Top Restaurants in Balgowlah
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Balgowlah Food Guide: 10 Must-Eat Restaurants & Street Food Stalls in Balgowlah
Discover the best restaurant in Balgowlah, Australia including Pilu At Freshwater, Jellyfish, Garfish, Hugos Manly, Manly Thai Gourmet, The Pantry Manly, 4 Pines Brew Pub, Ormeggio at The Spit, Afous, Fish Cafe
Things to do in Balgowlah
1. Pilu At Freshwater
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 602 reviews
Reviewed By epicure49 - Chichester
Wow... What an fantastic lunch!!! We've been to this beautifully located restaurant, overlooking the beach, a number of times over the years... and it has always been good... but this time it seems they have noticeably upped their game. The food was quite extraordinary! The team seem to be making more of their Sardinian heritage than I remember from previous visits... Their wine list has been celebrated recently by others... and rightly so... In particular, the selection of Sardinian wines is outstanding. It is difficult to imagine that even the best restaurants there could match Pilu's. We took the advice of the well-informed, Salvatore and were not disappointed. The utterly more-ish, crispy Sardo bread with ricotta and honey set the tone for a truly fabulous meal. Diced, smoked mullet with celiac, scampi tails and spaghettoni with duck slipped down with groans of delight. Chargrilled kingfish, barramundi and slow roasted lamb led to gentle disagreements about who had chosen the best dish... all were divine! The shared local pastry filled with ricotta, sultanas and honey with excellent espressos was the perfect conclusion to really wonderful lunch... Outstanding!!!
2. Jellyfish
Overall Ratings
4 based on 300 reviews
Reviewed By cfhoffmann - Sydney, Australia
We stopped here for dinner on a weekend. It was quite busy but we managed to find a table in the back. Although they claim to be vegetarian friendly there were only 2 vegetarian dishes to choose from and when I asked they couldn’t recommend anything else. Service was fast so we were in and out in 30 minutes. But the limited vegetarian options and $40 per person cost for a pasta, a salad and some mineral water means we will try one of the other restaurants in future.
3. Garfish
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 923 reviews
Located opposite the ferry terminal in Manly, our focus is on serving the freshest fish available at a reasonable price for the ultimate seafood dining experience. We have daily blackboard specials as well as a great seasonal menu.
Reviewed By auschi - Sydney, Australia
We have been regular diners at Garfish Manly since it opened some years ago. We always have lunch (not dinner) with friends. Over the years we have spent probably close to $2000 on some spectacular meals there, and had a good time. Yesterday however was an exception; in part the actual food and partly the environment. We booked well ahead but even so found ourselves given a table in the annex part of the restaurant, immediately next to a table of 17 ladies celebrating a 42 yr birthday. Nothing wrong with that BUT we are all now in our 70's and , succinctly stated, could not hold a conversation between ourselves other than your partner sitting next to you. There were also a number of other tables in the restaurant comprising only females of a certain age and the noise level overall was to be experienced to be believed ! We all shared the salt & pepper squid and the scallops. The scallops absolutely delicious as usual BUT expensive for what you get, the squid rather average. I had the fish curry, which I have had once before. Yesterday the flavours were basically absent and the king prawn (which came with the ling fish) was not very good; flowery and overcooked. I do not normally have ling but yesterday it was good. I would describe my meal as average. My wife and our two friends had the trumpet fish, one with polenta, one with mash potato and one mixed slaw/salad. My wife said her fish was badly overcooked and her polenta was hard, and not nice. Our two friends described their meal as "ordinary". Lesson ? Garfish is not always good, and do not go on a Saturday. Tables are too close together. Will be a while until we go again. Pity.
4. Hugos Manly
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1 reviews
Reviewed By ANDY K - Surrey, United Kingdom
This is adjacent to the ferry terminal and I discovered by chance. Not overly crowded Friday lunchtime, and sat on window seat overlooking the sea which was great. Excellent service. As I was a bit jet lagged I had just scallop starter with chips, and a lovely mocktail. Place has a great vibe to it. Lovely experience. Not cheap but worth it.
5. Manly Thai Gourmet
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 254 reviews
Reviewed By David M - Melbourne, Australia
If you want a quick no frills Thai meal this is a great place to visit. Hidden away at the end of an arcade, most people would not know this place existed. But the number of people who were there gave us the impression that we had found something special. This little restaurant/cafe didn't let us down. The food was fresh, flavorsome and with all the beautiful aromas you'd expect from great Thai food. The serves are very generous and reasonably priced. Thoroughly recommended.
6. The Pantry Manly
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 847 reviews
Located on beautiful Manly Beach, this European Brasserie style eatery offers a menu to tempt all tastes. The kitchen at The Pantry Manly serves breakfast from 730am and serves lunch/dinner from 1130am to 10pm. From drinks and tapas to salads, seafood and homemade desserts, you will love everything from The Pantry Manly.
Reviewed By WorldTravelRod - Apollo Beach, Florida
Two visits to The Pantry this week. First visit was my very fav item on their menu, the chili prawns starter. These are prawns served in a butter/garlic/chili mixture, just delicious! I had barramundi as my main each time, just awesome as well. Great food and a location that really is amazing. Easy to find right on the beach at the end of The Corso.
I do recommend a reservation to secure a table on the window facing the beach.
7. 4 Pines Brew Pub
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 553 reviews
The love child of a post-surf beer and a casual conversation between a father and son – our brew pub in Manly is where 4 Pines was born. With our original microbrewery onsite, delicious seasonal food coming from the kitchen and the best Australian craft beer flowing from the taps, 4 Pines Brewpub is the greatest place on the Northern Beaches to kick back with family and friends and soak up the laid-back Sydney lifestyle.
8. Ormeggio at The Spit
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 414 reviews
Ormeggio at The Spit specialises in contemporary Italian cuisine with a focus on Chef Alessandro's home region, Lombardia. The spectacular water views are matched by the sensational food and acclaimed wine list. Ormeggio at The Spit has Two Chef Hats in the SMH Good Food Guide and is in Gourmet Traveller's Top 100 Australian restaurants. For the full Ormeggio experience we highly recommend trying our degustation menu with matching wines. Right next door Ormeggio has a more casual sister restaurant, "Chiosco By Ormeggio" - an Italian street food inspired, casual diner. BYO and barefoot friendly, don't forget to visit Chiosco while in the area! Ormeggio also offers a relaxed and private boutique wedding venue providing a unique backdrop of stunning Middle Harbour and Pearl Bay. Making it the perfect waterfront venue for intimate wedding receptions in the beautiful Northern Beaches in Sydney. Our weddings team are experts in delivering a unique, intimate and beautiful waterside wedding venue that your guests are certain to fall in love with and which will create the perfect backdrop for your wedding photographs.
Reviewed By Pauliqld - Melbourne, Australia
We dined here the other night. The service was excellent and the food was divine with so many flavours and the presentation was outstanding. The views were lovely as you looked out the big windows to the harbour. We had the degustation menu and the staff now their food and wine and they are so passionate about it. If you want elegance and a great dining experience then it’s a must dine experience. I do think it was a little expensive
9. Afous
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 314 reviews
The perfume of life ~Afous~ ۞Taste…..…the flavours of two lands ۞Touch…….the palms of two hands ۞Hear………their music, the food of love that sings ۞Smell……..the perfume of life, from the sun and the rain ۞Feel ……...the spirit of food and life From the heart of Morocco and Spain
Reviewed By sarah T - Sydney, Australia
We’ve had lunch at this lovely positioned restaurant with a group of friends. Food was delicious, great ambiance, well mannered wait staff however every time someone was leaving the table to wash their hands, extend the car park or ... they were asked by a waiter (two older men in particular) where they were going!!!
Also i found it a bit odd as in the middle of our conversations they were coming/interrupting us to either offer some rosewater/scent to refresh our hands or other reasons, felt like they constantly wanted the attention. (Probably an arabic cultural thing) and i could see some other tables were very happy and enjoying the experience yet for us it was too much.
Also the same guys were shaking hands with everyone entering/leaving the place :)))
10. Fish Cafe
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 258 reviews
Reviewed By Stephanie S
Although we've stayed in Balgowlah many times and shopped frequently at Stocklands we were unaware of The Fish Cafe hidden away upstairs in the outside courtyard. We met friends from the US for lunch and they recommended it having been many times with locals. We arrived at 1230 and it was quite quiet but by 1pm it was almost full. The fish was delicious! Very fresh and tasty. My 6 year old grandson was with us and he enjoyed chicken nuggets and chips! Big choice of fish and all the customers looked as if they were enjoying every mouthful. Not a fancy restaurant , as the name implies it's more of a cafe ambiance but well worth a visit.
