middle ground so as not to offend. But I wasn't getting the lushness typical of seasonal locally farmed produce, lovingly cooked and plated with attention to detail. In fact, where was the love?
The Noosa Boathouse boasts a chef from another waterfront venue, Donovan's in St.Kilda, Melbourne. But chef Shane Bailey left Donovan's in 2004. He has worked in Noosa for the Berardo's restaurant group ever since And therein lies the clue. These dishes would have been very at home with a plateside view in Melbourne eleven years ago. But realistically, many guests' palates have since travelled and matured.
Like the pontoon venue from the Olympics, an upcycled vintage food direction with a nostalgia for the dawn of the twenty first century is what you can expect with this view. And perhaps this is how vintage locals prefer it? Go in daylight hours for the novelty of literally being on the water, admiring the scenery and chatting to the pelicans.
