The Shire is heating up just in time for summer with the opening of Benny’s, a relaxed waterfront restaurant overlooking Gunnamatta Bay, joining recent arrivals like Pino's Vino e Cucina al Mare and Bobbys. RJ Lines, the former chef of Summer Hill’s now-closed, award-winning restaurant One Penny Red, is behind the Mediterranean-and-Australian-inspired menu. Lines is focused on letting the fresh produce shine, promising straightforward, delicious dishes that keep people coming back.
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Standouts on the opening menu include corn ribs with curry leaf butter and grilled lime; bluefin tuna carpaccio with pickled eschalots, capers and chives; QLD barramundi with clams and cherry tomatoes baked in a bag; panko-crumbed whole eggplant schnitty with shredded cabbage salad; and fresh rigatoni with beef ragu, parmesan and basil.
If you’re visiting around sunset, kick off with Sydney rock oysters paired with a light, refreshing, and fruit-forward cocktail by Neilson Braid, the Australian Gin Champion of the Year. Channel holiday vibes with a Bubbles at the Bay featuring gin, mandarin syrup, lemon, mint and prosecco. Or try the Bayside Lychee Bliss, made with vodka, lychee liqueur and fresh lemon.
Benny’s believes there’s always room for dessert, and the coastal spot makes a strong case with treats like coconut panna cotta with young coconut jelly and passionfruit granita, and Benny’s doughnut with salted caramel ice cream and butterscotch sauce.
In your swimmers? No worries. Benny’s offers takeaway beer-battered fish and chips with mushy peas and tartare sauce, plus gelato and ice cream cones – perfect for enjoying on the grassy knoll just outside in the sunshine.
And if you’re not a local, but are keen to get a slice of the Euro-Aussie pie, Benny’s is a five-minute walk from Cronulla train station, making it a doable – and yum! – day adventure.
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