Catalina - Rose Bay

This restaurant is clean and tidy, with friendly staff. We ordered the oysters and they were raw, fresh and yummy. We couldn’t get enough.

This venue is one of the quintessential Sydney lunchtime dining experiences. We had gorgeous food on the day, my fave was the lamb which some people may say was too rare but I like lamb on the rarer side so perfect for me.Little criticism on service: a couple of girls were pregnant and so not drinking from our obnoxiously large bottles of wine (which were poured regularly) and ordering mocktails instead. Both girls had to ask for their drinks multiple times which is not quite the level of service you expect when paying $250+ a head. When alerted at the end of our meal, the manager offered each lady an additional mocktail on the house.

An excellent experience had here. Located on Rose Bay, this restaurant affords excellent views of the water. Although the prices are higher this is balanced out by the chef hatted food, wonderful service, and fantastic views. We had booked in for the later sitting for lunch (there are sittings at 12pm, 1230pm, and 230pm). All the tables were basically full when we arrived and wasn’t surprised our request for a balcony table wasn’t available as mostly larger groups sat out there. <br/ <br/ Our drink orders were taken and we both went with mocktails. My friend had the Orange Blossom and I had the Home Made Seasonal Lemonade (which had passionfruit puree). Both were lovely and refreshing for a hot day like we had. <br/ <br/ My friend wasn’t feeling the best so only had a main course. I begun with the Pan Roasted Quail. Dainty pieces of quail were sat upon celeriac puree, rainbow chard, peaches, and hazelnuts. A beautiful combination of flavours and textures. I loved how the chard had some sharp acidity to balance out the fattiness of the quail. <br/ <br/ For mains I had the Black Onyx Beef Tenderloin. A very cooked piece of beef which was generous in portion. Alongside it sat a piece of fried polenta, onion, parmesan aioli, and chimichurri. I loved how it was cooked and the tenderness of it. The accompaniments were fantastic too. My friend said her Roasted Cowra Lamb Rack was succulent and especially loved the eggplant caponata that came with it. <br/ <br/ I then finished off with Passionfruit Curd Meringue Tart. It was a tart filled with passionfruit curd and mango and topped with meringue and gold leaf. It was served with lychees and passionfruit ice cream. It was light enough to end the meal with but also indulgent at the same time.<br/ <br/ It was a very pleasant meal and would suggest to try here.

Catalina has been on my go to list for over a year. I was thrilled to finally have tried it. The service was faultless. Portions were extremely generous. Oysters The Barramundi was the stand out for me. I would definitely recommend a visit here.

One of the top three most beautiful restaurants to dine at in Sydney . With the food always being consistently satisfying without ever reaching those culinary high notes . It’s more about the view and the vibe but the food doesn’t hurt . Service is excellent .