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The Boathouse on Blackwattle Bay

The slightly left-of-centre location atop a rowers’ club boatshed has always been one of the Boathouse’s charms. In all the respects that count – the rich wine list, mature service, peerless produce, entrancing views, substantial prices – it’s a big-deal restaurant, yet it has an endearing quirkiness. One of the first places in the country to get serious about oysters, it still leads the board for bivalves. No meal is complete here without a range of rock, Pacific and angasi oysters from various waterways, served on ice with rye bread and butter. We’re perhaps the only regulars who eschew the signature snapper pie, silver-served tableside, but we can’t say no to other standards, such as the roe with hot, gooey blini and wasabi crème fraîche, or the mighty mud crab. The largely fish-based menu is exuberant in its cultural influences and presentation; simplification may pay dividends.