Nestled in the quiet, Pittwater community of Clareville is a delightful weatherboard cottage serving up the Beaches newest fresh, fine dishes. The Clareville has opened on the site of the long-standing local favourite Clareville Kiosk, and brings with it a crisp, breezy interior and a menu filled with contemporary dishes showcasing native and local ingredients.
The food is so fresh, in fact, that some of the ingredients have been foraged by chef and owner Cooper Dickson that very day – with the wild three-corner leek dumplings proving a perfect example. The starter, which is accompanied by asparagus, crunchy smoked macadamia, brown butter and fetta, owes its delicious flavour to the home grown leeks.
The dishes following are a treat to the eye, as well as taste-buds, with every plate masterfully put together with eye-for-detail precision. The delicate hiramasa kingfish starter, complete with mussel chantilly, baby cucumber, horseradish and the crunch of buckwheat cracker delights in its balance of flavours.
Cooper says he deliberately has a small menu to focus on ‘making those dishes as good as I can with fresh, local produce.’ The keen fisherman admits the menu is ‘highly focused on seafood,’ and often changes according to what is brought in that day. There are also meat dishes to enjoy, like the grain-fed sirloin featuring creamed leek, truffled mushrooms, kohlrabi, marrow and soft herbs; plus there’s a dry aged duck dish that’s a must-have.
The pan-fried snapper is a headline main, and on tasting this dish, complete with charred grapes, brocollini and almonds dancing in flavours of brown butter and lemon aspen, it’s easy to see why. Cooper’s love of fishing is even displayed on the walls, with his favourite catches turned into elegant artworks using the Japanese practice of ‘Gyotaku,’ or fish rubbing.
The chef is Avalon-born, and has returned to his base having spent the last two decades working in top restaurants both in Australia and Germany, including the Capella Lodge on Lord Howe Island.
In another nod to his homecoming, the chef serves his entrees on plates made by his late father, and renowned ceramist, Lex Dickson.
Rounding off lunch, it’s hard to choose between the chocolate mousse with liquorice ice cream and raspberry or the lemon myrtle and bushberry curd, so a decision is made to come back again another time to soak in The Clareville experience.
The Clareville 27 Delecta Avenue, Clareville theclareville.com.au / 9918 2727