Broadwalk Bar + Bistro

Broadwalk Bar + Bistro
www.boardwalkbar.com.au/



I spotted Broadwalk along Eagle St pier back when I was walking to Jellyfish. It had a nice, open and welcoming vibe so I thought to myself that I'd visit later down the track. A friend of mine told me she had a 'so so' experience with the breakfast at Broadwalk but... I was still curious.

Last night, I was having dinner with a friend and after much debate/confusion/aimless driving, we ended up at Eagle St pier. The adventure started out at West End but because many West End restaurants are closed Monday evenings, we gravitated towards Southbank. There was the intent of going to the Chalk Hotel but an incorrect turn led us into the city so we thought we'd just go with the flow.


To be honest, I wasn't even going to stop at Broadwalk (we WERE going to Jellyfish) but the menu is huge and it caught my eye. I was in the mood for seafood so when I spotted bouillabaisse under the 'mains', I literally stopped in my tracks and decided I NEED to TRY THIS.

Food was ordered; we kept it simple with a main each plus the recommended wines. My friend is starting to get into wine. That's something I'm aiming for as well... I don't have an appreciation of wine AT ALL at the moment but if it's something that can potentially elevate my meal experiences, I'd love to acquire the taste.


Wine came first. Mine was a Riesling and tasted quite sweet; his was a Sauv/Sem and more sour.

Seafood bouillabaisse - selection of mixed seafood in a tomato and saffron broth served with warm sourdough

Our mains took a little while to come out but because we were chatting and sipping, that's not necessarily a bad thing. My bouillabaisse was quite a large serving. The stew was very flavorsome and aromatic. There was a lot of seafood in there and the serving size was just right for me. The accompanying sourdough was nothing special though.

Barramundi fillet - on warm potato salad with speck and spinach, mustard dressing

My friend had ordered the seared barramundi fillet. I tried a bit and wow... the skin was unbelievably crispy. To this day, though I'm trying to get 'into' seafood more, I'm still not the best judge of fish but I was assured that it was good. My friend loved the sides too and he was quite pleased with the dish. I thought it looked small but we agreed that it's important to eat to the point of satisfaction rather than just stuffing our faces at every meal. (Plus, it meant we had room for dessert).

Broadwalk was a pretty good experience overall. Above all else, I loved the environment - the thing that attracted me to it at first was how open and spacious the dining area is. It's a cross between a bar and casual restaurant/cafe so it manages to have the casual and social bar-vibe without the seediness. Service was pleasant and food was above standards when compared with other bar food.

As a plus, you order at the counter and pay upfront so there's no confusion with splitting the bill etc - great for larger groups.