Salmon & Bear

Zetland's Salmon & Bear now has a second outlet on King Street Newtown. It's all fish, all sourced from certified sustainable fisheries, and it is not by any means your average fish and chip shop. Salmon & Bear takes seafood to a whole new level using its Mibrasa oven, transported all the way from Spain: they describe it as "a coal fired beast with a delicate touch".

The restaurant is the "home of the Grizzly Plate" and indeed this is the menu pick for a true appreciation of their offerings. $28 will get you your choice of fish charcoal grilled in the Mibrasa oven, 2 salads or sides and a sauce (eg. salsa verde or peri peri). 

Ōra King Salmon - "way more than a ridiculously good looking fish" according to Salmon & Bear - is sourced in a sustainable manner from a traditional breeding program in New Zealand. Fresh out of the charcoal oven, it is delicious. Sides-wise there's chips (and sweet potato fries), coconut rice, and lots of salad options including roasted corn cobs and a tasty Moroccan option with carrot, orange and currants. The All Bean and Corn Salsa salads are a little bland at first, but luckily the sauces double well as salad dressings.

Scoop also definitely recommends the Hawaiian style pokē: Salmon & Bear describe it as a "sushi salad" which paints a fairly accurate picture. Raw cubes of fish are served with a creative combination of salad ingredients and each of the salmon (in soy and sesame dressing with corn salsa, $21) and tuna (chilli and lemongrass dressing with kimchi and seaweed salad, $24) varieties packs a good flavour punch. It's quite a seafood treat and is earning the venue some deserved popularity.

Salmon & Bear does a solid fish and chips ($18), plus fish tacos ($6 ea) and burgers ($15 - $20), and a $10 "Cubs Menu" for kids.

Drinks wise there's locals brews on tap including the much loved Newtowner from Young Henry's just down the road, and a short but sharp wine list that starts at $8 and includes a great Madfish Riesling ($10/glass).

For dessert, they've teamed up with Gelato Messina to produce two gelato based treats - "Salmon" (strawberry white choc paddle pop) and "Bear" (chocolate gelato cookie).