Thelma and Louise hit the road again! Ahem I mean I am hitting the road with Queen Viv to attend the Narooma Oyster Festival. When Mr NQN wasn’t able to get time off work I knew who to ask immediately-the woman who had driven for an hour to get some oysters and champagne. So on this chilly autumn day we set off for a the drive to Narooma. We pass through small towns-we can’t really stop as we need to be at Moruya for lunch and we pass location names such as Cockway Creek, Wheelbarrow road and Mount Agony road and after a 4.5 hour drive and one very ordinary, forgettable sandwich along the way, we arrive for lunch at The River restaurant where we meet Cath.
The restaurant is owned and run by three chefs originally from Melbourne called Toby, Tim and Peter. The building was built by an architect who moved here from Sydney as he wanted a venue where he could entertain his friends. The three young chefs worked here for a while and then returned to Melbourne but missed it so much that they bought it from him a few years later. The menu changes every season and on the first Friday of every month they host a producer’s dinner for $60 a head where the producers themselves come in and discuss their produce with the diners. The produce is mostly local and organic where possible and there is a slow food movement here.
The service is friendly and there is the a la carte menu as well as a set menu which is great value with 2 courses for $40. Queen Viv eyeballs the eel while I like the idea of the lambs brains-apparently this is always on the menu as diners won’t allow them to take it off!
Lambs brains $18
They assured us that they wouldn’t come out looking too brain like as Cath has never tried them and is hesitant. Instead they come out resembling croquettes with a pool of sauce gribiche which is like a tartare style sauce with pickles and boiled egg. The lambs brains are crumbed in herbs and parmesan. Cutting into them, they’re soft and spongey and rich (and incidentall a reader told me that brains are very high in cholesterol). They actually seem like the perfect filling for a croquette and I wonder why we haven’t seen this done more. Indeed the waitress tells us of a diner who comes in with his wife and he orders brains for an entree and then a main and while she has dessert, he orders another serve of brains!
Mille Feuille of smoked eel in toasted pumpernickel, cucumber and cornichon salad $19
The lightly smoked eel salad in very thin toasted pumpernickel is delicious. The paper thin pumpernickel is crunchy and the eel is differently prepared to what I’m used to (Japanese style) and it’s like a smoked trout but very, very rich.
Beetroot tart fine, goat’s cheese cream, rocket, balsamic reduction $19
I try a bit of Cath’s beetroot pastry and it’s delicious, with a flakey buttery distinctly layered pastry.
Cannelloni of blue swimmer crab, seared scallops, cauiflower puree, beurre blanc $20
This was an easy choice-and it was elegantly presented with the crab filled cannelloni tubes and fat scallops. The crab is flavoursome and strong and rich in flavour with a beurre blanc sauce.
Roasted saddle of organic rabbit, chorizo, spinach, pastilla of confit leg, carrot puree, maderia jus $35
Queen Viv’s rabbit is very rich and comes in three cylinders. They also use that multi layered pastry baked around an rabbit pie.
Pan fried sage gnocchi, rosted pumpkin, caramelised onion, spinach, parmesan and pine nuts $ 28
The gnocchi is soft and spongey and rich with pumpkin and sage. It’s a very generous sized serve!
Assiette of chocolate $18
We all agree that if we share three desserts then that obviously negates any calroies consumed (and surely this means that we only eat a third of the dessert right? 
) so we start with the chocolate assiette which has a dark chocolate brownie, a chocolate creme brulee and a white chocolate and lavender ice cream. The ice cream is rich and creamy with a distinct lavender flavour whilst the dark chocolate brownie is rich and thick and the creme brulee light on the chocolate with a crispy crunch on top.
Baked honey and macadamia nut cheesecake with poached pear sorbet $16
The cheesecake is undeniably the star dish. The crust is buttery and crumbly and delicate. It has macadmaias interspersed throughout the slender slice and it comes with crunchy toffee pieces that resemble amber chips and a refreshing pear sorbet (all sorbets are made in house).
Poached quince tart, granola and rhubarb and ginger sorbet $16
This was the prettiest dessert with that gorgeous pale quince blush pink echoed on the tart and in the ginger sorbet. The tart is made from very dry and crispy pastry and topped with tender quince slices and granola which Queen Viv find is a bit too dry for her whilst Cath and I both like the crunchiness. It is the end to a fantastic meal!
We then take the 45 minute drive to Narooma. Later that evening we head back to the Whale Inn for the cocktail party where the local luminaries, media and politicans are hob nobbing over champagne and canapes. Julie Goodwin from Masterchef Season 1 is in the corner with her incredibly tall husband (and I thought there was a big height difference with Mr NQN and I!). Queen Viv and I don’t want a terribly late night and we’re getting peckish for oysters so we get a table the The Whale Inn’s restaurant and the choice is made instantly and quickly: a dozen each of your oysters natural please! We also order a seafood tasting plate for good measure.
Seafood platter $33
The seafood tasting plate arrives and again I recall the very generous servings from our last meal here. There is smoked salmon with a mascarpone, a grilled oyster with a gorgeous white balsamic saffron sabayon (I don’t usually like grilled oysters but this is lovely and not flavour killing like a kilpatrick can be), tender and very lightly battered salt and pepper calamari, a gigantic, fat fish cake with tartare sauce, a fish fillet with wasabi which is a strong combination that overwhelms it slightly and lastly there is a crumbed fish fillet with a peanutty Thai salad which goes very well together.
A dozen oysters $36
The oysters arrive on a long green glass plate and come with a white miso dressing and finger limes – that gorgeous green caviar like flesh of the finger lime. I make fast yet satisfying work of these creamy, briney kisses. Queen Viv and I look at each other and say “Could we do some more” and before you know it, we’re ordering another dozen to share.
So tell me Dear Reader, do you like oysters?
NQN and Queen Viv travelled to Narooma as guests of Eurobodalla Tourism
The River
www.therivermoruya.com.au
16 Church St, Moruya NSW
Tel: +61 (02) 4474 5505
The Whale Motor Inn
104 Wagonga St, Narooma, NSW
Tel: +61 (02) 4476 2411
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44 Comments | Add your own
Such a gorgeous part of the world. I love it down the south coast and the far south coast.
not overly a fan of oysters. give me prawns!
I love oysters! Imust be one of the few people who can’t stand the taste of goats cheese, and it is turning up everywhere.
Did you know I had to look up where Moruya is? I had no idea! The restaurant looks fabulous though and I definitely think that the highlight in the beauty stakes are the desserts. They look spectacular and I just adore a really good quince!
mmm would have loved to see the inside of that lambs brain
reminds me of what they did in masterchef!
that serving size of the gnocchi is indeed huge!
I can not stand oysters in any shape or form. I live in a state that has fresh seafood and the only way I can eat shrimp is if they are fried. Fish I have no problem with but shellfish is another story entirely.
I have to admit I prefer my oysters to be ever so slightly cooked just till they’re ‘set’. I think it’s related to my similar problem with unset egg whites. I love runny yolks but not egg snot. I have been working with some fantastic seafood lately and I think I may be starting to overcome my fears!
Countering bad fats with fresh oysters is the way to go! That lambs brains really does look tasty, and so does the rabbit and the gnocchi. YUM!
What interesting food, Lorraine! And very reasonably priced too…
Ooh yum! I love oysters! My friends went down to this last year and they had an awesome time – even converted some non-oyster lovers. The lamb brains croquette sounds fantastic – you’re right, sounds like it’s the best way to serve them crumbed & deep fried.
oooh I love oysters! I love natural oysters……but Mr BBB perfers cooked – so we normally get a mix
Oh wow that cheesecake looks killer! I’m definitely trying that flavour combo when I next make one
Go Thelma & Louise! The gnocchi and the rabbit dish are stunning and I too have only really had eel in a Japanese style. I wouldn’t mind trying to smoke some myself.
Oh dear me yes I LOVE oysters!
Absolutely love oysters and the presentation (photo) along with your mouth watering description
has me salivating.
A trip to the “river Restaurant”
and the “whale inn” are now on the must do list.
I’d drive/fly more that 4.5 hours to savor the pearl of the sea! If you’re ever in Brittany, partake of the oysters w/ lovely Mignonette sauce. Num! Or Quilcene in Washington state, USA! At a local tavern there, they serve raw or deep fried, which are like eating what I would call little crispy clouds. NQN, I love your travels, photos & recipes. Thanks for all the hard work you do.
I do not care for oysters, nut my husband loves them. He would have sat there and kept up with you. I cannot believe that you could eat such and variety and so much. I do have a preference to not knowing what a food is in the event I cannot eat it, if it is something that sounds yucky to me. We have such different food than you do. I do find it extremely interesting to see the variations and the presentation of the plates. I Loved seeing the pears and could taste them as I saw them and you described them. We have an annual Pear Fair on the river close to where we live. Lots of baked goods and drinks and music in the heat of the summer, coming up 2 weeks from tomorrow. I hope we get the chance to go as we missed the baked goods last year as they sold out in a few hours. Thank you for sharing so much. I am enjoying so much.
I loved oysters until I chewed a raw one last year…
Oh gosh, that mille feuille looks fantastic but who could go past the classic combination of beetroot and goats cheese?! You have a hard life
And I’d like to order those desserts then make my own ULTIMATE DESSERT: The cheesecake, the lavendar ice cream, and the granola. Genius, if I do say so myself
P.S. I adore oysters, My favourite entree, bar none.
Loved the review of The River restaurant – one of my favourites on the south coast. Have been there for dinner twice and looking forward to trying lunch, or maybe one of the producer’s dinners.
The pumpernickel mille feulle and eel looks fantastic, a nice light version of what I ate every Saturday growing up in our Danish descent family for lunch! It all looks divine and the view is just beautiful, no wonder the chefs missed it too much and came back and bought the place.
I adore oysters and prefer them natural. I had them with a shallot/raspberry vinagrette at Piccalilly Restaurant in Hobart and they served them with Pedro Jimenez sherry. A perfect pairing!
Good to hear it was worth the drive. Love the look of both the rabbit and the poached quince tart.
Soo many delicious dishes in this post. The only one that doesn’t appeal to me is the oysters. I think you either love them or hate them & i’m the latter. Now any other seafood…
Every dish of that lunch appealed to me hugely – maybe it’s partly because I’m reading this just before dinner
The pastry, the gnocchi, the canelloni, the eel – even the brains all made my mouth water. I like the idea and the celebratory feel to having oysters but I can take them or leave them really.
i do not like oysters. the texture puts me off most of all, but i don’t like the flavor either. ick-poo.
also, i’d have to put my foot down at eating lamb brains. a polite ‘no, thank you’ to that!
The dish that’s got my attention is the gnocchi! I think it’s brilliant to pair it with caramelized onions and spinach (alongside the pumpkin), definitely something I’m gonna try to make when it gets less warm.
no. *shudder*
My husband LOVES them.
To me, they are just gritty snot.
Not that I would know what gritty snot TASTED like, but it totally looks like it.
I LOVE oysters, but hubby is not a fan. Thanks for featuring these restaurants, we’re always on the lookout for nice places to eat when we head down the south coast to visit family. Definitely going to try The River next time we’re there, although not too sure about brains
Love the looks of the scallops dish, and the desserts.
Hehe such a cute story about the lambs brain couple.
Such beautiful dishes!
Are lamb’s brains making a comeback? Sure hope so. Those desserts were so pretty, well worth the drive and shabby sandwich.
Wow, would love to try lamb’s brain and the plate of gnocchi looks amazing!
Love oysters and their ‘taste of the sea’ but they have to be super-fresh! Australian oysters are delicious but I must tell you about the super-delish Namibian oysters my family tried when we holidayed in South Africa a few years ago at the Black Marlin restaurant. OMG , we all thought we had died and gone to ‘Oyster Heaven’.
Look at that seared scallops! I would definitley order that.My dessert choice would be the quince tart and the rhubarb sorbet! What I have noticed about some of these restaurants in Australia is that they seem to be in the middle of almost ‘nowhere’. Would be an interesting experience for me to dine there- here in Singapore, resturants are usually located in dining clusters….
I like oysters, but don’t have them very often. By brother-in-law’s family own oyster farms in Australia, but over here in the UK I just don’t fancy them so much. As for lamb’s brains, no thanks. I realise that being a ‘true’ foodie means you’ll eat anything, but I really don’t like offal
What a lovely place to eat, those views are aboslutely stunning! The brain dish is very pretty — it looks nothing like what I would have expected!
I don’t mind oysters, though wouldn’t be the first seafood item I would go for on a seafood platter.
Re height differences with husbands – I’m 5ft & hubby is 6ft 4 and after nearly 9 years together, the double-take looks and stares when we’re together still gives us a giggle
As always, it’s the desserts that are making me drool (they sound sumptuous!), but I also love the sound of the beetroot tart – I love this combination of flavours in any incarnation.
Briony xx
Hi Lorraine…yes I do like oysters, espectially the ones at the Oyster Festival!!!
Love the Whale Inn…we went there for lunch after the Festival!!!
And boy that man must like brains…
And I will have to get down to The River one of these evenings…maybe a Friday night to check out the produce…Dzintra♥x
I have been visiting that gorgeous town forever and I have never come across that restaurant! It looks fabulous and we’ll have to give the campfire cooking a miss at least one night when next we stay.
Debra – I hear you – I too hate goats cheese and it turns up in everything. Even worse, I’m a vegetarian. Try getting the one vego option on the menu that isn’t gnocchi, risotto or a tart with goats cheese.
So you can also guess, no oysters,brains or eels for me. Maybe those lovely desserts for entree, main and, why not, dessert!
this place looks nice =)
i hope to visit it sometime!!! lovely dishes ^^
I love eel, not a huge fan of brains & oysters I’m afraid.Looks like a great place though a beautiful part of the world.
Going to the River tonight! Yum yum!
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