LOCATION
Situated in the prime position of the marina, Wharf Woolloomooloo, Manta has great day and night views across the Marina, to the Botanic Gardens and the city skyline. One of Sydney’s best restaurant settings. On the Eastern fringe of the CBD it is an easy taxi ride or walk for lunch. At night it is a very quick and easy trip from the North Shore via the Cahill Expressway not to mention its easy access from the inner and eastern suburbs. Car parking is convenient and secure in Lincoln Avenue, adjacent to the Wharf. Evening parking is a $12.00 flat rate and weekends $15 flat rate per day. Valet Parking is available at the Blue Hotel for $40. Access can also be by water taxi or boat.
DETAILS
Manta has varied tones of teal and cream plus a spectacular mural crisscrossing the back wall. With views from the Wharf across the Marina to the Botanic Gardens and the city skyline, Manta at the Wharf, Woolloomooloo has one of Sydney's best restaurant settings.
Newly refurbished Manta Restaurant has long been an iconic seafood dining experience and now new owner Rob Rubis is using his wealth of experience to lift the bar even higher. In conjunction with dynamic new head chef, Daniel Hughes, Rubis is setting new standards for piscatorial excellence, as well as a specialty meat offering. Rubis has an incredible wealth of experience in hospitality, spanning over 25 years.
FOOD & BEVERAGE
Manta’s seafood menu changes daily and reflects the very freshest of the daily catch at Sydney’s Seafood Markets. Rubis believes that it can only be a matter of hours from ocean to plate if seafood is to deliver fully on its flavour potential, so every morning Manta’s fishmonger Harry Bodikam is charged with selecting the freshest, highest quality fish. All of Manta’s fin fish and shell fish is prepared simply and beautifully, so that the natural flavours of each are highlighted.
Manta offers one of Sydney’s finest and freshest selections of oysters, with a choice of Sydney Rock, Native Flat Angasi and Pacifics from various regions of Australia, all shucked seconds prior to arriving in front of the diner. Manta takes pride in having great, long standing relationships with their small and widely acclaimed oyster suppliers, and rests assured that the oysters arrive after being handled with special care by dedicated enthusiasts.
The same level of care is taken in sourcing Manta’s select meats. Rubis has a long-standing relationship with Clayton Wright of Wright’s Butchers, and together they select meats from the best producers in Australia, delivering the freshest, tenderest meats on offer that have been carefully selected from award winning studs in northern NSW and Queensland.
The Manta wine list reflects the exquisite care taken with the food. Sommelier Glen Davis has carefully selected a collection of single region varietals that closely synchronize with the menu, bringing a synergy to the dining experience.
DETAILS
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Profiled by de Groots Media
Manta offers that quintessentially Australian dining experience: eating seafood al fresco near the water. But it always did, so what’s different about it now? Well, nine months ago Manta Ray became Manta, a renaming that signified a change of ownership, a redirection, and an overhaul that started in the kitchen. Chef Daniel Hughes remains but has a new toy to play with: a specialised barbecue specifically for turning excellent lumps of meat into excellent steaks. And, like an artist with good materials, he has exceptional produce to express himself with. Manta has poured a lot of resources into getting very good people to source their produce (including acquiring their own fishmonger), so the standard is high. It allows them to offer a regularly changing selection of six oyster varieties, which currently include Angasi and Claire de Lune.
Another new facet is the high-quality meat. Ranging from $45-$65 these steaks aren’t cheap, but as Simon Thomsen conceded, the food is good value considering what you’re getting. The decor too has been redone and presents as a modern, airy restaurant featuring sea-greens and blonde wood. A couple of outdoor couches give you the chance to see and be seen on Woolloomooloo’s finger wharf while having a drink. Already home to a steakhouse, Italian, Asian and modern Australian restaurants, Manta’s addition of seafood-and-quality-meat balances the fine dining strip nicely.
Sarah Theeboom, January 2008
