Vinegar and Brown Paper — Restaurant in Sydney

If you take the hint provided in the name, you’ll probably be well-pleased by Vinegar and Brown Paper. There’s a fair amount of fish’n’chips walking out in brown paper bags, no doubt to eat on nearby Horderns Beach (the main beach you associate with Bundeena). We opt to dine-in, enjoying the antics of the neighbourhood larrikins – a flock of cheeky cockatoos – while we wait for our dinner.

The birds take the opportunity to eyeball us through a string of Edison bulbs draped along the edge of the white, bull-nosed corrugated iron roof. It provides a little shelter for five stools set along an L-shaped wooden benchtop. It's nothing flash, but a nice enough place to enjoy a casual meal by the sea. Inside, the clean, white-tiled and simply appointed store is dominated by a stainless-steel counter. Behind it sits a retro white-on-black letterboard outlining the regular menu, with today’s printed specials hanging on white paper below.

House-battered Fish Cocktails ($3/each) are the stars of our meal. They’re made on good-sized pieces of hoki encased within airy, golden batter that’s light on oil and big on crunch. To punish us for foolishly taking the healthier option, the beer-battered nuggets of fish come up much better than Grilled Hoki & Chips ($22). In this presentation, the delicate fish is a bit mild and nothingy, getting a bit lost under a decent tartare against reasonable chips and a straight up salad.

A Corn & Black Bean Fritter Burger ($12) proves more enjoyable. Building flavour using house-made chilli jam, guacamole, mayonnaise, the fritter is sandwiched with 'slaw inside a slightly dry brioche bun.

We whet our lips with milkshakes, presented in clear plastic in fun flavours like Salted Caramel ($4.50) and an even better Popcorn ($4.50). You can also splash out for a keep cup - well, if you have a spare twenty-odd bucks lying around, and you’re planning on returning.

Our final foodie offering, Loaded Bad Boys ($15) with Bacon ($2), looks a bit like a hot mess when we open the cardboard box and guacamole goes everywhere. Probing underneath the coriander and oozing green topper with a metal fork eventually comes up mashed potato, with the outsides of the slightly undercooked beer-battered wedges firmly cemented together with melted cheese. This dish doesn’t quite hit it for me.

If I could do my meal over, I’d save myself some dosh and hit up their straight up beer battered fish’n’chips doused in vinegar and wrapped in...

Being a local, I was really excited about having our own Bundeena fish and chip shop! It's in a perfect location and it would be an amazing addition to our small community! When people think about Bundeena and the beach, a fish and chip shop compliments our area nicely. I'm all for supporting new businesses and helping them grow. I know "Vinegar and Brown Paper" has the potential to thrive and being a monopoly (i.e. the only fish and chip shop here), they have a great chance of being a success! Especially in the summer with locals and tourists out and about, it is a smart idea.

However, our experience at Vinegar and Brown Paper didn't go as well as I hoped it would. In the future, I do want to go back there but in the meantime, I really hope the owner can take this as constructive criticism and change certain elements of the business so that locals will return and visiting tourists can enjoy their experience.

The wait time for our fish and chips was very long. The prices were very expensive for the portion-size... shockingly so! I understand that being in a beautiful location warrants a slight increase but I'm sorry it does not justify the high price. If you can tweak these prices slightly and maximise portion sizes, customers (especially locals) would be more inclined to return.

Even though now I'm being alittle picky, I think there needs to be more love in the presentation of the meal. Food is not enough (small servings), food quality can vary, it seems hazardously thrown together, needs a slice of lemon, dipping sauce etc. and just more value for money. The same idea of not getting enough for what you pay for has been a common critique.

Make some changes and encourage customer feedback and their opinions.The best chance for success is to listen to customers and do some research to find the price sweet spot; what customers are willing to pay and be happy with their experience, as well as prices that can still generate profit for the business.

I wish Vinegar and Brown Paper nothing but success and hope that they can take this feedback into...

Wont be going back! We just purchased 12 fish cocktails 12 calamari rings and a small chips total price $73.64 Surprised by the cost I looked at the Menu at Heathcote fish and chips to find that the same order would have cost $33.00. The quality of what you get at Heathcote is much better too! As a regular to Bundeena I'm sad to say I'll be going to one of the other local businesses for lunch next time. I can understand that the cost of things are rising however I can't support a business that charges more than double that of a similar business.

Response to Owners comment Hi Sophie, Im not sure what AGL's profit has to do with the price of fish? As per your menu on your website the calamari rings are $10 for a 4 pack. we purchased 3 packs. Total $30. your fish cocktails are $12 for a 4 pack we purchased 3 packs. total $36. we also purchased a small chips $7. bringing our total to $73 plus credit card surcharge. not the $66 you claim in your response. I can sympathise that your location can be weather dependent and that the complexities of this may mean you charge more than a shop on a highway however at 2.2 times the cost it comes across as overcharging. Im sorry that you find my comment mean. that was not what I intended. I wanted to highlight to others my experience in your store thats all. I wish you all the best and I hope that your pricing plan...