Cuisine Undercover - Watermark Bar - 3.5 stars

Watermark Bar certainly has a lot going for it. Great location, on the north-facing, sun-drenched side of Victoria Harbour. One of the friendliest barmen you’ll find in Docklands.

A nicely struck mix of casual, with just enough sophistication thrown in to raise it a notch above the more casual café’s encountered leading up to it. And now, I’ve very pleased to report, it looks like it may also have the food.

It was with much trepidation I approached this month’s review, as I’ve been burnt and burnt hard on previous Watermark visits. Not once, but twice, I’ve been served a substandard chicken parmagiana. Both times, when I cut through the crumbing, I encountered skin. SKIN, I tell you. Mortifying. Unforgivable.

But the recent  unseasonal splendid weather and the unexpected opportunity to squeeze in one last sun-soaked lunch by the water proved too much – I knew the environment at least was perfect for a quick and easy business lunch and so I lined my stomach with milk and set off.

The greeting as always was divine – so friendly, so helpful, with a perfect table available under the shade of the peppercorn trees. What’s also great about the Watermark, is that little glassed-in area they provide by the water, providing weather protection if needed, while still allowing you to feel as though you’re “outside”.  But today, no protection was needed and I set my mind
to ordering.

The menu certainly didn’t give it away. It looked the same and sounded “fine”, offering a rather unimaginative but satisfactory mix of basics – dips / brushetta or spring rolls to start, with a salmon fillet, pasta and risotto dish, some battered beer fish fillets and a pie, steak and beef option making up your main menu.

It was the special that got me thinking. Something’s changed here, I thought, and I think I like it.

The dish was a home made gnocchi with salmon, fresh herbs, cherry tomatoes and ricotta. And my word, if it wasn’t damn near perfect.

The large pillows of gnocchi were soft yet firm, the outer basting in burnt butter providing the perfect degree of resistance as you bit through to the velvety softness within. The chunks of moist salmon were delectable, the herbs not too heavy and the fresh little tomatoes bursting with a flavour that, while certainly saying hello, were by no means dominating the conversation. In fact, each ingredient displayed a similar trait, somehow standing out while contributing to an overall subtleness of flavour. Go figure.

And it was at that point that I did figure it out. They’ve got a new chef. And I say “let him rein!”

It may be a big call based on one dish (I didn’t taste my colleague’s risotto of prawn, salmon, asparagus and herbs, but she also reported it was fresh, subtle and with an admirable texture) but, like I said, I SO want to like the Watermark – it’s got too much going for it not to invest that little bit extra into its food.

By all reports I know it functions well as a bar, an after work and after hours venue – I once had to queue up at night following a football match, so needless to say, I didn’t go in. But, a bit of quality food injected into Victoria Harbour could be just what the precinct needs in order to lure those other people in once the office set has vacated for the day.

The signs are good, Squire’s Loft is doing its bit and I hear the spaces at the base of Dock 5 will be introducing new venues soon. Hopefully, the gnocchi wasn’t a one off and is reflective of better things to come and maybe, the Watermark can help lead the way in fostering the introduction of some finer dining options at Vic Harbour, which, let’s face it, is largely a café culture geared towards the corporate lunch hour at present.

P.S. Could someone please post a comment on the quality of the Watermark’s current parmas? I still don’t quite have the courage to try it