Ripples Cafe: Waterfront Dining at Its Relaxed Best

Chowder Bay in leafy Mosman is one of the quietest and prettiest little coves on Sydney Harbour – a perfectly breezy and romantic spot for a café-restaurant like Ripples Cafe at Chowder Bay. There are in fact four Ripples restaurants, all in incredibly scenic locations around Sydney, but Ripples Cafe at Chowder Bay boasts arguably the most exclusive location of them all. It occupies an entire deck of the elegantly refurbished, heritage-listed Submarine Miners Depot, with the harbour waters literally beneath its diners’ feet.

Ripples at Chowder Bay is an entirely alfresco affair, with tables dotted over a covered verandah gazing across the glittering waters and the surrounding Sydney Harbour National Park. Sail cloths and heaters offer extra warmth during the chillier months, but Ripples is at its most sublime on balmy mornings, when the breakfast menu is on offer, and for dreamy twilight dinners in the summer.

The food at Ripples falls somewhere in between café casual and upmarket bistro. The Italian-influenced menu includes lighter, daytime fare like house-made foccacias and antipasto, to more substantial pasta, risotto and seafood dishes. Start with pan fried scallops with fennel puree, pancetta and orange and fennel salad, then move on to blue eye cod fillet with goat’s cheese and basil roulade, or char grilled beef tenderloins with spinach porcini sauce. The delicate Ripples beer battered fish and chips with herb mayonnaise has been an irreplaceable favourite since the first Ripples opened in Milsons Point in 2002. For dessert try the cappuccino crème brulee or the cheese board with fruit, chutney and handmade lavosh.

HelloSydney Tip: Ripples opens for breakfast on weekends, with a seasonal menu including fresh fruit platters, free range eggs, handmade pastries and freshly squeezed juices. 
 

Ripples cafe restaurant Chowder Bay Mosman Sydney Harbour harbourfront waterfront views seafood Italian breakfast