Limani Seafood Restaurant

By Franz Scheurer

 

Hidden away, right on the water at Narrabeen Lakes, this Seafood restaurant lives on repeat business. Loyal patrons from all over the Northern Beaches patronise Dimitrios Kritssotakis and his uncomplicated, fresh food, the easy, laid-back, holiday-like atmosphere and the casual service he offers.

 

Once you park your car in the restaurant car park you have to ‘fight’ your way past a large quack of ducks grazing on the lake-side lawn (no, duck is not on the menu) and make your way upstairs where you find a large, bright, modern, room and a veranda for dining al fresco.

 

The menu is old-fashioned and the portions are substantial. The menu states that the oysters are freshly shucked and I’m sure they were… at one stage, but you can still order them Kilpatrick or Mornay. Greek items on the entrée menu, like the taramasalata, spannakopita, meatballs, char-grilled baby octopus and tsatziki are very good and the pita-style bread is outstanding. The dolmades are too soft for my taste and I suspect they are the tinned ones and the only letdown, but made up for by the fact that you can still order sizzling garlic prawns. A great way to graze and sample a variety of entrees is to order the ‘Limani Mixed Entrée Platter For Two’ ($35.50).

 

For mains we tried the ‘Fish and Chips’, perfectly crisp, beer-battered flathead fillets with good chips. Personally I didn’t like the tartare sauce, as it was quite sweet, but my dining companions all liked it. The ‘Pan Fried Breast Of Chicken’ served with chat potatoes (skin on) and creamed spinach is succulent and well seasoned and the ‘Lamb Casserole’ from the ‘Traditional Greek Dishes’ section of the menu is thankfully not lamb but mutton, perfectly ‘fall of the bone’ tender and loaded with taste.

 

An appropriate wine list (with a number of Greek wines) is priced competitively and the service is casual and friendly and they allow BYO wine. 

 

Limani, in many ways, reminds of restaurants of yesteryear. The food is honest but old-fashioned. The portions are huge and value for money is excellent. Ingredients are fresh and attention to detail is good. Most dishes need salt, again a throwback to the way we used to serve food in Australia, but there is nothing old-fashioned about the quality of the ingredients.

 

I can’t tell you anything about the desserts… we simply couldn’t eat another morsel, but I’m willing to bet that the Baklava would be good.

 

Score: 6/10

 

For more information or bookings:

Limani Seafood Restaurant

Upper Level 

11 Narrabeen Road

Narrabeen NSW 2101

Tel.: 02 9970 1999