Balmoral Beach Club, The Esplanade, Balmoral

Balmoral Beach Club, The Esplanade, Balmoral

Sunday 2 December, 2007

Established in 1914, the Balmoral Beach Club is located at the northern end of Balmoral Beach. This exclusive club occupies a prime beachfront site and requires a pin code to enter.

Today, one of my lunch buddies (a member) invited a few of us for Sunday lunch. Once a month the Beach Club offers Sunday lunch to members and guests for $30pp. I was excited as I'd always wondered what was behind the non-descript gated entrance.

We arrived and walked up the ramp and into a small-ish room where tables were set for lunch. With windows on 3 sides of the room to take advantage of the spectacular view we sat down under the sky light. The Beach Club offers food only so drinks are BYO and there's no holding back with members lugging in bags and bags of grog.

The staff were young and inexperienced however they were very polite. They provided us with menus which revealed that lunch today was a choice of:

Paella with chorizo, chicken and mixed seafood - OR

Crispy pork with crab and green pawpaw salad with chilli caramel

Figs with goats cheese, pecans and honey - OR

Baked cheesecake with fresh mango

We ordered and sat back to take in the amazing view and watch the beach and surrounding parks fill up below. From our vantage point at the Balmoral Beach Club we felt very lucky to be here.

Our mains arrived and they all looked fabulous. My paella was rich with tomato and contained a generous serve of chorizo surrounding by grilled prawns. For dessert I had ordered the figs and was again impressed with the portion size. The figs were halved and smothered in goats cheese and drizzled in honey - very more-ish and decadent.

After a very satisfying lunch we took a tour of the Beach Club facilities. Wow! With BBQ facilities, plenty of indoor/ outdoor tables and a small grass area with direct beach access we were sold. This place is amazing. I'm already looking forward to my invitation to return.

Balmoral Beach Club - 6 The Esplanade, Balmoral - (02) 9969 8429

http://www.balmoralbeachclub.com.au/home.cfm