The Scampis Seafood Bar and Grill that I knew and loved is no more. Nowadays, Scampis sits below the Observatory Hotel, overlooking Town Beach. Sure, it's a suitable location given this is a seafood joint after all and the beach is a stroll away, but I loved the shanty Scampis on the marina, with its wooden decor and quaint charm. The new restaurant tries too hard to be sophisticated - with its crisp table settings and generally minimalistic decor - and the food has also suffered.
We started with the house bread with a selection of dips including rocket pesto, garlic oil and tomato compote ($6) Served on a wooden board, it was beautifully presented. The bread itself was crisp and the dips were full of flavour. I especially enjoyed the tomato compote, the garlic oil not so much.
We were lucky we ordered the bread. A while passed before the waitress came to take our main orders and after that our mains took half an hour to arrive. All the while the waitresses were distant, not one said anything about the wait or asked how we were doing.
The arrival of our meals didn't excite. The presentation was sloppy and did little to pique the senses.
Nonetheless, my pan-fried salmon with spicy fried rice and soy dressing ($26) fell apart on the fork, that is, it was deliciously tender. A hint of soy also bettered this beautiful fish's flavour. The rice, on the other hand, was gluggy. It was dressed nicely and the odd prawn nestled in the mess was a good touch, but the texture was off.
My brother, Kyle's, fillet steak with tomato, mushrooms, red wine jus and hand cut chips ($34) gains mixed notes on presentation. While I think it looked unpleasant, I have Nathan at my side watering at the mouth. I guess what counts is that Kyle said it was one of the nicer steaks he's had; even better than that of Hog's Breath. It was a juicy chunk of meat, perfectly cooked as requested. He said the chips were spot on with that perfect degree of crunch.
The steak in the Surf and Turf (sirloin steak, king prawns and calamari with garlic cream sauce and house potato) just couldn't match up. Complaints were also made about the lack of a strong "surf" element in the dish which had only three prawns. Overall, we weren't too happy about this dish. The $32 price tag was also judged to be steep.
For a seafood restaurant, the barramundi steak fried in beer batter with chips ($28) was nothing special. The portion was small for a start, and the flavours were lacking. My mother was also disappointed with the chips, questioning why she hadn't received hand-cut chips like Kyle. The salad was also a let down with wilting lettuce leaves and chopped tomato. The dish could've done with some garnishing.
The service did pick up when we received our food. Unlike before, the waitstaff did not seem to leave us alone, although unwanted.
Overall, our dinner wasn't something to remember. The service was indifferent and distant and Scampis decor is common, although it tries to be special.
Perhaps summarising the night, one waitress took off with an unfinished drink. And, although it was replaced, I believe this incident epitomises the inattentive and impersonal new Scampis.
Scampis also does breakfast and lunch. I only hope these are an improvement from dinner and the restaurant that previously occupied the location.
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