Nick's Seafood Restaurant, Darling Harbour

Roast rack of lamb $33.00
with minted potatoes, pea puree and sage jus

I can see the boys are bonding.

J and N are partners of food bloggers. They've only just met, but they have so much in common already.

We're at Nick's Seafood Restaurant in Darling Harbour and a gaggle of food bloggers are wishing bon voyage over lunch for a self proclaimed foodaholic.

There's a small commotion at the table as our dishes arrive. Cameras are whipped out of handbags. Plates are rotated. Dishes are swapped around the table. The boys roll their eyes at each other. They know the drill. They wait silently, torturously, despite their grumbling stomachs.

Our waiter is somewhat bemused, but doesn't comment on the swooping descent of lenses as each dish touches down on the expanse of thick white linen.

"Can we eat now?" J pleads after two, eleven, three minutes.

I sneak in another photo.


Grilled salmon tail $31.00
with bell pepper, saffron and parmesan pilaf

Somewhat predictably, the boys have both gone for meat dishes; the girls have all stuck with seafood.

The roast rack of lamb perches impressively amidst a ring of minted potatoes, peeled whole and roasted. The pea puree is a brilliant green, a thick chunky paste daubed generously over lamb that glistens with caramelised fat. It's tender, J confirms, although he struggles slightly with his standard issue knife, trying to carve through the cutlets.

Grilled salmon tail is an enormous chunk of fish, the skin scored and seared to a shattering crisp. A parmesan pilaf sits next to it, compacted into a mini-tower.


Vongole and crab meat pasta $29.50
in a parmesan, tomato and pesto sauce

You could feed a fullback with the vongole and crab meat pasta, a mountain of linguine that's topped generously with parmesan, chives and finely diced tomato. The portion is so enormous that Suze implores everyone to have a taste. The pasta is pleasantly al dente but I find the pungency of the pesto overwhelms the delicate sweetness of the crab.


Kangaroo fillet with oysters $31.00
(usual prawns substituted for oysters due to allergy)
with tomato chutney and char-grilled herb polenta

The kitchen is very accommodating with N's prawn allergy, substituting three plump oysters instead to accompany his plump strips of kangaroo fillet.


Whole baby barramundi grilled $29.00

But you can't go to Nick's without trying the seafood. Three of us order from the fish menu and all are fresh and tasty, even if they do appear a little sad and lonely on the plate on their own.


Salmon fillet grilled $30.00
with chips or salad

That's because the chips and salad arrive in separate oval-shaped boats. This neccessitates the messy transfer of salad/chips to your plate to keep your fish company, a sporadic forkful throughout your meal, or a big salad hoedown at the start or end of your meal.

We can't complain about the fish though. They're all seared nicely, sporting summery golden tans, and cooked to a fork-flaking moistness. My serving of snapper is small but sweet.

The cameras are back in handbags, long since forgotten.

The boys are happy.

It's time to eat.


Snapper fillet grilled $32.00
with chips or salad

Nick's Seafood Restaurant
The Promenade
Cockle Bay Wharf, Darling Harbour, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9264 1212

Open 7 days for lunch and dinner

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