Windjammers Restaurant - North Wollongong

Location: On the corner of Bourke and Cliff; 15 minutes’ walk from North Wollongong train station.

Details: Simply elegant with ambient interiors, delicious food and extensive beverage menu Windjammers Restaurant & Terrace delivers a total sensory Wollongong dining experience. Windjammers Restaurant is located beach front with glorious views over North Wollongong Beach and the Pacific Ocean, and offers a sumptuous buffet and contemporary A La Carte menu. The Wollongong restaurant features indoor and alfresco dining catering for up to 160 guests and is open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The Windjammers Terrace menu is available Monday to Sunday for lunch.

Profiled by de groots media: Sail on in to Windjammers Restaurant at the Novotel, where the liquid horizon is broken only by the green slices of pine trees and bobbing swimmers. A refurbishment in early 2008 saw the Windjammers dining room bathed in neutral tones, turning the spotlight to the alluring blue hues of the Pacific. Sun-seekers can gravitate to the outdoor terrace and watch the sun roll up the blue sky, or find a cooler spot inside with ocean views through glass walls. With a contemporary menu and an extensive wine list, locals and hotel guests fill the interior for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. Hotel dining in a relaxed, beachfront setting proves to be a winning combination at Windjammers.

Choose from the tempting a la carte menu or the equally mesmerising buffet, where hidden delights bubble away in stainless steel vessels and blue tiles channel the sapphire sea outside. The buffet offers an array of fresh seafood each day, but weekends see the nets unloading crabs, bugs, mussels and salmon for a seafood extravaganza. Sunday lunches prove an ever-popular event; lure the kids to the table with face painting and festivity. The a la carte offerings (terrace menu by day, restaurant menu by night) evolve twice a year, with the recent fruition boasting the likes of chilled prawns adorned with baby herbs and salsa, and grilled lemon pepper chicken breast with thyme gremolate perched atop crushed potatoes. Manager Detta Duren and her capable team will ensure your appetite is well sated, then simply glide across to the Novotel’s Lobby or Beach Bar for a few tipples to wash it all down.

Lauren Barker, December 2008

Gift certificates: Buy a Gift Certificate for Windjammers at Novotel, North Wollongong from www.bestgiftcertificates.com.au