Sailors Club

ACCORDING TO THE LATEST research, four out of five people will order fish and chips when by the seaside. OK, so the research is mine only, but as I have now been to the new Sailors Club in Rose Bay for brunch, lunch and dinner, I am an expert on the subject, and no correspondence shall be entered into.

Yes, Pier has gone. Owner Greg Doyle has handed over the running of the restaurant to his daughter, Jacqui Lewis, of creative agency Folke, who has taken it rather dramatically in another direction for another generation.

The bones of that beautiful restaurant are still there, and the one long finger of dining room still points towards the harbour views from the controversially refurbished Rose Bay Marina. Only now there's a breezy, born-again 1960s Palm Springs vibe to the place, with its bright scatter cushions, turquoise ceiling, canary-yellow metal chairs, potted palms and small, white tables. A vintage sun lounger reclines on an outside terrace, while ship-shape slatted wooden banquettes and stools resembling coiled spools of rope add a chipper nautical feel.

Talented Pier chef Steven Skelly is still in the kitchen, although they call it a galley these days. His democratically priced menu (nothing over $30) is a breezy mix of simple and casual, what with the fish and chips, burger, minute steak and sugar-cured ocean trout, but there's more to it than meets the eye. A crudo of paper-thin slices of John Dory, touched up with blood orange, chargrilled red chillies and micro herbs ($18), has a very modern yet unfussy appeal, the clean, clear flavour of the fish shining through.

Grilled yellowfin tuna ($24) is a beautiful slab of fish that looks like unsliced sashimi yet has been warmed through under heat lamps; a very effective way to "cook" tuna. It's strikingly paired with beetroot, witlof and radish.

The idea of doing weekend breakfasts has already been cast overboard, but there's a snacky bar menu with loads of cocktails in the fabulously retro Port Side Bar, and stuff for kids in the restaurant.
So what about the big order of the day? The fish and chips ($25) are good and simple, allowing the fresh fish (flathead) and good beer batter (Cooper's) to speak for themselves, accessorised by tartare sauce, half a lemon and good, crisp chips. The cooking here seems to be clean, fast and clever, ticking all the popular boxes but upgrading along the way. So the burger patty is made of three cuts of meat (chuck, rib and rump), tucked into a warm Sonoma Bakery brioche bun ($22) with roasted beet slaw, tomato, cos and mayo. It's no more than a nice handful - a lady-burger - which makes it the perfect post-swim bite.

If you could imagine what you might like to drink while twisting by the pool, then it's here, in a range of cocktails and a lively list of both "quaffing" and "selected" wines.

An intense, summer-peachy 2010 Lusco Do Mino Zios albarino from Rias Baixas ($12/$48) is good value.

Pastry chef Nic Waring is nitrogen-fuelled, so something as hackneyed as tiramisu ($16) gets booted into the future, arriving as a vaporous mound of icy chocolate rubble. Eating it is an archaeological dig through sweet layers of nitrogenised Valrhona chocolate, coffee crumbs, chocolate glass feuilles, espresso and Marsala syrup, mascarpone, cocoa cake and coffee butterscotch. Not exactly your post-beach Paddle Pop, but a heap of fun.

So it's goodbye Pier and hello Sailors. Now that there's no longer such a sense of expectation about dining here, it's so much easier to just relax and enjoy yourself - eat what you like, drink what you like and play your little part in the great theatre that is Sydney-by-the-sea. Small wonder the place is hopping, rammed with the oldies in early, the youngies in late and countless couples at weekends with adorable tykes in tow, the daughters given colouring books and the sons dad's iPhone (sorry, girls).
The food can come too fast one minute and too slow the next, and tables are too dinky for anything more than two plates and a salad, but the service crew remains upbeat - and certainly looks the part in deckhand gear of polo shirts, sunshine-yellow chinos and Puma deck sneakers. For all those reasons, for the inventive reinvention of an iconic site, for its blithe, sunny spirit, and for its fish and chips by the sea, it's the place to be this summer.

The low-down
Best thing: The reinvention of a Sydney icon.
Worst thing: Teeny tables.
Go-to dish: Crudo of John Dory, chargrilled chillies and blood orange, $18.