Blue Swimmer at Seahaven

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  9     

Went to this restaurant when recommended that they serve good coffee. We saw the food being served and asked for the menu. The food was delicious and full of flavour (I am use to CBD food which is often tasteless and pricey). The figgy pudding was beautifully presented and tasted fantastic. Best food I have had in a long while. The service was excellent and the place was packed with patrons. Highly recommended.

May 07, 2012 

2.5 Not Recommended

Food  2      Ambience  5      Service  2      Value  1     

There's no other restaurant in Gerroa other than the Fisherman's Club so they have it all to themselves. This place is super popular at breakfast and lunchtime, but we came for dinner, expecting something pretty good considering the menu which we had already checked out and the prices likewise. It was full of affluent looking people with good haircuts drinking plenty of very expensive wine which should have been a warning right away.

Well this was one of the worst dining experiences I can recall. The entree of sea-food with prawns, baby squid and so on was slapped on a plate, not well constructed. The dressing was so bland and the paprika added nothing. It needed lime or more vinegarish flavour.

The service was woeful. The waitperson was completely confused in reciting the menu and had no real idea what was in some of the dishes. There was no bread served at the table, you could order a Bruschetta but why would you order that for dinner? The beef ribs in sherry sauce wasn't bad, the sauce had a nice balance of flavour but the beef was actually really tough to chew which is amazing considering it had obviously been cooked for ages on the bone.

The lamb cutlets were so bad as to be inedible. They were covered in heavy layers of fat. There was more fat than meat. There was a weird green sauce on the top, something to do with peas apparently but it had no flavour at all. We were doing some food touring in the Gerringong/Berry area which is a lovely place indeed but please don't think you are going to be well fed there.

The only really good meal we had the whole time was in the Bowling Club in Gerringong which served honest food for a good price in good portions. Everything else was between average and terrible, nothing more so than an absurd cafe in Berry called Jetz where we waited over an hour for what was no more than a sandwich and then left with it still to come.

Honestly what is wrong with people trying to run cafes and restaurants outside Sydney? I wish Eatability would open a "rural reviews" section so people can be warned about what to expect in the so-called "tourist" zones.

Mar 16, 2012 

7.8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  7     

We have just been here with a group of six on a Saturday night. We all had only mains: beef ribs, pork (I think,) cheeks, pork cutlet and duck. Every one was very happy with their meals with the only reservation being that the duck portion, while one of the pricier choices, was a very small serving. We also would have liked to be able to bring our own wine. It was nice to see the source of food on offer.

Mar 11, 2012 

9 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  10      Service  9      Value  8     

Just had the most fabulous lunch at this great find of a cafe. Food and ambience that remind me of Sean's Panaroma at North Bondi. All about fabulous ingredients and inventive combinations.

Great view, casual but elegant, accommodating to my 3 small kids and a fabulous wine list. And to top it all off a beautifully made Allpress coffee.

What a find! When you hear that the manager used to run the sourdough bakery at Berry and his partner was trained by Christine Manfield it starts to make sense.
Having just moved to the area I plan on making this our regular date night spot.

Feb 16, 2012 

9 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  9     

Lunch was great. Menu caters for vegetarians too, and not just the usual mushroom risotto! fresh food well cooked and presented. We had the prawn and warm chicken salad with quinoa etc., which was really lovely.

Jan 22, 2012 

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  8     

I recently stayed in Gerroa and ate at the Blue Swimmer for three meals. I loved ever mouthful. I would highly recommend.

Jan 15, 2012 

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  9     

We had carrots and asparagus in truffle oil for entree and knew we were in for a terrific meal. Ocean trout on polenta and sherry infused beef ribs that just melted in your mouth. Lovely desserts too. We've dined at many hatted restaurants and the Blue Swimmer deserves one for sure.

Dec 31, 2011 

5 Average

Food  4      Ambience  8      Service  5      Value  3     

I have been to this cafe several times; only twice with the current owner. The food used be be good, although a little pricey.

Last summer holidays we stayed at Gerroa with our grown children and grandchildren.
We had a couple of experiences which left me with the determination not to go back. One was when asked by a waiter how my meal was I told the truth and said the salad was actually rotten. By that I explained that not only were the leaves yellow but some of them had gone soggy and brown with rot. She didn't comment and accordingly didn't even dock the bill.

The food is generally good here but it is quite mean in portion size in order that you have to order every little, and I mean 'little' extra on the side. The coffee is good but, again the smallest they can get away with.

We decided not to go again as they were seriously mean with meals provided for out grandchildren. It's a shame as we have bought a holiday house there and it would have handy.

Oct 28, 2011 

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  8     

What a lovely surprise in sleepy Gerroa! We has some excellent lunches, the ocean trout was fantatic as was the pasta. The service was very good and even when busy the staff would do their utmost to keep us all happy. Highly recommended!

Oct 17, 2011 

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  8     

You know that dream where you are staying on holiday in a relatively sleepy seaside town and you find that restaurant where the owners not only know what they're doing, but obviously love it.

Well, Gerroa is the town and this is that restaurant. It's unpretentious, timber, big windows, outside area and inside a wooden floor and well-spaced tables. Menu on a big blackboard, with starters like Berry sourdough with onion dip, good olives and oil and balsamic. Crab chowder with mussels. Proper tomato, mozarella and basil.

Mains take you to kingfish and great chips, strotzzapreti with cauliflower and taleggio, a fabulous Angus steak sandwich, Thirlmere chicken and prawn salad and slow cooked beef ribs were just the bits that we managed to try over a few visits.

The wine choice is ridiculously good. In a small town with a post office/newsagent and one restaurant, we were drinking a terrific Bress chardonnay from the Macedon ranges and a terrific Spanish tempranillo. And it's all casual and friendly. The owners, head waiter Courteney and chef Caroline actually want you to have a good time.

They also serve good coffee and breakfast and even great take-away burgers and chips and fish at night. It's a cafe and a serious restaurant that happily co-exist, if that makes sense.

All you need is shorts and a T-shirt and a big hunger. If you're heading south, it's just out of Kiama and through Gerringong. You'll really, really like it.

Oct 12, 2011