Sapphire Beach

We parked the car and walked the children down to Sapphire Playground.  We are in a relatively new estate on the foreshores at Sapphire Beach.  The Playground and Beachstone Café are nestled just behind the sand dunes, and it is a very popular spot for residents and visitors alike due to the beautiful landscaped open areas, modern play equipment and relaxed café atmosphere. 

It is Sunday, and mid morning so the place is already filled with happy children.  Our kids disperse to “make friends” and we are left to be enticed by the alluring aroma of bacon and Sour Dough Toast.  Our plan is for lunch at the Café after a play with the kids.  There are not too many cafes which have a children’s playgrounds and play equipment right outside, allowing the kids to run and play, while mum and dad enjoy a quiet coffee, breakfast or lunch.

We notice that the café is still quite full with the breakfast crowd at 11.00am, so despite my salivating over the delicious aromas, we stick with the original plan to wait for lunch.  We haven’t made a reservation so we are hoping there will be a lull between the two meals.

We are given a table by wait staff, and we duly notify the children of our where abouts.  Through the meal the children run backwards and forwards between the café and play equipment for drinks and food but mostly they are content just to play.

We order some coffee’s to start, while we looked over the menu.  It isn’t a large menu by any means but there is a good variety of options available and I am tempted by a number of dishes.

Brett orders the hand rolled Cannelloni stuffed with Blue Cheese and Walnuts with a Pear and Witlof Salad.  I had been considering ordering this dish so I was pleased with his selection.

We are dining with a friend today, and I am equally pleased when she orders the Hoi sin Chicken Burger with Salad Greens and Mango Relish. 

That just left a choice between the Fresh Tasmanian Salmon Sandwich with Salad Greens and Chats or the Rare Beef on Noodle Salad with Lime and Fried Shallot for me.  There were actually a few more items on the menu but I had been struggling to choose between the four dishes already mentioned.

When our meals arrive I am starving.  I have watched so many gorgeous dishes being set down in front of customers.  We have been very lucky to get a table, as the place has stayed frantic since we arrived at the park.

I have chosen the Rare Beef Noodle Salad, it looks a little less spectacular than the other two dishes on the table, as there aren’t a lot of salad greens to give it colour or volume but the flavour of the lime juice is vesty and fresh and that is what I love in the Asian Salads.  The rare beef is amazing, it melts in your mouth and has a fantastic flavour. I am pleased that there is plenty of beef to share around the table so everyone was able to sample my dish.  The vermicelli noodles in the salad were not exactly what I was expecting and they really didn’t add anything to the dish by way of substance, taste or texture.  On the whole I wasn’t disappointed, my meal was beautiful and I was happy with my choice.

The great thing about dining with others is sampling all the other menu options.  The Blue Cheese Cannelloni looked amazing.  The combination of Blue Cheese, Pear and Walnut is always a winning combination, especially with a creamy sauce and perfectly cooked pasta to finish the dish. Hubby thoroughly enjoyed his meal and I was only allowed one mouthful for my review. 

Jacqui’s Burger looked amazing too, it had a very generous serving of Hoisin Marinated Chicken topping a large burger of either Ciabatta or Turkish Bread.  There was also a gorgeous homemade Lime Mayonnaise on the side.  I thought Jacqui showed amazing restraint not to smother the whole burger in the mayo.  The Chicken was delicious, the marinade was beautifully sweet and had a lovely gingery zing to it.  I didn’t taste the mango relish but by all accounts everyone was very happy with their meal.

 The relaxed atmosphere, beautiful food and great location make this a great choice for a leisurely meal.  Beachstone is open Thursday to Sunday 8.00am to 4.00pm and available for private functions at other times.  Meals start from $13.50 for a BLT Sourdough Croissant to $28.00 for a Caramelised Duck Risotto.

Price       ***

Service     ****

Menu          ****

Meal            *****

Atmosphere *****

 20/25