Rick Stein at Bannisters

The South Coast seems to becoming somewhat of a gastronomic destination with a number of places making the foodie bucket list such as St Isidore and Cupitt’s kitchen. However, the famous and favoured seafood restaurant by Rick Stein is holding its own. It is located in the luxury getaway boutique hotel, Bannisters in Mollymook. You don’t have to be staying in the facility to eat in the restaurant. We often pay this place a visit on our journey down the south coast and have dined here on a number of occasions. If you’re planning on heading down, it’s a 3. 5 drive from Sydney and certainly is worth it.

Beautifully designed restaurant which isn't too overcrowded. <br/ <br/ I had the zucchini flower entree which was ok but a little too much to eat all three in the entree, would maybe help to put something fresh with it. However my family all had the oysters with side of sausage and loved it! <br/ <br/ Main was the steamed snapper which was beautiful, the meat was so juicy and not over powered with seasoning/sauces, the meat fell off the bone and made it so easy to eat (without accidentally swallowing a bone).<br/ <br/ Service was good, not too over the top but at the same time didn't leave us sitting there trying to catch ones attention.<br/ <br/ Situated in a beautiful spot in Mollymook, I'd suggest to visit if your holidaying around town.

Such a wonderful restaurant with spectacular views of Mollymook. Every single dish we had was divine with amazing flavours. Standouts were the seafood pie and Snapper fillet. Be sure you save room for dessert. 100% worth the 3.5 hr drive from Sydney.

One of the highlights of a trip down to Mollymook should be to experience the dining pleasures of Rick Stein’s only restautrant outside the UK (I think . <br/ <br/ It’s located at the end of Mitchell Parade on Bannisters (not Bannisters Pavillion . Bannisters is a swanky upmarket holiday joint (think white walls, white linen, men in white trousers and shirts and panama hats OK I’ve taken some liberty to the description . Outside are parked Porsche Cayannes, Range Rover sports and a couple of Mazdas (you get the picture .<br/ <br/ We are greeted by the sounds of the pool lounge singer downstairs doing her rendition of Noiseworks “Reach Out” [OK, this now probably classifies me as a 1980s Aussie Rock afficienado yes its a bit sad] <br/ <br/ All the wait staff were fab. Whilst some were probably on a working vacation, they all seemed like that they had a private school education. It was formal yet casual; courteous and friendly but not too matey.<br/ <br/ We ordered the:<br/ sashimi as a starter (hmm, its a Stein staple but to those who have had sashimi from Japan, this is average <br/ shellfish soup as a starter (Wow! just the way it should be It packs a lobster shellfish bisque punch. Love it <br/ The indonesian curry served with basmati rice and a midly spice salad condiment (Lovely, almost brings you back to Indonesia <br/ The special of the day; which was the whole baked/fried baby snapper in orange sauce (O’la’la, this was FAB! I have always despised the ideal of Duck’la orange and the like; but this since dish and experience has fundamentally shifted my preconceived notions of a ‘sweet sauce’ for a main fish dish. <br/ <br/ Lovely place, lovely decor, lovely service, lovely food. Next time I am up Mollymook, I will do another visit. Probably after I have saved up enough. You may want to go with a wealthy friend or partner. PS: going to try the hot cold shellfish entree next time.<br/

Bannisters at Mollymook is a must visit destination if you are ever in the area. Apart from the beautiful location, it is the Australian home of Rock Stein.  On this second visit, I took some friends with me which made for an already entertaining evening.  The staff were lovely but had a slight mishap with a gluten free roll that was frozen on the inside and nuclear hot on the outside (I'm thinking it might be a microwave issue)! The rest of the meal was delicious, timed well and cooked to perfection except for the fish pie which was a little too (temperature) hot. I give them 4.5 mainly because it is a lovely restaurant, the staff are very accommodating and the menu is excellent. Definitely recommend if you love seafood.