Public Dining Room

To many, Sydney is a city defined by its harbour. And what a harbour. As you sit in this bright, modern room - all warm timber and sparkling glass - clinging to the edge of Balmoral Beach, it's a sight to raise the spirits. Also heart-warming are the market-fresh offerings dished up here. The vivid green of sweet pickled samphire adds sparkle and contrast to silky gin-cured ocean trout, while shards of crisp pancetta crown deftly cooked scallops, paired with velvety, smooth cauliflower puree. Fat strips of strozzapreti ('priest strangler') pasta mingle with king prawns, clams and tiny zucchini balls, the whole shebang enriched by Sardinian bottarga and spiced up with a charge of chilli. The mastery of seafood continues with a suquet de Catalonia - a Basque-inspired fish stew of fat prawns, octopus, mussels and flaky chunks of fish. Pistachio ice-cream mellows a rich, bitter dark chocolate tart, but that sparkling view is the real icing on the cake at this beachside pearler.