Return to Freshwater Beach, NSW

An Arvo at Pilu's

With two private function rooms, excellent food and cuisine of Sardinia and a location right spot on overlooking Freshwater Beach along Moore Road at Harboard, on Sydney's northern beaches, there is much expectation when you step into Pilu's Restaurant. You can choose seating inside, on a covered verandah outdeck, or below in garden settings, with the ocean breeze and smell of sea and sand up the nose. There is a selection of both Italian and Australian wines. The decor is retro beach house, painted an off shade from white and reminding me of lazy summer days in tropical climes. You dine and have a view over a small bay surrounded by cliff top houses and much activity on the rather sand-powdery beach.

Selections a group of us had to celebrate Charmaine's birthday earlier this month included:

Salt baked New Zealand King salmon, replete with saffron kipfer potatoes, baby leeks and beetroot puree.

De-boned quail wrapped in pancetta, stuffed with chicken livers, fennel and tarragon.
Saffron flavoured spagettini, graced by Queensland spanner crabmeat, crispy guanciale and breadcrumb pangrattato.

Slow cooked Coronga lamb fillet, accompanied by olive and almond salad and cous cous.

Gus found in-grown hairs under the crackle of the deliciously outstanding suckling pig - apparently this is a natural feature of the black variety of swine used for this dish. Jeanette from Perth had to deal with a rather hard serving of an otherwise very juicy and tender selection of cuts on a similiar dish. I am not a fan of sausages, but could not resist the Sardinian version of the pork sausage served.

Freshwater Beach, NSW - What a Beaut Day

The South Pacific comes to mind, on a clear and sunny day. Freshwater,the first beach north of Manly in NSW, was once a privately owned estate, apparently with reference to a source or stream of such a resource in the early days of European settlement. Its neighbouring precinct of Harbord was also a personal asset. Today in the 21st century, both suburbs offer an unprecedented lifestyle, in both summer and winter, of immersing both visitors and residents alike in another world, only 30minutes north of Sydney's Harbour Bridge.

Pilu Restaurant at Freshwater is located on a site adjacent to the open ocean, or as it likes to state, "on the beach". We were there too early for lunch, so we settled for its adjoining kiosk, where I was taken by the rich chocolaty froth of its served cappuccino (image above) and accompanying pistachio biscotti.

The suckling pig toasted sandwich (image below), stuffed with rocket and more, made an easy snack on a lazy weekend morning. Associate this with beach break waves over a sandy bottom, a characteristic of Freshwater for surfing quality. It may be too popular for its own good, as the parking lots, sandy spots and water space tends to range from crowded to over crowded. The locals are generally okay if you stay within the boundaries and do not drop in too much. Freshwater hosted the first official historical surfing event in Australia, graced by the Duke himself. Visitors are advised to learn at the northern end of the beach and only go to the mid-section once one improves. Do proceed to the "alley"once you are truly confident, the alley being the southern end.