Pipit Restaurant — Restaurant in Pottsville

So different, yet so good.

I've seen too many restaurants trying to be different, putting together the most fashionable ingredients on one plate, but the flavours didn't really complement each other - the chef at Pipit clearly knows what he's doing, using the most surprising combinations of ingredients, creating beautifully balanced dishes. Creations like these don't come easily, and they can't all be from past experience - there must have been lots of experiments, a process of trial and error, killing off ideas that weren't good enough. Bear in mind they have an ever-changing menu, so you've got to appreciate the amount of work involved (and the chef's talent of course).

For us, the most memorable dish of the night was the bamboo shoots, which were served raw (but without any astringent taste of the raw bamboo) on a bed of steamed bamboo, seasoned with lobster jelly and almond miso milk, then topped off with dried sea lettuce and lobster roe. As someone growing up eating (cooked) bamboo shoots - fresh or dried - we found this a really pleasant surprise, that texture was just so different to what we had been used to.

The sugarloaf cabbage stuffed with bay lobster and finger lime, which was on their very first menu (then with mud crab as filling) and brought back recently as an add-on, is not to be missed. It had unexpected texture and some rich, eggy flavours that just bursted in my mouth.

I also love the fact that they use locally sourced produce - there were so many varieties we had never seen before. Too bad we live 500 miles away and can't be here...

Over the past weekend, as part of our spontaneous getaway, we opted to explore the enchanting coastal town of Pottsville in New South Wales, where we had an awesome lunch at Pipit! We have been wanting to come here for some years now and were so glad to snap up a last minute booking!

It was great sitting up at the bar right in front of the kitchen watching the magic unfold. Despite being busy, there was an underlying sense of calmness when orders were called to the pass.

What struck me the most was how, despite being a fine dining establishment, it felt as if I was at a friend's place, casually observing them cook. The cozy ambiance certainly added to this feeling, creating a unique and welcoming atmosphere.

All the produce is locally sourced, and everything else is crafted in-house through pickling and from-scratch preparation. The impressive food stood out due to its unique and skillful execution, pipit style😊

My birthday lunch at Pipit was awesome! The staff's attentiveness and service were impeccable, and it's no surprise considering the excellence I expected from the talented team, especially from the head chef and owner, Ben Devlin. He and his team delivered an unforgettable dining experience that perfectly combined fine dining with a warm and inviting vibe.

Definitely worth...

I really wanted to like this place but was sadly disappointed. The service was impeccable, but the rest was not up to that same standard. We had heard amazing things about this restaurant and decided to try it for my birthday on a Monday night. I prefer to order off the menu as I don't eat seafood and their set menu was quite heavily seafood based, so I made sure to check their menu online beforehand. The menu in the restaurant was different from the one online, so some of the things I wanted to try were actually not on the menu in the restaurant. Sadly enough the menu in the restaurant was even more seafood based. I had a cocktail, which tasted okay but was warm and honestly the smallest cocktail I have ever been served. The duck as the main had a few nice soft strips of duck cut off, but the meat on the drumstick itself was incredibly tough and dry, I could not even get it off the bone. The cheesecake was delicious, but was described as having a passion fruit curd, which was just blended straight passion fruit. The limoncello was served warm in a big glass with a big ice cube, which is not how it is supposed to be served. The limoncello is supposed to be served straight from the freezer, with no ice, which I really thought a place like...