12:00a.m. 24th February 2008

| By Travis Schultz

Whet your appetite with fine seafood from Ocean Restaurant and Bar at Kawana.

If you ever need proof that location and street appeal is not an essential ingredient of a first-class dining experience, look no further than Ocean Fresh at Kawana.

Like most of the 40,000 motorists who travel the Nicklin Way each day, I have been oblivious to the modern and tasteful fitout of the new Ocean Restaurant and Bar, which lies secreted behind the shopfront of the Ocean Fresh seafood outlet at No. 245.

It was only when I received a tip-off about both the quality of the decor and the seafood that I gathered the wife, TC, infant Ashton (and all his baggage) and took a mid-week excursion to the Coast’s newest seafood restaurant.

Diners at Ocean get a glimpse of the quality and freshness of the seafood even before a menu is presented, as two large ice-filled surfboats in the entry display a range of the Pacific’s finest (local) piscine and crustacean products.

It certainly whet my appetite! As diners walk past the surfboats, the “tardis-like” reality of the venue confronts you as the seafood outlet gives way to a sophisticated fine dining restaurant.

Inside, there’s no music to stifle the clatter of the busy seafood market, but those wanting a quiet meal without distractions can opt for the outdoor area for a little less activity.

Shortly after being seated, the philosophy of Ocean’s head chef, Paul Temple, was explained to us by restaurant manager Nikke Gosling.

The kitchen relies on accessing the freshest seafood from their own (and other local) boats and preparing “simple but rustic” meals, which use a variety of oils to enhance, rather than overpower, the natural flavours of the fish.

Not surprisingly, the expansive menu focuses on the seafood and with so many attractive options, making a decision isn’t easy.

TC selected the crab and Chinese red pork rice paper rolls – micro herb salad, white truffle mayo, baby spinach, tomato essence ($16) for entree, while I sampled the signature Spanish garlic king prawns – garlic confit, sherry cured kipfler potatoes, extra virgin lemon oil, smoked paprika, baby spinach ($17).

The smoked paprika was somewhat unusual but really lifted the dish, which we were told originated in Cabo De Palos in Spain some 400 years ago.

For our main, I savoured the grilled coral trout – mango salsa, cured Congo potatoes, steamed greens, blood orange oil ($30). The trout was as fresh as you’d expect from a restaurant with its own boats and highlighted by the unusual cured Congo potatoes, which are imported from Peru and distinctly purple to the eye, but heaven to the tastebuds.

Like the menu, the wine list is also extensive and provides some little known but exceptional options like the Two Hands Angels Share ’06 shiraz ($9.50 per glass) which, to quote TC, was “damn good”!

I’m a sucker for a Marlborough sauvignon blanc with seafood, so I looked no further on the wine list than the Astrolabe SB ’07 ($8 per glass).

This one is typical of the Marlborough region and exhibits the passionfruit nose and gooseberry finish that the region is famous for

. Ocean may describe their produce as “wild” but there’s no doubt that it is quickly tamed once it reaches this masterful kitchen, which seems destined to become a Sunshine Coast dining icon.

THE BILL PLEASE

Ocean Restaurant and Bar, 245 Nicklin Way, Warana; ph 5493 9844.

Entrees: $15-$19. Mains: $25-$34. Miniature desserts: $5. Kids: $12 main meal and dessert.

Open Tues-Sun; lunch 11.30am-2.30pm; dinner 5.30-9.30pm; tapas and oyster bar 12pm till late