Bangalay Dining

Great service and vibe.

Amazing focaccia and prawns on toast to start, and delicious pork loin and fish as mains. Wish we tried more of the savory starters and entrees. The smashed potato side had a strong mustard flavour and so couldn’t taste anything else, wish it was more parmesan flavour and crispy.

Wish the dessert had a little more to it like some sort of rhubarb jam/compote underneath the chantilly cream, as it was just the cream with the rhubarb jellies on top. The chocolate tart just tasted like Nutella in a pastry shell with chopped hazelnuts and candied oranges on top. Both desserts were $22 each so we were expecting a little more to it.

Occasion was an early Christmas get together for my son and myself.
Located close to the beach, parking was a breeze.
Begin with a cocktail and work your way through the menu. The Red Emperor was a stand out. All in all it was a lovely afternoon with deliciously pretty food. Thank you, we loved it!

Food was delicious and delivered with such delight. Shoutout to Jacquie for the amazing service!
The restaurant space itself is beautiful, natural and each table has a jar of natives!
Everything was very clean and the glassware is sleek and lovely. We will be back to experience the finer things in life!

We were celebrating a birthday and the staff arranged a Happy Birthday sign on the table and a birthday brownie complete with a candle which was much appreciated.

Delicious and different menu options, great service and a delightful venue. We will definitely be going back.

Have dined here twice with the set menu, twice with in-villa dining and four times with the breakfast included as part of our accommodation. Each time, the food has been sensational and they have been unfailingly attentive (even going so far as to offer a dessert from the in-villa dining menu when I mentioned how much I had enjoyed it the night before – the jam drop needs to stay forever!). At breakfast, they have also been so welcoming of our little boy who was under 2 both times we have stayed so far. Very keen to make a return visit!

Fantastic dinner restaurant!! Absolutely delicious food, unique menu and fresh ingredients! The service was extremely polite and considerate. I always enjoy a place that doesn’t charge for sparkling water and offers a clean environment.
Looking forward to trying the coffee before I go. The pictures are of the Barramundi and sirloin steak. I tried the oysters and pork belly! Ate it all to fast…

What a sensational dining experience. It is easy to see why this restaurant has won so many awards and such high recognition. Everything was so beautifully presented. The flavours were incredible even down to the side dish of the hazleback potatoes and such incredible use of native ingredients and local produce. Definitely on our top recommendations of places to eat and stay on the South Coast.

Service was amazing & genuine with a great atmosphere to the place. Truly a gem of fine dinning in the South Coast.
Unfortunately did not take pictures of the Oysters or Taylor Shasimi with Nasturtium salad. They were both divine & brought back childhood memories of the holidays on the coast.

What a great restaurant. Accidentally stumbled upon this place and we are very glad we did.
Had the feast menu which was a great way to taste multiple different dishes. The $99 price was well worth the amount and quality of the food. Services was great and very good recommendations for wines that match the dishes.
If you're in the area I recommend try Bangalay!

Absolutely brilliant to be able to entertain a business advisor/investor with an experience of that quality on a Monday night in the area- and to see the place buzzing with so many people was a delight. Thanks to Bangalay we did a GREAT job of selling the potential and the possibility of the region.
Many thanks for a great night. Service warm and confident without overplaying things that your team didnt know about. Cocktails delicious. Wine list wowed a very serious wine buff and the food was just delicious whilst being interesting enough to make for great conversation starters. Thanks Bangalay- very grateful that you are in the area showcasing us at our best!

Absolutely superb. Very generous portions and everything was so incredibly tasty and perfectly balanced. Zar, our waitress, was sensational. A great way to spend my partner's birthday lunch and on a Monday!!!!

Went here for Valentines dinner and we enjoyed the food and service. Thank you guys!! We loved our mains - spring chicken and steak, both were cooked well and the sauces were great!! Love the hasselback potatoes ☺ recommended

Absolutely amazing, we had the spanner crab and smoked duck breast to start, then the barramundi and steak. All was cooked perfectly tasted so fresh. Hats off to you. Bloody Mary was best were had.

I love this place. Great vibes day or night. As pure luck would have it, the last bottle of 2012 Tattinger was available to us - on a Friday night (too bad for anyone coming on the weekend #notcircusnotmymonkey).
Anyway. Food is always excellent here. Tonight was no different. Chef sent out an outstanding complimentary squid dish. Amazing. FOH staff were super responsive to a request to move tables - and of course I just had to pick a table that was dirty (sorry team). We arrived at 7.30 and were last to leave at 10pm - at no point did we feel rushed or asked to move on, so thanks for that.
In a region devoid of higher-end dining experiences, Bangalay Dining is a f..king Godsend.
Definitely earned that 1Hat status.

We had dinner, and were blown away with the number of friendly service staff. Most of us had a cocktail which were explained to us by the ever so sunny (pardon the pun) - Sonny, he was amazing. We had the Opal Steak and it was one of the best meals I have had for a long time. We had an amazing wine recommended by Sonny, and our waiter was so helpful and sweet. The best on the South Coast by far.

Had an absolutely perfect lunch, the food, the location, the atmosphere, and service were outstanding, (thankyou Paige)
My wife and I had the kangaroo for entree, and the rib eye for main, with kepler potatoes and green beans for a side. Everything on the plates complimented each other.
We will most definitely be back and recommend Bangalay thoroughly.

The NSW South Coast is renowned as a relaxed holiday destination - great beaches, bushland and lovely towns where you can get a good cheap meal.
 There are very, very few options anywhere from Wollongong to the Victorian border for those looking for something very special but Bangalay has now filled this gap superbly.

Be warned, this is not a meal for everyone, and we saw one teenage girl and her mum leave when they saw the limited and unusual choices, so, check the menu first before booking - this is not the place for fish and chip or a burger.
 What it is is an original, fascinating meal using native ingredients, many you will have never tried, and some you will never heard of.

We had the 6 course degustation and it was superb - every course was a taste delight.
 Kangaroo with bunya bunya saltbush was a great opener.
The blue eye cod and the awesome Jerusalem artichoke the pick of the middle and the green ants with green mango interesting, if a little weird.
But the absolute standout was the mandarin chamomile ice cream with red stringybark honey - one of the best dishes we've had anywhere.

Service was superb - caring, attentive, informed, and nothing was any trouble.
 Despite the menu being restricted by Covid, they were easily able to swap 2 dishes for a celiac who needed a gluten-free meal.

Wine was the one weak spot. Full marks for promoting the local wineries but the mostly local wines on offer in the matched tasting were not up to the standard of the meal. However there were some decent, if limited choices as bottles.

It's a great setting, especially if you're staying on the premises, and probably not the sort of meal you want every night, but for something special, and unique, this is a must on the south coast.

We had the pleasure of staying at the stunning Bangalay Luxury Villas, only 2.5 hours from the Sydney CBD, in Shoalhaven Heads, which we found out about through Destination NSW. You can read about the accomodation through our blog here. In this relaxing seaside location, there is also an amazing on site restaurant, Bangalay Dining.

The concept of Bangalay Villas was to present the idea of a nostalgic beach holiday to customers, whilst also showcasing an area, rich plant life including eucalypt, banksia, lily pili and other Australian natives. The restaurant is in fitting with this. The restaurant feels comfortable and relaxed, situated on the beach side of the property. it opens for breakfast daily, as well as lunch and dinner on weekends. The space opens out onto the deck and even serves take away coffees to locals, who you’ll see aplenty, heading for their daily walk to the beach. The outdoor coffee counter means you can walk up and grab your coffee in a pet friendly environment. In terms of the menu, it has been composed with a focus on using sustainable and native ingredients harmonised with the area. A real paddock to plate concept. Chef Brent Strong, created this menu with that in the forefront of his mind. He has had a lot of experience in fine dining, working as a private chef on luxury yachts, but now, back in his home town, he is a local who was keen to represent the area by providing an approachable menu, using suppliers from the local area. You can read more about them here.
Bangalay Dining offers an ala Carte and tasting menu. We were dining as part of a group and had the 6 course tasting menu, which costs $85 per person. You can also pair your dinner with wines, which are selected from the local area and Cupitt’s in Milton. We began with a few cocktails, including a lemon Myrtle Pina Colada and a Lily Pili Rose with vodka, gin, rose syrup, lime and sofa. All their cocktails are made with native ingredients like wattleseed, lemon Myrtle and saltbush to name a few. The first course was a lightly cured Spanish Mackerel, an absolutely picture perfect dish, which looked like a little present, with the mackerel wrapped in thinly sliced fermented daikon, and flavoured with mandarin and had a nice smokiness of flavour coming from the prosciutto. Topped with beautiful flowers.
This was followed by a dish that at first sight looked like pasta, but was a creamy and delicious Sabago potato dish, made with Macadamia and native thyme. The potato was matched with Cupitt’s The Pointer An absolute highlight was the single Scampi flavoured with Lemon Myrtle, Leek and topped
with watercress. Presented sitting on a a dash of aioli and small shards.
One of our other favourite dishes was the Wagyu topside, a piece of local pasture raised top sided meat braised over night, served with an absolutely deliciously saucy meat, sitting beside nicely flavoured oyster mushrooms, eggplant and small pieces of crisp shredded potato.
After this rich dish and prior to desserts, we had a palate cleanser, a light refreshing dish, which was a quenelle of sheeps yoghurt gelato, served with oat granola and a sorrel granola. I’d also happily eat a bowl of the granola for breakfast too.This was followed up with a beautiful creamy wattleseed Ice cream, hazelnut mousse and caramelised white chocolate. The liquid nitrogen saw a fog coming from the plate. It’s deconstructed presentation looked like a modern work of art. We were lucky enough to get a special extra dessert on the night. An ice cream with granita. Chef Brett tells us that they use the crust of the sourdough for the ice cream and milk off their butter for the granita. .Whilst staying at Bangalay, we also enjoyed brunch. Whilst a number of their options sounded extremely appealing, we opted for the slow poached egg with mixed mushrooms, polenta, truffle pecorino and asparagus. The lovely truffle flavour shone through the ingredients.
We also enjoyed a chilled chia pudding with fresh and preserved seasonal fruit, local honey and a chia.

Bangalay Dining is located in the beautiful and serene Bangalay Luxury Villas. It is open for breakfast where you can either dine in or take it away and sit on the beach across the road. The chia pudding was surprisingly delicious and a must-try. I also had dinner one night and enjoyed every dish; the potatoes and fish were exceptional.

We had an amazing experience at Bangalay dining. Kelly, our waitress was so nice, from getting our son some paper and crayons to draw on, to explaining rhe menu and being very attentive without being too much. The food was amazing. Entree was a ruby red snapper with samphire, and for the mains we had morten bay bugs with local ingredients. Very well worth going for a great experience.