Hamptons - City Beach - Simply PERTHfect

The Hamptons is a coastal playground for New York’s wealthy, famous and glamorous. The new restaurant Hamptons City Beach emulates this and offers Perth dinners a sumptuous offering of a bar and restaurant, overlooking the Indian Ocean.

Having dined at Hampton’s neighbour Odyssea earlier this year, Chef and I are keen to see what the newest City Beach addition has brought to this popular coastal dining strip. Would it be a similar offering of quality modern Australian cuisine by the ocean or something entirely different?

The large venue is divided into the plush “Bubble Lounge” and bar area with cosy booths by the kitchen’s pass. Then there is the expansive light filled dining room, with crisp white furniture, that overlooks the ocean. There is plenty of alfresco dining with a sheltered outside courtyard and a balcony overlooking the beach too.

We sit at our table by the window in the restaurant. It’s a stunning view over the white sands to the iconic City Beach lifeguard tower. We’ve chosen an early dinner, to enjoy the sunset, though the sun gets a little glary. The wine list is well stocked with a little bit of everything and I pick an on-trend French rose. The glass of Chateau Clarettes is easy to drink and has subtle strawberry flavours.

We order from the menu, which has a fine selection of local seafood and meats, with the mains divided into “lighter bites” and “more substantial” dishes. The service is attentive, pleasant and surprisingly polished for such a new venue.

Chef relishes his textural salmon tartare, $24 and enthusiastically urges me to take a bite. I scoop up the plump fresh salmon and avocado with a shard of crisp nori. The Japanese inspired dish is complemented by a squid ink mayonnaise and with each mouthful there’s a different flavour combination.

I start my dinner with another summery dish, sticky and sweet braised Linley Valley pork belly, $20. The moist belly meat almost falls apart with a poke of my fork and the coriander and pineapple compliments it with fresh, clean flavours.

The children’s menu is brave, offering meatballs with zucchini noodles, zucchini lasagne, steak and more. When we dine out with Little Chef, we want it to be a relaxed affair, no nagging him to eat his greens. Though we do value the importance of being offered more than nuggets and chips. He chooses the battered fish fillet $13, served with fries and fennel salad. He gobbles down the top quality fish, but turns his little nose up at the sweet potato fries. This seven year old doesn’t appreciate their addition to the fancy kids menu. It may please older children, though if Hamptons want to please their mini diners, I’d keep it simple.

The Black Angus scotch fillet 300g, topped with melted truffle butter and accompanied by potato mash, creamed spinach, a crisp asparagus salad and a beetroot vinaigrette is a hearty dish. Is it worth the $52 price tag? The delectable produce is top notch, though we agree it would be better priced around $45.

Feeling festive I choose the half lobster tail, $42, for my main. For me, lobster is always a decedent dish to enjoy during the holiday season. The rich crustacean meat, which is oozing with garlic butter, is absolutely delicious and the shell is empty in no time. The tail is accompanied by roasted vine tomatoes and a sweet tomato salad with potato crisps. lobster

For dessert, we share a beautifully plated chocolate caramel tart, $14. The tasty tart is smooth and rich, deliciously complimented by a generous scoop of raspberry sorbet, which sits upon a scattering of chocolate popping soil. choc-tart

So it begs the question, is Hamptons much different to Odyssea? What we find is a more formal dining experience which is closer to the sand and for that it’s a tad more expensive. Generally, the prices are on the higher side, though there are cheaper options for the budget conscious. The food is executed with technique, finesse and excellent flavour. There is some serious talent in the kitchen. The addition of Hamptons to the other quality eateries make City Beach the place to be this summer.