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Malt Pier

Natascha Mirosch

Casual yet refined: Malt Pier at Newstead.
Casual yet refined: Malt Pier at Newstead.Michelle Smith

Contemporary$$

Fine and casual dining have been accepted as no longer being mutually exclusive and Malt Pier is the perfect poster child for the dichotomy. 

Tables are laid with paper napkins but smart cutlery and premium glassware, and the menu displays dishes under the headings "shared", "relaxed" and "posh". 

It's a small and handsome space, within reach of river breezes, with sunlight flooding from floor-to-ceiling windows. The menu is clipped but appealing, although the charcuterie board may prove a little pedestrian for some.

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The Malt brownie.
The Malt brownie.Michelle Smith

Zucchini flowers are prettily plated and substantial; stuffed with cauliflower tapenade with accompaniments including a velvety beetroot smear, generous dabs of labne and a neat pile of dressed white beans.

Barramundi remains moist beneath its crisp skin, atop a bed of gently spiced quinoa, enlivened by a vivid parsley coulis; simple but elegant.

The "malt brownie" has a following carried over from its older brother restaurant Malt Dining, but it's the vanilla and apricot brulee, with a just-set custard beneath a sugar crackling, that offers a more "fine dining" counterpoint.  

THE LOW-DOWN
Vibe
Smart shape-shifting cafe/bar/restaurant
Pro tip
Have a hair of the dog with a breakfast cocktail
Drinks
Clever, well-priced wine list plus fine collection of top-shelf liquor including whiskies

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