The Sydney Morning Herald logo
Advertisement

Merivale's Coogee Pavilion set to open

Scott Bolles
Scott Bolles

Creative posse: Merivale chief executive Justin Hemmes (front) with Coogee Pavilion's chefs.
Creative posse: Merivale chief executive Justin Hemmes (front) with Coogee Pavilion's chefs.Mark Metcalfe

Merivale opens the first stage of its Coogee Pavilion project on Thursday and its assembled posse of chefs is pumping out a broad food sweep with a strong seafood line-up.

Mini lobster rolls, squid a la plancha, pot-roasted mud crab and a large raw offering will placate those who believe the seaside suburb is short on decent seafood.

Former Fish Shop chef Zac Sykes is head chef of the ground floor, but Coogee Pavilion's executive chef, Jordan Toft, says Coogeeites won't live on seafood alone.

Advertisement

Toft has tapped his experience working from Europe to the United States to create the menu. (His last position was head chef at Eveleigh restaurant in Los Angeles.)

''It is the sort of place you can pop in straight off the sand for a burger or make it a more serious food destination,'' he says.

The rooftop bar will open before Christmas, followed by the Toft-fronted signature restaurant on the middle level.

''It'll be a more concise version of what we were doing at [paddock-to-plate] Eveleigh,'' he says of the yet-to-be-named restaurant.

Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox.

Sign up
Scott BollesScott Bolles writes the weekly Short Black column in Good Food.

From our partners

Advertisement
Advertisement