Ripples, Milsons Point

What’s better than sitting in front of our beautiful Sydney harbour on a perfect warm winters day having a 2.5hr lunch at a fancy restaurant?.......having all this during work hours and having work pay for it - woo hoo!!


Today we had a team lunch @ work and it was a toss-up between this restaurant, which we could not get a booking on our last team lunch or the one vote by a colleague who has a strange fetish to dine at Campbelltown Sizzler (yes apparently it’s one of three still open). The choice was a no brainer for me!!

Talk about location location. Ripples is located right under the north side of the Sydney Harbour Bridge just in front of Luna Park and the aquatic centre. The outdoor seating is virtually 2m from the lapping waters of the harbour. A fantastic view of the bridge, yachts sailing past and the general relaxed atmosphere of Milsons Point it is the perfect setting for some fine dining...so let’s bring on the food.

Turkish bread with 3 dip tapenade
(Spicy Capsicum, Basil Pesto, and Olive). ($8)

Unfortunately my bread would have been better on the grill for a bit longer for a crispier texture or I would have preferred sour dough.

Seared Scallops Asian Style ($19 entree)

Scallops I thought the sauce was bit strange. I could taste spicy satay, pea-nutty with a hint of Dijon mustard all mixed together. It tasted ok but I personally found it a bit over-powering for the scallops.

Tempura Prawns ($19 entree)

Prawns were cooked perfectly, you can taste the sweetness of the prawn through the crispiness of the light batter. Served with an Asian salad with a light, sweet vinegarette on bed of jasmine rice. Oh and I loved the Nigella Lawson-esq / Max Brenner-esq sauce jug – gotta get me some of those!!

Soft Shell Crab with Soba noodle salad ($29)

I generally tend not to choose a main that’s similar to my entree, for a bit more variety, but the Soft Shell crab look too appealing on the menu. When it comes to soft shell crab I prefer the smaller ones as they give a better crab meat to soft shell ratio. This was perfect; the legs were quite meaty and cooked well. The batter was not greasy at all and really complimented the light soba noodle salad. Again I couldn’t pick the sauce or remember what it was called on the menu. It was much better than the sauce on the scallops. A very herb flavoured creamy sauce with a hit of lime that accompanied the sweetness of the crab.

Chocolate Honey comb cheesecake with Persian Fairy Floss ($14 not including Mushu)

Boy did this sound good, but sadly didn’t live up to its description or my expectations. The cheesecake itself was quite dry and desperately needed a side of ice cream. I was also expecting large shards of honeycomb that would crunch and melt in your mouth with every bite but not much and no crunch. The Persian Fairy Floss was awesome and always a talking point, which I enjoyed separately even though it was described by friends to resemble fur from my dog Mushu – ooi!!

Overall, an excellent experience. Table service was prompt and friendly. I thought the prices were quite reasonable given the size of the portion and who could complain about the awesome view. Now with my appetite fully satisfied with good food & wine, conversation, and a leisurely walk on a glorious 19 degree winters day, I had to figure out where on earth I could find motivation to go back to work for the next hour and a half– eek!!


Till next time ... we eat!!

Shanks