Salmon & Bear

Zetland's Salmon & Bear has recently opened a second outlet on King Street Newtown, to share its tasty seafood offerings further among Sydney's inner west. 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 staff's shirts will proudly tell you that 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 (we're big fans of the salsa verde and peri peri sauces). 

We try the Ōra King Salmon - "way more than a ridiculously good looking fish", 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.

As well as the Grizzly Plate, Scoop 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 also does a solid fish and chips ($18), 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).