The Boathouse
Ferry Road
Glebe, NSW 2037
$$$$$
“I’ll pick you up at 6:30 after work”, he said. This also just so happened to be the evening of my birthday (31 Oct).. so of course I went “Oooooh!!” He’d hinted that friends may be invited, so I poked around best I could to get someone to spill the beans on who’s going, and where it was. Unfortunately, my friends are rather good at keeping secrets and convinced me that they knew nothing about the dinner, nor were invited.
So at 6:30pm, I hopped into the car and we picked up one of the girls, then headed to The Boathouse. Oooooooooh!! I’d only been there once, years ago when an agency took me there for a lunch. I remembered the food was blimmin’ fantastic with gorgeous views, but just hadn’t had the chance to go back. ‘Til now 😛 The restaurant is an expansive open room that looks out across Blackwattle Bay at the fish markets and the city behind, or left towards the stunning Anzac Bridge… and are famous for their awesome modern Australian food.
Mid-way, came the next surprise: call from my parents! Well, I kinda knew the surprise in the car, because the original plan was for Chris to call mum & dad on his phone then pass the phone to me. But his phone died so they called me directly instead 😛 It was soooo nice to hear from them, right during my birthday dinner! It’s one of the most thoughtful things anyone has done for me 🙂
The service is probably the only not-so-great thing about the restaurant. Whilst professional and polished, it lacked that certain element of warmth and general friendliness. Much to our disgust, Chris had planned to surprise me with a Tiramisu birthday cake (ok, that wasn’t the ‘disgust’ part, that was the ‘swoon’ part!) but they point-blank refused to cut/serve the cake.. saying “you can order dessert instead”. Bloody hell! ;(
Fortunately, the food was really fine and absolutely delish, especially their star dish, the Snapper Pie. We went a little crazy with the oysters at the start too, and polished off the meal with some decadent desserts. It was a beautiful meal, downed with some beautiful wines, and amongst beautiful friends 🙂
The Boathouse
Interior
Happy as a clam
Hee!!
Beautiful people
Rose wine: Longview “The Boathouse” Nebbiolo Adelaide Hills SA 2007 (AU$49)
White wine: errrr.. some Reisling that I forgot 😛
Bread. Not terribly exciting since the butter was plain.
The Boathouse are famous for their freshly-shucked, juicy oysters.
They were divine!! We ended up with 2 platters 😛
At ~$4 each, they don’t come cheap though..
Ocean Trout Roe with Potato Blinis, Wasabi & Creme Fraiche (AU$45)
This was ridiculously $$$$$$$$$4 but was just WOW.
I’ve never tasted this mix of flavours before in my entire life *swoons*
Looking rather snotty
Busy eating our caviar & blinis
Random table shot
Me and a girl friend
French friends!
Roast Tasmanian Southern Rock Lobster with Soy Beurre Noisette (AU~$100)
The lobster was tender, juicy and sweet. Ahhhhh!!!!
Roast Blue Eye Trevalla from Browns Mountain with Broccolini, Eschallot, Preserved Lemon & Oyster Salt (AU$41)
Very lovely and healthy, but I think I prefer creamier, richer dishes 😉
Dishing out our Snapper Pie
Snapper Pie with Smoked Tomato & Mashed Potato (AU$45)
BEST DISH OF THE NIGHT. The rich buttery truffle-infused flavour was awesome!
Mixed Leaf & Cress Salad with Banyuis Vinegar Dressing (AU$8)
Hand Cut Fries, Fennel and Lemon Salt (AU$10)
Double Chocolate Pudding, Strawberries, Chantilly Cream & Chocolate Ice Cream (AU$18)
Grilled Mango Sorbet, Mango Pannacotta, Mango Sushi Rice (AU$18)
Petit Fours
All the girls
My wonderful friends
Thank you for organising such a wonderful birthday! 🙂
the lobster looks awesome! happy belated bday!
Thanks hon! The lobster was divine but sooo $$ arghh
the lobster looks awesome! happy belated bday!
Thanks hon! The lobster was divine but sooo $$ arghh
Food, love, friendship…what a wonderful birthday! Have a very happy and blessed one! 😀
Hehe you’re right, maybe i should change the theme at the top of my LJ 😛
Food, love, friendship…what a wonderful birthday! Have a very happy and blessed one! 😀
Hehe you’re right, maybe i should change the theme at the top of my LJ 😛
ooohh! 🙂 So sweet my tooth is aching 🙂
Hehe i know.. dessert was so sugary! Delicious though 🙂
Looks like you had a great night! What a lovely restaurant! Hope your birthday was fab! xxx
It was! This is one ofmy favourite bdays ever:D
What an awesome meal, great surprise!
It was really rich, but i guess the diet starts tomorrow:P
Happy belated Birthday!! Looks like a delicious dinner and desserts as well! :P~
Thank youuu!
ooohh! 🙂 So sweet my tooth is aching 🙂
Hehe i know.. dessert was so sugary! Delicious though 🙂
Looks like you had a great night! What a lovely restaurant! Hope your birthday was fab! xxx
It was! This is one ofmy favourite bdays ever:D
Whoo! Looks like an awesome night! But OMG, so expensive!! Yet, mmmm, the food looks SO good! Wonderful for a special event! 😀
But yes, totally BOO on them for not serving the cake!!!
Yeah the prices were a bit of a killer. Nice for a special occasion but now it’s cheap eating for me!
happy birthday!
i know have an uncontrollable craving for oysters. ahhhh. last time i ate 32 oysters in one sitting!
Eek 32?! I would feel so sick after that, hehehe
Wow… someone that can finally rival me in the Oyster eating stakes 🙂
Happy Birthday again! Chris is utterly sweet on you 🙂 The food looks awesome! Have a wonderful year ahead!
It was a really awesome evening 🙂
And your icon..LOL
happy birthday! your lobster made me drool!
Someone else ordered it but I had a bite, it was delish!
omg i HATE it when places are that snotty and refuse to cut the cake or have the nerve to charge $$$ to cut the cake for you! That’s so cheap of them, like cmon its a birthday celebration. how dare you not cut the cake? I had a similiar experience too with my friend we had to go elsewhere for the cake cutting and such. But it looks like you had a happy birthday, so that is good…hmmmm oysters….
yeah, such tight asses! it’s silly of them to do that because bad word of mouth travels quickly…
What an awesome meal, great surprise!
It was really rich, but i guess the diet starts tomorrow:P
sooooooooooooo fun!!
Roast Tasmanian Southern Rock Lobster with Soy Beurre Noisette WOW!!!
It was so $$ but really good :)~
sorry aboutnot replying to your email yet, my inbox is crazy full! But SO GOOD to hear the good news *hugs*
haha, =) can see that!
heeee thanks babe. mwaks!
Happy birthday! You guys look so happy and you have ‘the glow’ on your face, not the wine but a certain love glow!
Hehe… quite possibly! It was just a lovely evening with such goooooood food, mmmm
Hey There!
First let me say Happy Belated Birthday! Are you and Chris back together? I know I have been missing in action for a while but as soon as things settle I will update my lj! But it seems you had a great time and the food as always looks so good!
Hi hon, welcome back to LJ land and thanks for the bday wishes!
happy birthday!! (belated though…)
thanks!!
Happy belated Birthday!! Looks like a delicious dinner and desserts as well! :P~
Thank youuu!
Happy belated birthday! 🙂 the restaurant looks amazing – i better start jotting down all these fab places so i’ll know where to head for food when i go down to sydney again heh.
Thank you! Ooo and yes, there are so many awesome restaurants all over Sydney 🙂
Whoo! Looks like an awesome night! But OMG, so expensive!! Yet, mmmm, the food looks SO good! Wonderful for a special event! 😀
But yes, totally BOO on them for not serving the cake!!!
Yeah the prices were a bit of a killer. Nice for a special occasion but now it’s cheap eating for me!
What a great way to celebrate your birthday. You’re a very lucy girl!
I think it was one of the nicest b’days I’ve had.. what a nice way to go into my ‘late-20s’ hehe!
What a wonderful celebration and the food looks absolutely delicious!
And I’m dying to find out about the happy story between you and Chris. 🙂
It was quite decadent so I want to go easy over the next few weeks.. I feel guilty about spending so much $ this month!
Wow, the food looks fantastic and you look so happy! 🙂 I am glad you had a great time. Chris certainly does know how to treat a woman 😉
I had a really nice evening… and *nods* he sure does, teehee!
The caviar was amazing! Merrill and I almost always order the same dishes when we go to the Boathouse: oysters, snapper pie and the rocket & pear salad. At least now we have an extra dish to order! :p
That caviar was my fav dish I think, followed closely by the snapper pie. Mmmm….
Happy belated bday! 🙂 Glad it was lovely for you! 🙂
Thank you! 🙂
What is up with my face? Looks like I had some bizarre facial twitch.
That being said, glad you had a great time 🙂 I know I did. Gosh, it feels like ages since I’ve had Oysters so they really hit the spot. I must go buffet’ing soon to get my Oyster fill.
Sucks to the restaurant with their no external cake policy though. Tres silly…
You and Erica look fab in the top pic I reckon, thanks to the awesome photographer *nudge*
It was a fun night, just wish it was a Sat the next day!
Flying Fish doesn’t allow cakes from outside either!!
Dang… I guess trying to bring a cake into a fine dining establishment probably isn’t the same as bringing your own cake into Lonestar or The Outback Steakhouse… 😛
happy birthday!
i know have an uncontrollable craving for oysters. ahhhh. last time i ate 32 oysters in one sitting!
Eek 32?! I would feel so sick after that, hehehe
Wow… someone that can finally rival me in the Oyster eating stakes 🙂
Happy Birthday again! Chris is utterly sweet on you 🙂 The food looks awesome! Have a wonderful year ahead!
It was a really awesome evening 🙂
And your icon..LOL
happy birthday! your lobster made me drool!
Someone else ordered it but I had a bite, it was delish!
omg i HATE it when places are that snotty and refuse to cut the cake or have the nerve to charge $$$ to cut the cake for you! That’s so cheap of them, like cmon its a birthday celebration. how dare you not cut the cake? I had a similiar experience too with my friend we had to go elsewhere for the cake cutting and such. But it looks like you had a happy birthday, so that is good…hmmmm oysters….
yeah, such tight asses! it’s silly of them to do that because bad word of mouth travels quickly…
sooooooooooooo fun!!
Roast Tasmanian Southern Rock Lobster with Soy Beurre Noisette WOW!!!
It was so $$ but really good :)~
sorry aboutnot replying to your email yet, my inbox is crazy full! But SO GOOD to hear the good news *hugs*
haha, =) can see that!
heeee thanks babe. mwaks!
Happy birthday! You guys look so happy and you have ‘the glow’ on your face, not the wine but a certain love glow!
Hehe… quite possibly! It was just a lovely evening with such goooooood food, mmmm
Hey There!
First let me say Happy Belated Birthday! Are you and Chris back together? I know I have been missing in action for a while but as soon as things settle I will update my lj! But it seems you had a great time and the food as always looks so good!
Hi hon, welcome back to LJ land and thanks for the bday wishes!
happy birthday!! (belated though…)
thanks!!
Happy belated birthday! 🙂 the restaurant looks amazing – i better start jotting down all these fab places so i’ll know where to head for food when i go down to sydney again heh.
Thank you! Ooo and yes, there are so many awesome restaurants all over Sydney 🙂
What a great way to celebrate your birthday. You’re a very lucy girl!
I think it was one of the nicest b’days I’ve had.. what a nice way to go into my ‘late-20s’ hehe!
What a wonderful celebration and the food looks absolutely delicious!
And I’m dying to find out about the happy story between you and Chris. 🙂
It was quite decadent so I want to go easy over the next few weeks.. I feel guilty about spending so much $ this month!
Wow, the food looks fantastic and you look so happy! 🙂 I am glad you had a great time. Chris certainly does know how to treat a woman 😉
I had a really nice evening… and *nods* he sure does, teehee!
The caviar was amazing! Merrill and I almost always order the same dishes when we go to the Boathouse: oysters, snapper pie and the rocket & pear salad. At least now we have an extra dish to order! :p
That caviar was my fav dish I think, followed closely by the snapper pie. Mmmm….
Happy belated bday! 🙂 Glad it was lovely for you! 🙂
Thank you! 🙂
What is up with my face? Looks like I had some bizarre facial twitch.
That being said, glad you had a great time 🙂 I know I did. Gosh, it feels like ages since I’ve had Oysters so they really hit the spot. I must go buffet’ing soon to get my Oyster fill.
Sucks to the restaurant with their no external cake policy though. Tres silly…
You and Erica look fab in the top pic I reckon, thanks to the awesome photographer *nudge*
It was a fun night, just wish it was a Sat the next day!
Flying Fish doesn’t allow cakes from outside either!!
Dang… I guess trying to bring a cake into a fine dining establishment probably isn’t the same as bringing your own cake into Lonestar or The Outback Steakhouse… 😛