Fuze Food & Wine

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Posted 2013-10-26 by Gill Oscar ⇒ follow

Good food, good wine and a beautiful beach straight over the road. Enough of a drive to make it an outing. Not so far that it's a hassle. Plenty to enjoy in the area after lunch or before dinner. All day tapas menu if you aren't up for a full meal; sounds like a recipe for a great day out.

I was lucky enough to attend the opening night for Fuze Food and Wine and it was fabulous. They treated a full house of punters to a never-ending array of modern Australian tapas with a twist, not to mention more vodka oyster shots and cocktails than we could keep up with. It was hospitality with a capital H, with a personal touch you don't always find.

Fuze's 'Fish 'n chip spring rolls' of atlantic salmon, potato and smoked fish with lemon myrtle tartare are a clever and tasty reinterpretation, wrapped up in crisp spring roll pastries. Their 'sausage rolls', unfortunately not on the menu when we went back, were a surprising hit of rich dark mushroom, perfectly seasoned. Spiced caramel chicken wings looked unprepossessing, but had plenty of zing. The generous slab of Duck Liver Pâté we tried on our next visit, served with preserved red currant, apple cider jelly and pear liqueur, was light, creamy and delicious. At $12 a serve, it cost little more than you'd pay for a take home slice in a delicatessen.

Menu prices start at just $4.50 for the ubiquitous but yummy slider (smoked chicken, pulled pork or calamari), and max out at $32 for an asian-inspired slipper lobster and king prawn hotpot or an aged Black Angus steak with Spanish style accompaniments. The dessert menu continues the 'inventive fusion' theme of the menu, with chocolate and banana spring rolls (a bit much if you've had the fish n chip spring rolls as we did), chocolate taco, or jam doughnut pancakes, just $10 each.

Funky and energetic young chefs Hayley and Ben Doublet have taken a leap of faith by opening up on the Esplanade at Christies Beach. Like the influx of canny buyers and builders, they know position and potential when they see it. Those of us who live down the street or around the corner are rejoicing.

It's a tough gig for new chefs starting out on their own, until the word gets out. Hayley is continuing as Head Chef at Maxwell's Winery Ellen Street Restaurant , which I want to try after looking at their menu today. Plus she and Ben have a catering business, Big Bear Catering , which was highly recommended by the couple we shared a table with on opening night.

If you like your food and drink on the expensive side, and the service on the snooty side, you'd do best to keep driving past Fuze to Horta's in Port Noarlunga. If you'd prefer to chill without breaking the bank, while still enjoying a touch of culinary flair, give Fuze a try. It's a worthy food destination no matter where you're travelling from.