The BOX on the Water — Restaurant in Ettalong Beach

Not recommended:

Firstly, whole location is poorly lit from the road, you really need to know where you are going to get there, then good luck finding the front door!

We booked a table for six (6) on a Friday night, 90% of our party arrived on time, other was stuck in traffic. During this time we had ample time to peruse the menu, which on paper looked great!

Pre-dinner drinks: Friends all got what they wanted yet it took close to 25 mins for my simple martini to come, 20 mins of which clearly was spent searching for the vodka I had asked for, yet they came up dry… eventually coming back with two other options, which worked but the bar staff clearly not use to making them as the olives came as an earring to the glass as opposed to the garnish we are used to and expect. They also didn’t have additional wine options when we asked and the staff member was clearly having a bad night at this stage…

Ordering: Said staff member came back to take orders, at which stage all of our party had arrived. We were then informed that if a friend wanted bread instead of an entree they would still be charged the $79 (which was not going to be an issue) just the way in which the staff member delivered the information along with the line, it’s not my doing it’s how this restaurant operates.

Meals: By the time the entrees arrived we were all hungry enough to eat them without looking into them too much, I would highly recommend the Pate, however I would like the staff to have more knowledge of the dishes prior to ordering.

Mains: Portion sizes are varied, two people had fish and chips which was huge, pork belly and beef cheek were small portions considering. I had the pork belly, which was over cooked (so rubbery and dry) the vegetables in the dish were raw, again something I would have appreciated knowledge of prior to ordering, the whole dish was off- balanced (not pleasing to the palette). We also ordered the Brussel Sprouts, which if you do go, are an absolute must, however could have been cooked just a touch more and then we ordered the Duck Fat Roasted Potatoes; these were the worst example of a potato I have ever tasted in 40 years. They were at best powdery with a ‘stale’ taste, they were NOT roasted (lacked fluffiness and crisp) no salt and they were HARD!!! Our waitress came back and I sent them back to the kitchen, they arrived back to the table once mains were finished. “He threw them back in the butter for a while, they should be ok now” we were told as she plopped the plate back. I tried them, they were just a hot buttery mess, it’s sad to say I have had better potato from KFC than the Box on the Water…

We were not offered desert or coffee, instead the bill was just placed on the table and the CC machine was bought over.

I would strongly recommend you look elsewhere for a fine dining experience, if you find yourself...

Today Jesus gave his life for the seemingly foolish cause to salvage the ills of humanity. In this joyous celebration that heralds the notion that believers may have their resurrection one day too, we flock to cathedrals or maybe reckon with our own faith. But today, I visited The BOX on the Water with my family and got the Grazing Feast.

Oysters -8/10 quaint addition of candied onions made this a delight for me. I wish there was more of a “spritz-iness” or acidity to them that would make it more of a fresh start to this meal

Gin cured salmon - 5/10 bogged down by the sheer amount of oil added to this dish and the fact that the salmon was probably store bought. No hint of any citrus tone to the fish and why was it smoked?

Beef tartare - 6.5/10 interesting presentation, but I am a tartare traditionalist and am not a fan of the skirting on the egg yolk on top nor am I gagging for the drenching of the peppercorn sauce. Also those chips……besides the point that they used in house made smiths chips I did not like that they were so thin.

Tomato carpaccio - mid. No flavour you can’t just drizzle oil over some tomatoes, plop some raspberries on and think you’ve done something revolutionary. At this point I was thinking how good some warm chicken would feel in my stomach right now

Chicken breast - 6.5/10 on a technical level the chicken breast was cooked through and tender. The skin was crispy at parts but could have been better with its consistency and thickness. (do they even know the Michelin star restaurant hack……) the meat lacked flavour I was actually so bored, I had to catch myself trailing off into thought while gnawing on a bite.

Barramundi - 7.5/10 liked how crispy the skin was and the fish fell apart in my mouth. Not much else to say also the ajo blanco lacked nuttiness but I’m not complaining the fish was fine on its own.

Smashed chats - the chats were not smashed, they were sliced and lightly tapped!!!

Eton mess - 8/10 delightful dessert. The tartness of the sorbet was balanced well with a sweet, agreeable chantilly cream and the meringue.

Cheese...

I will start off by Saying that our waiter/server was Ben (Who was fantastic) The vibe, the view, the spacing between tables ....was fantastic, picturesque and very well placed. We were a group of 13 people and we did have some double ups of dishes.

Goan fish curry

Came with spiced rice, which was nice. However, it was barely warm The flavour was lacking, not very flavoursome, the cream was overpowering and took away from the flavour. Goan curries are known to be spicy a 2 month old could have breastfed this curry and wouldn't have complained. The fish was also over cooked.

Moroccan lamb shank

The lamb shank came with cous cous, a yoghurt sauce and a Moroccan bean, nut something mix....it was lovely, however the shank was under cooked and the sauce, rice and shank were also barely warm.

The crispy skinned duck breast.

Was a very simply presented dish....one would think that when you read duck breast you get the whole breast however this only came with 2 slices yes they were a bit thick but it's wasn't the whole breast....for a main it was disappointing in terms of size.....it was very very small. But the taste was on point.

Potato rosti (wild mushroom)

Very very small portion. Lacked flavour, very very oily (seemed that it was refried more than once (burnt on the outside)

Tuna tartar A becautifully presesnted plate. (As were the rest) the flavour was gorgeous. However really lacked a creaminess. I stole some Aoli from one the ther kids and the dish was now pure perfection! Wasabi mayo/garlic aoli/ even some Kewpie Mayo would be a perfect addition to this dish.

Pork belly

Just heaven! Honestly the perfect crackle and seasoning and so hot when it came which was just yum.

Kids meals

Chicken strips.

This was very well portioned however the grilled chicken had no flavour and they were a bit tough.

Pasta A good sized bowl, which was "perfect"

Fish and chips

"This is the best fish and chips ever!"

Overall the service was great the vibe was great but the food unfortunately didn't have the same standard when it came to taste and...