Salmon & Bear6 Defries Ave
Zetland, Sydney
Salmon and Bear is a seafood concept and the venue is quaint and cute, seating around 75. The décor is reflective of being in an Alaskan hunting lodge - and it certainly looks the part.There is a backdrop of Alaska on the wall which is quite spectacular. The food is good restaurant quality and it is served in a relaxed and casual atmosphere. It really is nice, simple and value for money eating.
We sat at a lovely recycled timber table - but you can also eat at the bar. They serve two beers and cider on tap and there is also a selection of wines. Mlady had a shiraz which she enjoyed. Mlady cannot drink white wine so she has to have either a rose or red with her meals. Sir enjoyed a beer.
They have a mibrasa oven brought in from Spain which is impressive and everything is cooked in it over charcoals - even the vegetables. Charcoal from Queensland is brought in to be used in the oven as it is very dense and provides a subtle smokey flavour.
The salads are designed to compliment the fish - and they certainly do! There are healthy options for children as well. The menu is also created for shared plates.
The salmon fish cakes with tartare sauce were great. They were plump, chunky and you certainly taste the subtle smokiness. The tartare sauce was very flavoursome and when combined with a squeeze of lemon - it made for a very tasty starter. Mlady was in her element as she simply loves her fish! The fish cakes were made from pacific salmon from New Zealand.
Next we had tacos - all in a soft corn tortilla with cabbage, salsa verde, pickled pink onions, coriander, lime and sriracha mayo. We had the sticky soy glazed salmon taco and the crispy prawn and fennel taco. These were so cute and colourful. The great combination of flavours and textures worked so well. These fish tacos are so good and mixed with vegetables - so healthy!
Then we had a salmon Bearger which was a smoked and fresh salmon patty with cos lettuce, tomato, pickles, salsa verde and aioli and we also had a side of sweet potato fries to go with this. This meal from top to bottom was WOW. It was impressively presented and the bun was so soft. It was a beautifully cooked bearger and the salad and the great flavoured sauce further enhanced this very tasty meal. we also loved the crunchiness of the pickles which went so well and complimented this dish. And - the sweet potato fries - how good were these!
The Tuna steak burger was a delicious grilled spiced tuna steak with sriracha slaw.
This substantial burger had great presentation and flavours and of course was wonderfully healthy as many of the dishes here are!
We also had a side of All Beans - broad beans, peas, green beans, quinoa, rocket and Spanish onion with a chilli and lemon dressing. This was very fresh and was a very tasty salad. The Corn Salsa was chargrilled corn, cucumber, red capsicum, tomato, shallots, mint and coriander with a lemon and sour cream dressing. This was so fresh and nice and crunchy and incredibly colourful.
Then we devoured some delicious corn cobs. We both love corn as either a snack or a side dish.These were sweetcorn cobs cut into pieces and roasted in the mibrasa oven with miso butter.
This was a very accurate description of this simple yet tasty sweetcorn.
The Ora King Salmon which was charcoal grilled in the Mibrasa oven was a wonderfully tasting dish which had great skin! Mlady is a fan of crisply cooked skin and this was a wonderful treat.This was followed by the Roasted Veg. These were described on the menu as seasonal vegetables roasted in their famous old style in the Mibrasa oven. They were nicely seasoned, vibrant and we thoroughly enjoyed them.
The tuna steak was beautiful and came with a lovely Moroccan side salad made from grated carrot, orange segments, radish, currants and mint with a sherry vinaigrette. This salad was amazing and it was very refreshing. Such vibrant colours and the taste - well - this really was one of the best salads ever and it went so well with the perfectly cooked tuna.! We also had battered Hoki from New Zealand. It was crispy fish and was so good. The tartare went nicely with it. The batter had to have been one of the best ever! It was so light.
We finished our delicious feast with two refreshing and delicious chocolate and raspberry ice-creams from Gelato Messina - nice!
Salmon and Bear has very good quality food which is healthy and incredibly tasty. It's well worth a visit.
Sir and Mlady dined as guests of Salmon & Bear. Special thank you to Joel who took care of us and took time out from his busy schedule to share his extensive knowledge with us and also thank you to Daniel and Matthew for looking after us. Big thanks also to Clive and Joe for inviting us.
