I love a seafood platter and have sampled aplenty throughout Europe, the Middle East, and America in my travels. But I have to say, some of the best are here in Australia.
Aussies know how to do seafood and if there’s one place that knows a good seafood platter, it’s Many’s very own The Herring Room.
The Herring Room is the sister restaurant to the hugely successful The Sardine Room (Est. 2007 to 2016) in Challis Avenue, Potts Point, which relocated the Northern Beaches in 2015.
Renowned for its seasonal produce from local, sustainable and environmentally sensitive fisheries and farms, The Herring Room serves up contemporary seafood in an elegant setting.
So good is their food, I visited the establishment twice recently. Once to order the Roasted Morten Bay Bugs and even though it was a delicious dish, I couldn’t help have meal envy from my neighbouring tables that all seemed to order their seafood platter, complete with a giant whole fried snapper.
The following week, I headed back there to see what the fuss was all about and was genuinely delighted.
I was presented with daily fresh market sashimi, fried calamari with rosemary, lemon zest and sea salt, plump sautéed prawns and Spanish chorizo with confit garlic, chilli and lemon, super tangy white anchovies on nigella seed lavosh and rocket, roasted Moreton Bay bugs with togarashi spiced butter, almond furikake, mustard greens and orange, and the piece de resistance…. crispy fried NZ whole baby red snapper with onion, chilli, ginger and sweet soy glaze.
This was a seafood platter on another level. The whole snapper was sensational. Deep-fried and smothered in a spicy sauce, we were licking our fingers in amazement.
The fish was heavenly fresh and juicy while the rest of the fare was of an incredibly high standard. At $185 for two, the prices are above standard but you certainly get what you pay for.
We washed the platter down with their buttery ‘18 Le Domaine d’Henri Petit Chablis, 1996 and savoured the meal with pleasant memories that will last a lifetime.
Our editor Kim Smee threw our post on the Manly Observer Facebook group about community feedback on The Herring Room and the response was EXPLOSIVE and hugely complimentary. You can read the thread here.
The Herring Room
94 PITTWATER ROAD, MANLY
Tel: (02) 9977 2572
Transparency check ✓ Some but not all of our meals were provided gratis. This a non-sponsored, genuine review.
