The Cowrie | My Favourite Central Coast Restaurant
One of the best views of all time.
As is typical with Spooning Australia and me, we have been extremely busy and haven’t written a review for quite a while, but when my bestie, Aaron (a chef) stays, we end up going somewhere fancy or exquisite or both, as was the case with The Cowrie, overlooking Terrigal. Less than 30min from my house I have wanted to eat here for about 10yrs, The Cowrie has been in operation for over 30yrs!!
Current owner and head Chef Dimitris Aronis is on to a winner, he used to be a Chef and then he was a tafe cheffing teacher and then he decided to torture himself and get back into running one of the most premium restaurants on the Central Coast. But The Cowrie is a culinary and location masterpiece with what I consider one of the best restaurant views in Australia.
The Venue
The Cowrie’s venue is located at the top of The Scenic Highway on the Terrigal Hill. It is basically a converted homestead built on the fairly steep block, it is in an odd spot but has been here for over 30yrs. Street parking is the go with only three spots directly out front but be careful, it is a busy road, and only 8yrs ago a life was sadly lost out the front.
The restaurant section is fairly narrow allowing for two table sections in the body and this ends with balcony/patio dining for about 10 guests, this is where you want to sit unless it is gale force winds. It has one of the best restaurant views I have ever seen, looking over Terrigal and up the Coast. It was breathtaking, Aaron and I moved from sitting on the edge, we moved back and sat side by side so we could both stare at the sheer beauty of the Coast.
The entry has a magnificent bar and places to sit for a pre-drink and behind the main body of the restaurant is the kitchen, the toilets and one of their private dining rooms. I just adored the art on the walls, all mostly black and whites from Coastie Photographer Glenn McKimmin – I want the lightning shot!!
And something new, their cellar room downstairs, this is a room for serious wine lovers, it seats 6 comfortably and 8 not so much. It is surrounded by beautiful bottles of wine and is completely isolated, it doesn’t have any windows and therefor no views, but if you want an extravagant trip with the food and the grape this is for you, I am thinking of having a night here for a birthday where someone else pays for my Uber haha
The People
The staff were wonderful, as were the patrons, I had one patron who was dining by himself who came to talk to me about photography and my camera, he was an amateur photographer. There were two ladies dining who moved outside and sat near us, she seemed like a photographer, she suggested some angles for shots of which they are posted in this article, she suggested the mirror reflection of the view.
Our waiter did ask me not to take photos of the other patrons, there is only one (sorry) – they were so lovely I am hoping they won’t mind. Will remove if anyone complains.
Our waiter was fantastic and knew everything about every dish, for a chef and a food photographer there are quite a few questions to answer haha. They forgot our water when we moved tables and left our old table uncleared for about 1/2 an hour but I am only mentioning it for the sake of being thorough – we asked for more water and they sorted the table out after so no biggie.
The Chef was marvellous, Dimitri Aronis came and introduced himself while I was taking photos, then he delivered our drinks for a course and had a small chat, when we were finished he met us to chat and took us on a tour of the Cellar Room, him and Aaron hit it off, both being chefs, Aaron was so impressed that he came back to cheffing, and is also a owner operator, of which Aaron is/was the same. He is currently between venues on hiatus.
What we ordered…
Hibachi roasted pork belly, kimchi, nam jim
Halloumi Saganaki in thyme honey water, rosella flowers, toasted brioche
Prawn ravioli, torched prawn in nasturtium, octopus, nduja, almond, miso
Roasted Jerusalem artichokes, caramelized onions, gorgonzola, brown butter, cured egg, whipped crème fraiche
Terrigal Bonito, torch kissed, charred cucumbers, radish, kombu oil, sea blight, white
Aquna Murray cod, braised leeks, pea, mussels, preserved lemon and peppers, sauce Jacqueline
Wollemi duck breast, grilled cumquats, radicchio, red onion, baby beetroots, Amaranth
Hervé Mons Délice de St Cyr, France – Cows milk, white mould, aged 6 weeks
Individual apple tarte tatin, candied fennel, cardamom ice cream
Coconut mousse, golden kiwi, sunrise lime, saffron and yogurt ganache
The Food
EXQUISITE EXQUISITE EXQUISITE.
Just read the dishes we ate! Plus we had 3x cocktails, 2 for me and one for Aaron, 2x bottles of wine, one shared, one for Azza (I was driving booooooo).
You must start with a cocktail – they regulary change and are mostly seasonal, and they are made my a professional mixologist, not a kid roughing his way through.
The Food continued.
If I had to pick a favourite dish it would go to my entree, the Jerusalem Artichokes, not a dish I would usually ordered but it sounded marvellous and I am so glad I did order it, the sauce and the flavour combos had me moaning lol. Aaron’s favourite dish was the duck, I did have a bite and it was marvellous.
The Halloumi Saganaki was brilliant and their presentation was so beautiful, my Aquna Murray Cod was sublime, it was such a fluffy fish to eat, I wasn’t fan of the mussels so gave these to Aaron. Hervé Mons Délice de St Cyr I ate solo, it was the softest cheese I have ever eaten and am stoked Aaron didn’t want any, he didn’t want to fill up on cheese as we ate it as a bridging course between entrees and mains.
The Pork Belly was superb, it was our first dish, but was more kimchi than pork – not that I am complaining as it was one of the nicest kimchis I have ever had, and I make my own! I didn’t try the Prawn Ravioli but Aaron loved it.
Oddly we went fishing on the Monday two days before we went to The Cowrie, and our bait was Bonito, sadly cut up exactly the same as was served, I couldn’t get the smell of the bait out of my mind, this was Aaron’s dish, so I only had one piece haha
Aaron’s dessert was the Coconut Mousse and he loved it, as this was at the end of the meal we were a little more relaxed (haha) – we both thought it looked like boobs, so (yes we are immature – we went to primary school together and have known each other for over 45yrs) we called it Titty Mousse hahahaha
And my dessert was the Apple Tarte Tatin – the apple was so beautifully presented but this was the only dish I can’t rave about – the cardamon was so strong – for me it over powered everything. Probably a me thing.
In Conclusion
I have lived on the Coast for a bit over a year (this time) and about 2yrs 10 years ago. The Cowrie is easily my crowning jewel venue of the Central Coast. To me Chef Dimitris Aronis cooks exactly like Dan Hunter from my favourite restaurant Brae. This is related to the simple combination of marvellous fresh garden herbs and home grown items on their properties, and their ability to let the food speak for itself. Neither has a signature dish, both their venues are destination restaurants (The Cowrie somewhat) and yet, they still do incredibly well.
And perfectly timed, the night before we attended The Cowrie won Regional NSW Premium Dining restaurant award at The Restaurant & Catering Awards for 2024.
The Cowrie is expensive, you don’t go here for a Wednesday lunch unless you are minted haha. This is a special occasion venue, Aaron lives on The Sunshine Coast and he comes down or I head up about once every three months and each time we always go somewhere that stands out, I literally drove an Uber for an entire weekend to afford this place and I will do it again. Bravo!
SCORE BREAKDOWN: 3/3 food, 2/2 service, 1/1 drinks, 1/1 venue & ambience, 1/1 cost, 1/1 toilets & 1/1 bonus
*** Spooning Australia paid for everything with Aaron for this meal ***
All photographs are Copyrighted by Spooning Australia and Jason King – please feel free to share with full credit provided.
The Cowrie Details
Website – https://thecowrie.com.au/
Phone – (02) 4384 3016
Address – 109 Scenic Hwy, Terrigal NSW 2260
Bookings – Essential
Pricing – High
Opening Hours
Wed – Sat: 12-10pm
Sun: 12-5pm
Vegetarian Options – Yes
Takeaway – No
Local Delivery – No
Gluten-Free Options – Unsure
Kid Friendly – God No
Leave A Comment