First Look: Find Bang-Up Fish Burgers (and Potato Scallops) at Bronte Road’s Newcomer

The Bronte Road Bistro team’s been busy. Testing buns. Panko crumbs. Potatoes. Margarita slushies. Soft serves. All things out of place in their French dining room, but perfect for the cheffy fish’n’chipper they just opened in its place.

“It’s simple – we’ve kept the menu quite small, so we can just focus on doing the small things right,” chef and co-owner Matt Barnett says. “We’ve had at least 10 people a day just popping their heads in, saying ‘This is exactly what the area’s been looking for’.”

Barnett and Stewart Parsons have run the Waverley dining room for 17 years – an exceptional innings by anyone’s measure. “[The bistro] was seen as more of a high-end, expensive place, not everyone could afford to go,” Barnett says. “That top-end market, we were seeing dropping off.”

A rare set of summer lunchtime services inspired them to shake it up. “It was so beautiful during the day, and we were ready for a change.” After a quick refit, this week’s soft launch was a “baptism of fire”.

The same staff are at Bronte Road Fish – switching from finer restaurant-style service, to the non-stop quick thinking of a takeaway joint. There’s a whole new kitchen – no stove, no oven, just a flat top and fryers.

Barnett has worked hard on what he deems the best fish burger: a super-soft bun, fresh iceberg, pickles, American cheese and crunchy panko-crumbed fish. “Then a real zingy tartare we make – lots of dill, lots of crunchy cornichons and capers. That’s it. Simple.”

There’s a tuna smashburger, too. Bluefin tuna – half ground, half chopped – is mashed with barbequed onions then shaped into patties. They’re smashed onto the hot plate, flipped, topped with cheese – then sizzled till the edges are crisp. They hit those same fluffy buns and veggies, with a slightly spicy tomato relish. “Everyone’s saying it tastes exactly like a cheeseburger – like, you wouldn’t even know it’s tuna.”

Alongside chippies, you’ll find “the ultimate” potato scallops – inspired by a trip to Japan, where potato dishes are often spiked with vinegar and umami flavours. In Sydney, this looks like thick slices of Sebago potatoes soaked in shio koji for three hours, before they’re slicked in a light tempura-style batter and fried. “When you bite into it, it’s salt-and-vinegar-y almost. They’re really simple, really light.”

Hake comes battered or katsu-style, and Atlantic salmon or snapper hot off the grill. A collection of salads remains from the Bistro days, and mushroom burgers are for anyone ditching the seafood.

The newcomer is easy breezy, for walk-ins only. Everything’s served to take away, but there are trays and plates you can grab if you’re dining in the leafy courtyard. And that’s why the drinks list is such a winner.

Glistening cans of fizzy drinks are here if you need, but so is a funky wine list, local tinnies (from the likes of Heaps Normal and Yulli’s) and cocktails made in collaboration with Marrickville’s Ester Spirits (a gin and tonic on tap, ever-churning Margarita slushies, and bespoke canned spritzes).

Time will tell, but maybe this will be the spot to take the heat off Out of the Blue, the always-humming family-run joint just around the corner.

“We’re trying to tick every box we can,” Barnett says. Japan’s Hokkaido milk soft serve – an exceptionally creamy treat that was just “way, way above the rest” they tried – is swirling, ready to be topped with raspberry, chocolate or caramel sauce, and a Biscoff crumb.

Bronte Road Fish
280 Bronte Road, Waverley

Hours:
Daily 11am–9pm

@bronteroadfish
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