The Battery

'Hello. My name is Zoe and I'm 10. I think The Battery is awesome! What I had there was the potato scallops; they were yum. The fish and chips, and they were even yummier! Last but definitely not least was the churros; they were definitely the best out of everything but only because they had the yummiest chocolate sauce in the history of the universe! I loooved it!''

A big thank you to my friend, Zoe, whose opinion I value highly, for writing that considered review. I don't feel I need to add much more but, in the interests of keeping my job against such competition, I will.

So, my name is Terry and I'm a bit over 10, which is probably why I'm not quite as enthusiastic about The Battery as Zoe. Kids are programmed to love anything crisp, golden and deep-fried; it's only when you get to boring old adulthood that you realise you can't eat absolutely everything battered, crumbed and saturated in oil.

The force behind the fryer is Paul McMahon, head chef of Rose Bay's Catalina, which has long been known for its fresh, contemporary cooking, crackerjack wine list, who's-doing-who clientele and wraparound harbour views. It's almost like a teenage rebellion, then, to deep fry food in the shadowy, land-locked inner-urban courtyard of the St Margarets development. What, he's tired of seeing yachts? He wants to see gritty urban reality?

The Battery does its best to ignore its surroundings with a light, white interior graffitied with graphics of schools of cute fish; light, white tables; and moulded plastic chairs. It's a big room, with a takeaway shop to one side, a long stainless-steel kitchen across the end and tins of cutlery on every table. In other words, it's a beachside caff without the beach.

The crowd is a mix of eastern suburbs family groups, local flat dwellers and small groups of young women - among them Japanese tourists looking for an Aussie seafood fix.

The fish menu, which changes daily, is a statement in itself, with its list of five different fish matched to a recommended cooking style (battered, crumbed, pan-fried, grilled and char-grilled whole fish), and efforts are made to buy seasonally and locally (I've seen the chef at the fish market on a Sunday morning). A second printed menu is a roll-call of today's fishy favourites, from potato scallops to beer-battered onion rings to fish and meat burgers and, for the kids, fish fingers and mini fish and chips.

Apart from natural oysters and a char-grilled octopus salad, all starters are fried. School prawns with aioli and lemon ($16) make good munchies but I've had better and sweeter. Barbecued octopus ($12) is just too chewy to be a highlight but freshly opened oysters - Sydney rocks from Pambula ($3.50 each) - are clean-flavoured, juicy and nicely minerally.

The wine list is sensibly short but strong, with most bottles less than $50, and glasses are stemless Riedel, which is disconcerting only for the first half bottle. A crisp, lightly floral 2009 Pizzini Pinot Grigio from Victoria's King Valley ($10 a glass/$45 a bottle) makes a good match for the fish and chips ($23), which look exactly as you'd expect fish and chips to look.

The batter (rice flour, beer and vodka) forms a crisp, golden sarcophagus, while the fat, steamy fingers of flathead have real flavour without any of that claggy coating that forms when the oil isn't hot enough. The all-important chips are great - short, hand-cut and lightly salted. And that, apart from a half lemon wrapped in muslin, is that. Home-made sauces are $3 extra and all well made. Salads are variations on a theme of wedges of lettuce with rich, creamy dressings.

I've tried other fish here - a whole grilled snapper ($24) was crisp-skinned if slightly firm and a big chunk of fresh pan-fried blue-eye was good value at $25 - but I reckon The Battery is best used as a fish-and-chippy.

All desserts (churros, chocolate-filled beignets, custard) are deep-fried but for a bowl of unremarkable ice-cream. ''You need fruit,'' says my dinner guest to the chef/owner on the way out. ''And something red, like tomato salad,'' chips in his wife. ''And something green, please,'' suggests my wife, wilting for lack of a rocket salad with a classic vinaigrette. They're all absolutely right but let's face it, they're not 10.

If the kids like it, the parents will, too. It's like MasterChef; something the whole family can enjoy together. The fish is fresh, the staff are sweet and, most importantly, the chips are good.

Zoe finished her inaugural review by claiming: ''I think anybody my age would love this.'' She's right, too. Come back in 10 years, kid, and you can have my job.

tdurack@smh.com.au