This was published 7 years ago
Rose Bay Marina's Tide cafe a visual treat with a straight-down-the-line menu
By Daisy Dumas
WHO
Jackie Frank, general manager at Pacific Magazines and former editor of marie claire; from Rose Bay
WHERE
Tide, Rose Bay
Sparkling: The view from Tide cafe at Rose Bay Marina.Credit: Christopher Pearce
WHY
"Tide is my favourite place where I can go and relax, get a great view. It's not expensive, has fabulous food and is very casual. I go with the kids, I sometimes go by myself. I love the view, being on the water, and yet it's without the expensive price tag. And I can walk there.
"It's absolutely my favourite place for breakfast or brunch.
Tide cafe lets its location do the talking. Credit: Christopher Pearce
"It's underneath the Regatta. You walk past places they sell boats and it's like on a pontoon. It's just got a really fresh feel to it, it transports you– you could be anywhere in the world [on] an absolutely sunny day, it's superb. It's very tranquil; you can look out into the harbour or look back towards the little beach. It feels like you're on holiday."
WHAT
"I always have the superfood breakfast salad– it's exactly as its sounds, it has quinoa, kale, almonds and feta with poached eggs on top– unless I want something sweeter, then I have the yoghurt cup. I stick to the same things; I'm a woman of habit, unfortunately. Sometimes I'll venture out to the smashed avocado.
"It's only open until 3. It serves breakfast all day then has extra things ... but it's the breakfast that always gets me."
ABOUT
"We've just celebrated this year's Audi Instyle Women of Style awards, which was a wonderful event celebrating female empowerment and wonderful women who are high achievers in their field, which is always exhilarating.
Recommender: Jackie Frank says Tide cafe is "absolutely my favourite place for breakfast or brunch".
marie claire's website's just relaunched; watching that transition has been very exciting ... It's been a really busy time with a lot of events. Crazy is good, I kind of like crazy, it keeps the brain going."
Tide Cafe
594 New South Head Road, Rose Bay
9327 6561, regattarosebay.com
Breakfast $6.50-$19.50; lunch $18-$22. $60 for two, plus drinks.
★★★
We've never featured a Rose Bay spot before in this column – and that's a lot of Sundays and a lot of good food, often on Sundays, accounted for. Despite its enviable catchment zone, the eastern suburb is not a powerhouse of dining options, besides the ever-popular Catalina, out on a limb and reigning over what has to be one of the city's most painfully picture perfect of dining views.
No, Rose Bay is better known for its yachts, its seaplanes and as being the ham in an ocean-harbour sandwich. It's fitting, then, that the first Rose Bayan place we visit is part of the working (and very smart) Rose Bay Marina, slotted behind a swatch of well-to-do boat hire and sales and management companies. Despite its surrounds, there is nothing showy or glossy about Tide – it is straightforward and approachable in its offerings and attitude, letting its frankly stunning geographical lottery win do the talking.
In fact, you'd probably not know of its existence, unless you frequent the motor yachts bobbing in its direct view or are familiar with Regatta restaurant, its big brother, situated above, in the space that has been through a few marine-themed identity changes in recent years, switching from Pier to Sailor's Club to its current incarnation.
There is a special place in cafe heaven for ladies of a certain vintage who enjoy long, slow, laughter-filled breakfasts together. Their hair immaculate, their sunglasses oversized – possibly Pierre Cardin – and their fine handbags in check, I am always in admiration of style's transcendent nature, how there is nothing as cool, as worth taking note from, as a stylish gran. Which makes Tide, between its sparklingly pristine view and glossy, wise, coffee-sipping Saturday morning crowd, a visual feast. When I am an old woman I shall wear purple ... and try my best to be even a smidgen as elegant as these cats.
Food is simple and done well, with nothing out of the ordinary, all-day brekkie-wise. Jackie Frank, this week's star recommender, is right about that superfood salad, which is a fine example of how important a really bloody good salad dressing is. Combined with the rich orange gloss of running egg yolk and the crunch of blanched almond, this kale-and-protein combo is way more than the sum of its parts.
Eggs Benedict do just the job and, taking a leaf out of Frank's book, we try a yoghurt cup for good measure. It looks a treat but is too sweet for my morning palate, even after a shock-to-the-system dawn surf. My partner is very happy with his decaf latte, a drink that is surprisingly hard to get right, he claims. I can't comment on how blindingly sun-filled the fresh OJ is because we leave without it materialising (sadly only discovered a few hours later and not missed, I guess, because I'm quite happy with my glam supergrans and that supersalad).
Lunch rolls round at 11:30, when the likes of haloumi burgers, salads and braised brisket rolls – mostly under $20 – play their part.
It doesn't rewrite the rule book or pay much attention to the gluten-free/sugar-free crowd, nor does it play with old morning stars in new ways. I suspect Tide knows its audience precisely and there is something to be said for bright, jolly service and a straight-down-the-line menu, in a spot that might be tempted to go bigger on price and 'tude. One word of caution: it's on a mini pier, more or less gloriously open to the elements. Approach on a tempestuous day at your peril.