Fish Cove

The fish and chip shop has been the source of easy family dinners and mid-week meals for generations. And while most suburban takeaway joints offer mostly the same options, some, like Fish Cove in Rose Bay, are taking a little more care.

Along with classic battered and golden-fried ingredients – plump fish cocktails, fluffy potato scallops, seafood baskets and calamari rings – it’s serving a selection of marinated seafood meals, such as honey-mustard Atlantic salmon, barramundi with ginger and shallots, and prawn and scallop skewers.

The house fish (which can be crumbed, battered or grilled) doesn’t arrive to the shop frozen but is freshly caught New Zealand hake (many places opt for frozen and imported basa fillets). Everything is cooked using Azure canola oil, which is milled and sourced near Cudal in central-western NSW, and the potatoes come from growers in Victoria.

Fish Cove also has a selection of oysters, lobster, salmon, prawns and barramundi, which can be cooked in the shop or taken away to prepare at home. If you don’t want chips, there are a handful of salads, such as lentils (with red onion, feta, cucumbers, coriander and parsley), pear and walnut, and beetroot and chickpea. Fans of the fish burger will be impressed – there are three. All come with grilled fish and different salad options.

While it’s undeniably a takeaway-first business, Fish Cove offers casual seating and cutlery. It’s also not too far from the sand harbour beach of Rose Bay if you want a scenic place to eat.