The owners of Walsh Bay restaurant El-Phoenician will open a new venue on Thursday 7 December. Seventeen, a 100-seater restaurant and deli positioned next door to El-Phoenician, overlooks the seventeen moorings that float among the wharves of the foreshore.
By day the venue will function as lively café, transitioning into a contemporary restaurant by night. The contemporary Australian menu, curated by chef Clint Jaeger, will showcase locally-sourced produce complemented by an all-Australian wine list.
Jaeger — whose career spans Tetsuya’s, Banc, Bill’s and Hugo’s — has created a diverse breakfast menu, featuring dishes such as the bircher muesli with fresh seasonal fruit and strawberry lime consommé; acai coco bowl with almond meal and honey salted cashews; ricotta hot cakes topped with Callebaut chocolate and honeycomb butter; and corn fritters with semi-dried truss tomatoes, creamed avocado puree, poached eggs and feta.
A strong coastal leaning informs the lunch menu, which includes fresh Yamba prawns chilled over flaked ice; a slow poached lobster roll; and a ranger of grilled meats and salads. There’s also a charcuterie board, cold seafood selection, and cheese board with summer fruits and apple toasted walnut bread.
The dinner menu offers a selection of entrées and mains, promoting the best that Australia’s ocean and pastures have on offer. Think summer asparagus with twice-cooked, coddled, brioche crumbed egg and truffle pecorino; apple duck confit with celeriac remoulade, macerated figs and summer herbs; hot smoked Huon salmon in chermoula basting with sweet corn purée, confit potatoes and crispy pancetta; and Otway crispy skin pork belly, with fresh peach, candied mustard fruits and sweet potato chips. The dessert menu includes the edible garden of white chocolate mouse, passionfruit curd, summer berries and strawberry consommé and banana parfait with creamed dark chocolate, coco crumb, salted caramel popcorn and honey ice-cream.
A take-away menu offers breakfasts, burgers, grills, seafood, salads and sandwiches, while The Deli by Seventeen serves a hand-picked selection of Australian charcuterie and cheeses to take home. The venue’s catering options accommodate local offices, residences and boats and a concierge will be serving locals breakfast in bed from February 2018.
A lucky number for the family, and the address of the venue on Hickson Road, Seventeen’s aesthetic pays homage to the area’s rich blue collar history and its nautical setting, with natural elements and a colour palate inspired by the sea. The restaurant is also available for private functions, accommodating 50 sit down in-house or 70 for a stand-up cocktail.