Location, Location, Location

By Joel Bevilacqua on November 8, 2019 in Food

Just in time for summer, by Skye Hennessey.

With a green bowl that could win over even the most stubborn of carnivores and a view that would make other café owners green with envy, Sea Salt at Clovelly Beach is a brunch spot with a lot to boast about.
There is something about Clovelly. It can often feel like a calm oasis between the hustle of Bondi and Coogee. Perhaps this is what attracted Shaun and Skye Hennessey to the area and motivated them to purchase Sea Salt, their first venture into the industry.
Perched on the south side of Clovelly Beach, Sea Salt would have to be in one of the best locations in Sydney. A sandstone stair entrance leads directly off the famous Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk and into the spacious café. Sea Salt’s northeast aspect means the café’s open layout is bathed in sun throughout the year and a cool nor’easter puffs gently through during summer. Watching snorkelers kicking along in search of fish from Sea Salt’s beachfront terrace, one feels like they are somewhere down the South Coast, rather than ten minutes from the CBD.
Shaun is an old-school Sydney fine-dining chef and has developed the menu specifically for the venue and location. It’s full of fresh, light and healthy options, such as the wok-cooked Queensland spanner crab omelette, filled with a fragrant herb salad and topped with Sriracha and oyster sauce. Other tantalising breakfast options include parmesan-topped, truffled scrambled eggs and a spicy quesadilla.
When I visited Sea Salt for lunch, Shaun and Skye insisted I try their famous green bowl. As I cast my eyes over the traditionally more alluring lunch options on offer, such as the classic fish and chips, beef burger and crispy fish burger with blackened jalapeno and lemon tartare, I admit I was feeling a bit hesitant. After all, how good can a green bowl really be?
Bloody good apparently. Sea Salt’s green bowl is a generous serving of charred tumeric cauliflower, crispy Brussels sprouts, kale slaw, house hummus, toasted soy seeds and nuts, avocado and pomegranate – so generous in fact that it has to be served on a dinner plate. There is so much happening, yet somehow the dish remains balanced. The charred cauliflower is probably the main reason the green bowl has become Sea Salt’s signature dish. The golden cauliflower is crunchy yet moist on the inside and I reckon they could make a mint selling buckets of it from their take-way kiosk.
Other standout lunch options include a crispy-skin miso salmon dish served with shiitake mushrooms, a pumpkin and pea risotto with Grana Padano and sage brown butter, and the spanner crab makes another appearance in a hearty linguine.
As mentioned, Sea Salt has a take-away kiosk, meaning you can grab some fish and chips to eat on the beach or in the park. During summer, Sea Salt will also be opening for dinner on Friday and Saturday nights, so watch this space.
Clovelly’s natural beauty, combined with Sea Salt’s high quality, healthy and creative menu, means you would be hard pressed to find a better spot to spend your day.

Sea Salt Clovelly
www.seasaltclovelly.com.au
Address Clovelly Beach
Instagram seasaltclovelly
Phone 9664 5344
Open 7 days 8am-4pm; Breakfast 8-11.30am, Lunch 12-2.30/3.00pm
Prices Green bowl $22, Spanner crab omelette $28, Miso salmon $33, Classic fish and chips $26.50
Cards Mastercard, Visa
Licensed Yes