Paris Seafood Cafe, La Perouse
Tuesday, September 03, 2013
What better day to visit La Perouse than on Father's Day? I'd never visited this area before, but driving through the eastern suburbs to get to there we passed lots of places that I vaguely remember from our previous travels.
We'd planned to go to the area for a nice Father's Day fish n' chips on the beach, a prospect made all the more agreeable given the beautiful weather we were granted with upon waking on Sunday morning. We reached La Perouse just after 1pm, driving up to join a beeline of cars that all seemed to be going to the same place we were, with the same brilliant lunch idea. After we managed to park (following a lesiurely cruise at 5km/h looking for a parking spot), we made our way down the hill to our destination, tummies grumbling, to get lunch.
Shopfront after the queue had died down a little
Paris Seafood Café has great views that stretch out across the park opposite which meanders down to a protected beach. We arrived just in time for the lunch rush hour - peak fish 'n chip takeaway time. A bustling queue trailed out from the front counter down the path outside, and the alfresco eating area seemed to be buzzing, chock-o-block full of hungry Fathers-Day-Lunchers tucking into their crispy fish and salads.
Whilst waiting in line we scoped out the extensive menu, detailed with endless combinations of different fish, calamari, prawns and other seafood-y eats.
Outside menu
As well as the usual fish cocktails and battered fish fillets, the Paris Seafood Café offered a wide variety of fish including Snapper, Barramundi, John Dory and Basa - all of which could be cooked to your liking, grilled or deep-fried the traditional way. As you can see from the menu there were lots of other things that could be ordered aside from the traditional fish n' chips. The oysters, chicken and lamb souvlaki and prawn cutlets sounded good, but today we were here for our good ol' fish n' chips feed. Among other menu items there was a seafood platter for two, as well as an all-day special of rump steak and chips for just $10.
Outdoor eating area
Shopfront from the park
After grabbing our ticket we nabbed a picnic spot at the park opposite in the Sun and waited for our number to be called. Because we'd come on perhaps one of their busiest days of the year, we were faced with a 20-25 min wait, and even everyone eating in seemed to be waiting for their meals to arrive too. On any other day the wait might've been a bit shorter, but today the staff seemed to have their hands full. We weren't in any rush though, we were there purely to enjoy the beachside atmosphere.
Our number was called and we carried our haul of boxes full of fish and chips over to the picnic spot we'd made to enjoy in the sunshine.
Barramundi with chips ($9.50)
The Barramundi fillet was a generous portion and perhaps one of the best 'fish' part of the fish n' chips I've had. The batter was incredibly light and crisp and the flesh inside was delectably moist, with just the right amount of firmness and flakiness - perfect both on its on or with a good squeeze of lemon. It didn't seem the least bit deep-fried at all, like some fish and chips tend to be, and I could've eaten the whole thing if it weren't for the polite moral obligation of sharing.
Grilled snapper with chips and salad for two ($19.50)
The snapper, although pleasing to the eye, ended up being quite dry and flakey from the grilling process and wasn't as tender as the barramundi. It tasty though, with a bit of a herb seasoning on the outside, and could be easily transformed with a nice squirt of tartare sauce and the addition of lemon. The salad that came with it was so big it came in a takeaway box of its own, already dressed with a light, balanced Greek-like dressing. A mix of finely julienned carrot, mixed lettuce leaves, cucumber, tomato and slivers of Spanish onion, it was the perfect palate cleanser to our carb-worthy meal.
Salad (included with snapper and chips)
Mix number 4: Fish cocktails, calamari and chips ($8.00)
We ordered two of the mix number 4, which consisted of 3 fish cocktails, 3 calamari rings and chips. The serving size was good value given the price, and one of them had much more than the 3 quoted calamari rings (bonus!). The fish cocktails were of a cute size, light and tender (perhaps flathead fish), and the calamari rings had had the elastic-y bit removed so that there was no resistance or tension when you bit into them - either that or it was just really tender calamari. The chips that came with all the 3 meals were nicely fried and chunky, and the salt and pepper was provided in little sachets so as to avoid the overly salty fish and chip stereotype that can be quite commonly found elsewhere.
After our lunch in the Sun we wandered around to Congwong Beach, down a little bush-bashing track that lead to a much more secluded, calm beach than the one that was on the main strip next to the park. It was a beautiful day for a dip but the water was still a little too cold for my liking. Along the way back we wandered to Bare Island, where we saw some dedicated scuba divers going for a dip and passed a jolly old man letting fly one of his many hobby kites in the wind. La Perouse was such a lovely place to visit on a day like the one on which we did, and the relaxed atmosphere of the area was a highly welcomed world away from the everyday hustle-and-bustle of busy Sydney.
Congwong Beach
Bare Island
Sunday kite flying
4 comments
Hi Maddie,
ReplyDeleteYour first post just appeared on Urbanspoon! Check it out:
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Thanks for your help Greg; I'll make sure to claim it.
DeleteHow exciting!
Maddie
Wow, the food there must be really good, because that’s still a long line considering that the queue had already subsided at that state. And for that large portion, the price is very reasonable. No wonder it has a great following! Obviously, it was a fun day for all of you – a father’s day well-spent, indeed! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteCrystal Carson @ Tack Jacks
It was the perfect weather for a day out too! :)
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