Feast on Pasta, Potato Flatbread and Fancy Surf’n’Turf at St Siandra, a New Waterfront Restaurant in Mosman by a Former Nomad Chef

Plenty of restaurants in Sydney claim to channel the joie de vivre of the Med in summer. But St Siandra in Mosman has really nailed the brief. Sitting in pole position harbourside, next to Mosman yacht club, the new restaurant’s design is inspired by the Amalfi Coast – and it has an outlook to match. Dandelion-yellow walls give way to full-length windows that look out to a private beach and the yachts and harbour beyond. Diners park up at terracotta-coloured marble-topped tables and sit on woven love seats designer Sally Taylor (Felix , Queen Chow, Elva) picked up in Italy.

Head chef Sam McCallum – a transplant from Nomad Surry Hills, where he worked for six years – says his menu is broader than the Amalfi: it takes in the whole Mediterranean coastline.

“When you use the word ‘Mediterranean’, it gives you an opportunity to pull in ideas and techniques from a huge array of countries along the Mediterranean Sea,” McCallum tells Broadsheet.

The menu is appropriately seafood-heavy, and McCallum says one of his top picks is the scallops a la Rockefeller – scallops from the Abrolhos Islands, off the coast of WA, with a spiced green sauce.

“Even before I put down a menu on paper or found a location, that [dish] was something I wanted to get out there,” he says.

McCallum also big-ups the skewers. Wild mushrooms, tiger prawns, baby octopus and Angus short rib are pierced with a stick, cooked over charcoal, and served simply with Mount Zero olive oil and fermented tomato. But it might just be the fancy take on surf’n’turf that captures attention: a Jack’s Creek Angus sirloin is served bone-in alongside butter-poached lobster tail and a champagne butter sauce that McCallum says takes the dish to the next level.

Potato flatbread with smoked garlic is a nod to Nomad’s Middle Eastern influence, while spaghetti with garlic, chilli and tiger prawns is the ideal order for those determined to bring Amalfi flavours to their dining experience. In the mornings, a takeaway counter serves Saint Dreux coffee and pastries from Staple in Seaforth. Dine-in weekend breakfasts involve chickpea pancakes with vanilla ricotta and date syrup, zucchini fritters, and sujuk (spicy sausage) and egg muffins.

Like the restaurant, which is named for the St Siandra , a boat that was docked in Middle Head and won the Sydney to Hobart twice, cocktails are named in tribute to Sydney yachts. The Rum Runners has two types of rum, pineapple and falernum syrup, while the Flying Cloud is a breezy blend of Malfy Gin Rosa, Aperol, citrus and watermelon.

Despite its luxury-yacht focus and dedication to local produce, McCallum says St Siandra isn’t meant to be an exclusive, white-tablecloth joint.

“It’s very much a relaxed dining feel,” he says. “It has a super beachy feeling.”

St Siandra
75 Lower Parriwi Road, The Spit, Mosman
(02) 8251 2444

Hours:
Restaurant
Wed 11am–5pm
Thu 11am–late
Fri & Sat 7am–late
Sun 7am–5pm

Takeaway
Daily 7am–midday

stsiandra.com.au
@stsiandra