Jonah’s Restaurant & Accommodation

By Franz Scheurer

It’s been there forever and has always been a destination restaurant, a place for families, weddings and fun weekends away, with its high vantage point and glorious view over Whale Beach. Jonah’s has just undergone a major refurbishment and has never looked so good. The refurbishment captures the seaside atmosphere, brings in lots of natural light and makes the place look modern yet elegant, stylish yet warm, and maximises that view.

The other great news is that George Francisco, a very serious young man and a seriously talented chef, has taken over the kitchen. George is a perfectionist. Nothing ‘good enough’ will ever leave his kitchen. As soon as he took over he organised Jonah’s gardener to put in a vegetable and herb garden. He already knows all the best suppliers in town and they seem to be happy to make the long journey up north for him. He hand selected his kitchen staff, spent hours on training the service staff, and keeps tabs on a terrific wine list to make sure it stays appropriate to his food. All this attention to detail has paid off. I have eaten there a few times since George has been in charge and every time it gets a little better. You can choose a-la-carte or degustation and the lunch and dinner menu are slightly different and evolve seasonally and with the availability of produce.

On our last visit we decided to try the Tasting Menu and the Vegetable Tasting Menu.

The Tasting Menu consisted of ‘Freshly opened Clair de Lune Oysters, Champagne Mignonette and Trout Roe’, ‘Crisp Rouget Barbet, California White Sturgeon Caviar, Pearl Onion Mousseline and Upland Cress’, ‘Paper Wrapped Foie Gras, Hot and Sour Consommé and Caramelised Cumquats’. A ‘Heidi Tilsit Cheese Soufflé, Riesling Beurre Blanc’ followed these dishes, then ‘Roast Wild Boar Cutlets, Braised Red Cabbage, Celeriac Purée and Mustard Chantilly’, and finally desserts, a ‘Sparkling Blood Orange Sherbet’ and a ‘Belgian Triple Chocolate Cake with Mocha Rum Sauce’.

The Vegetable Tasting Menu offered ‘Potato Croquette served with hand-made Aioli’, ‘Lebne Ravioli, pickled Baby Beetroot and Bull’s Blood Lettuce’, ‘Tempura Ricotta filled Zucchini Flowers, Basil Pesto Sauce’, followed by the same cheese soufflé as above and afterwards a ‘Potato, Summer Truffle and Spring Onion Torte, Morel Mushrooms, White Asparagus and Sweet Corn Nage’. The blood orange sherbet was the same but the last course was a ‘Caramelised Pineapple and Passionfruit Crème Brûlée Napoleon’.

I can still taste the foie gras parcel. What a terrific combination of flavours and textures, a complex, challenging and truly remarkable dish!

It’s hard to describe perfect food. You run out of superlatives pretty quickly, so all I’ll say is that you can either sit back enjoy and simply indulge in eating, or you can taste, speculate, analyse and theorise, but in the end the result is the same: really great food!

What makes it different is the fact that George has worked with some of the greatest chefs in America and he’s learnt to use ingredients and flavour combinations we don’t see every day. He understands textures intuitively and, helped by his front of house staff, gets the timing perfect. If you’re a chef in Sydney I suggest you come and try George’s food. He’s doing a few things no one else does and he’ll challenge your taste buds. I’m sure he’ll go far in this town!

I know when you think of Jonah’s you think of lunch. Don’t; go there for dinner instead! With the refurbishment the dining room becomes a serene oasis of peace and quiet, making it easier to focus on enjoying your culinary experience; the dinner crowd is a lot less conservative, too. Mind you, lunch and breakfast are also very good.

I will be back… often!

Score: 8.5/10

For more information or bookings:

Jonah’s Restaurant & Accommodation

69 Bynya Road

Palm Beach NSW 2108

Tel.: 02 9974 5599

Btw: In my opinion George makes the best Salt & Pepper Squid in town and it’s available on the bar menu.