Manta Restaurant and Bar | Woolloomooloo
Renae Smith, founder of The Atticism PR & Brand Management invited us to review the new additions to the August menu at Manta Restaurant & Bar.
It may be surprising to some but this is the first time we've been to Wooloomooloo! We had a long walk on the (no not beach)... wharf (photos at end of post).
The restaurant is situated on a wharf with many luxurious boats that are relaxing to watch bobbling on the water. All restaurants on the wharf have a similar pole with it's name engraved on it. This makes it seem like the boats can dock at the restaurant, anchoring itself on the sign. A nice little touch!
At any restaurant if lemon lime & bitters were available, we will order it.
We started off with complimentary bread and olive oil.
Stunning and romantic view of the wharf and the Sydney CBD.
Matt doesn't eat seafood (we were invited to sample two seafood dishes) however Renae kindly organised to swap this with the 250g eye fillet.
250g eye fillet, garlic, parsley and primo extra virgin olive oil
Cape grim, tasmania, premium angus steer ox, pasture fed ($49).
You can tell how succulent the piece of eye fillet is. The choice of sauces were: bearnaise, salsa verde or roasted chilli.The first time I tried bearnaise sauce, I fell instantly in love with it. Both of us had blank faces when the waitress said 'salsa verde' (at times like these, I wish I could pause time and search on Google images). Matt couldn't pass the tempting roasted chilli sauce! The roasted chilli sauce brought me back to the warm home cooking of my mum's Beef Strogonoff. It wasn't quite chilli, but you could taste a whole lot of roasted capsicum! YUM!
Matt: I always struggle when I have to decide how I like my steak cooked. With a nice cut of meat like an Eye Fillet, I believe the recommended is a Medium Rare. I decided on the Medium and it was cooked exactly how I wanted it.. Normally I have to say one grade lower (i.e. medium-rare to get a perfectly medium cooked steak), but this was the exception.
A new addition to the August menu is the Hiramasa Kingfish.
Hiramasa Kingfish, oven roasted, braised fagioli controne, confit chorizo, dried grape tomatoes, celery cress and lemon oil.
port lincoln, south australia, aqua-farmed
Some people including Renae enjoys kingfish raw where others (like me) would prefer seafood that is slightly cooked (either ceviche or with a blow torch - yes, sushi trains!). I occasionally enjoy fish cooked through. After indulging with the dish below, I think I might have to try that more often!
Cooked to perfection - fresh, most and complimented very well with the slight tangy taste from the lemon oil and juicy dried grape tomatoes (dried tomatoes always have more of a punch; a kick to my tastebuds)
It was a a surprise when the waiter brought us the manta 'angel' chips with truffle oil and Parmesan. I've been dying to try anything with truffle so I was super excited! They were quite generous with the seasoning as all the chips were equally coated with it. Adding the Parmesan to mix and your taste buds will go wild. Hate to be the one to say it though... After a while I felt myself slowly removing more and more of the seasoning as it was a bit too rich. That said, it is definitely worth trying!
Recently, I am enjoying top down photography. It captures everything!
As you can see, we had a filling and delicious lunch.
As promised earlier, here are snapshots of the stunning view by the wharf,
I like long walks on the wharf...
We would like to sit outside please
Then I stepped inside to take some more photos of Manta.
WOW, decorated with detail and a modern feel.
We really enjoyed the day. It was such a quiet and peaceful place to relax and enjoy good food. The staff were very friendly and courteous. They were attending all tables in a timely manner, but without over doing it (i.e. we were able to have a proper conversation without being asked 1000 times how our meal was =P).
We would like to thank Renae Smith on behalf of The Atticism PR and Brand Management as well as Manta Restaurant for welcoming us and giving us another cherished memory to add to our palate.
