COASTAL DINING at Mooney Mooney

Mooney Mooney is an unassuming suburb just off the F3 freeway to the Central Coast. Its quiet location on the Hawkesbury river being its biggest drawcard. We took the old Pacific Highway from Hornsby and enjoyed the winding, tree-lined road catching glimpses of the river along the way. Once we crossed the bridge at Brooklyn, we knew we had arrived. The old Mooney Mooney Workers Club has always been a "funny little place". Since it was taken over by the Revesby Workers Club about 3 years ago, it has become a popular eatery for locals and visitors alike.

First impressions as you walk in are "isn't it small?". The staff are incredibly friendly and it has a nice casual feel about it. The updated decor is quite serene, not like the usual club decor, where the loudness can be quite confronting! Once led to the dining room, your eyes are immediately drawn to the the view of the river. The dining room opens up onto a verandah overlooking a grassy reserve, then to the Hawkesbury river.

A perfect location for a long summer evenings with the family as there is also a closed in play area just below so while you enjoy a relaxing meal, you can be sure the kids are occupied.

Today we were celebrating an anniversary and decided to have a seafood feast. This club has a wide variety in the menu, from regular sausages, steaks, roasts and schnitzels, through to the full seafood extravaganza. There is also a comprehensive kids menu with the usuals such as fish & chips, spaghetti to name a few. All priced at $9.90 and including dessert and drink. Dessert being icecream with flavoured sauce or jelly with a freddo "frog in a hole".

Now it is advisable to book, as even on a weekday, the dining room is full. Apparently you can't book the verandah, but can just put in your "bid" for a position and they will do the best for you on arrival. We were lucky on this occasion. As we were handed our menus, the waitress also handed a colouring in sheet and coloured pencils to our son. Great thinking! It gave us time to peruse the menu.

As it was a special occasion, we decided to go all out seafood and I started with an entree of grilled scallop and crispy prociutto salad with vinaigrette ($16.70). Hmmmm....delicious, subtle flavours and light enough not to spoil my appetite! My husband had a dozen oysters kilpatrick, an old favourite of his and one he doesn't partake in often ($17.80 per doz)

Satisfied, we moved on to the serious matter of mains. There really was no choice to be made, we had seen the Coastal Platter for 2 glide past us en route to other tables, and just had to have it. The platter is a melding the Cold Seafood Tasting Plate and the Trawlers Basket. What a sight to behold!

The top layer included half a lobster morney, tempura prawns, deep fried soft shell crab, salt and pepper squid, yellow tailed schnapper and chips. Below was the local oysters au natural, cooked prawns, a whole crab, smoked salmon, mussels in their shells, and marinated octopus all accompanied with dipping sauces and salad. The price for this was $93.50 (for 2). However, if you join the club for $5.00 you can get a 5% discount on all meals and drinks. Well worth it if you decide to become a regular here.

So after demolishing this, and entertaining the 4 year old with a nutcracker and a crab shell (endless fun), we decided we were at the point of no return and were definitely going to order dessert! Shamelessly, we again perused the menu and both decided on the Butterscotch schnappes creme brulee with mixed berry compote, ice cream and cinnamon palmiers. What is dessert without a beverage...so a nice milky moccha for hubby and a chai for me.

At that point, we had to give in and down tools. It was time to pick up the firstborn from school and we had a 20 minute drive home to make.

We left with membership forms in hand, and the thought that we would definitely come up here again in the future. It is a great, child friendly location for larger family groups who are usually seated next to the window overlooking the playground, but still with full view of the river. Or even just for a quick afternoon meal. I've heard it is really busy on Sundays, so you must book. They do Mothers Day buffets, so its good to check what is on the menu for your chosen day. We also were quite extravagant with it being a special occasion for ourselves, but it could easily just be a quick kids meal, and a pasta or steak instead of cooking dinner, followed by a quick run around the play area during daylight savings. Hapi eating one and all!