CorEat — Restaurant in Newcastle-Maitland

(4.5 stars) A dainty fried prawn sanga ($23) balances on a collection of tenderly cooked prawns, diced scallops and razor clam. They’re plopped into puddle of beurre blanc that’s been spiked with kombu dashi and drizzled with chive oil. It’s so tasty it warrants a side of house bread ($9) that comes with their own cafe de Paris butter. It’s a cracking prawn toast update that goes down well with a Korean-inspired cocktail: the Korean Sweet Dream ($19), which updates sujungwa (traditional Korean cinnamon punch) with ginger beer and soju. I’m at Coreat, which slid into the former digs of Newcastle big hitter, Restaurant Mason, quite seamlessly.

Here chef Sunny Chae, who used to be the head chef at Blooming Garden in Hamilton, harnesses Korean flavours and cooking techniques and presents them in a way designed to appeal to his Australian audience. Korean fried chook ($18) is presented as a salad with fresh leaves, rolls of pickled daikon radish, Asian ’slaw and chilli sauce. It’s fresh, it’s contemporary, and it still has that K.F.C. appeal so scarf it with a Kloud beer ($9). Pineapple is a nod to our Australian heritage in the kimcheese wagyu cutlet ($18) where strips of crumbed beef lashed with smoky Korean BBQ sauce are presented under melted cheese with a kimchi and pineapple salsa. These were all generously proportioned entrees from the dinner menu that we combined to make a shared lunch. Next time I’m in town—Newcastle Food Month coming up in April might make for a great excuse—the quality and thought that went into each plate means I have my eyes set on the five course...

I knew I had to write a review when the awful woman next to me started saying "now i dont want to give you a bad review but..." when expecting a meal for free that she ate in full. Lovely dinner tonight at Coreat! Tasty food and friendly service. Beef cheek, crab salad and scallops all delicious and served up quickly, a bill of $100 for 2 including a drink each :) it's different and interesting and worth a try for anyone looking for something different in town! ... So - Shoutout to the patient waitress who listened while someone complained and abused her for over 20 minutes because the side on their plate differed to what was on the menu....after they had eaten the whole thing and said how good it was...wanting it for free. When you start telling a server that "sorry is not good enough for me" and "a menu is a contract and you are in breach of contract" (it's not, by the way), and "you lied, basically you're a liar is what you've said today", after cleaning your plate and complimenting a meal, you need to take a look at yourself and how you treat others. If you send a plate back when it comes out, fine, that's your right, but to eat EVERYTHING and then complain, AND refuse the offer of a partial discount because the "lying chef" owes you a free meal, makes you the bad guy. Extra points off for ruining the lovely atmosphere for others with your awful behaviour. What an unhappy life...

Incredible - I didn’t know we had food like this in Newcastle

My girlfriend and I went here for our combined birthday dinner in early June and had an absolutely lovely time.

We got the degustation menu, which is fairly pricey (at least for me - $75 per person) but for a special night out it’s 100% worth it. This restaurant lives up to the “fine dining” label.

The bread was beautifully fresh, straight out of the oven. The spring roll was probably the best spring roll I’ve ever had, super crispy with a delicious filling and sauce. The king prawn was nearly the size of a lobster and fantastic, grilled to perfection. The wagyu beef brisket was super tender, with a great sauce and sides, and a proper size - filling, hearty, and delicious. The soup (chowder?) was fantastic, lots of different seafood bound together in a perfectly seasoned soup.

The dessert was fantastic, it was an apple + berry + raisin crumble and I was literally salivating with each bite - packed to the brim with spices, and paired beautifully with the ice-cream served on top. So good, I can taste it now writing this review.

The degustation changes every month, and I’m sure whichever month you read this it’ll be just as delicious as when we went.

Overall a fantastic, fine dining experience the likes of which I didn’t know we had in Newcastle. Thanks for taking care of my partner and I on this...