While it’s been here for 22 years, it feels like you’ve stumbled across a hidden gem, dining at The Boathouse on Blackwattle bay. Perched over the rowers club in Sydney’s inner west, the stylish restaurant is responsible for delivering some of Sydney’s finest plates of seafood. It’s the uncompromising commitment to quality that has brought back guests again and again, and chef Colin Barker is well known for his high standards when it comes to seafood. Provenance is key to the offering, and quite frankly it’s nice to know that my mahi mahi, in a light crust of breadcrumbs and a caper-heavy tartare sauce, was once swimming around the clean waters of Coffs Harbour. No less than 10 different oysters are on offer, from pearlescent rock oysters from the NSW north and south coasts, and bigger and bolder Pacifics from Tassie and South Australia. Textbook-tender calamari from Coffs Harbour is lightly grilled and served in a puddle of creamy almond sauce, while a garlicky emulsion and chips of fried purple potato accompany a deeply charred octopus tentacle. The famous snapper pie, served tableside, with its golden flaky puff pastry top crowning the velvety filling, has a worthy reputation. We’re hooked!