The Crazy Donkey Beach Bar & Restaurant

The Crazy Donkey Beach Bar & Restaurant

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Posted 2014-10-23 by Seafarrwide follow


Do you find that dining near the beach on a summer night makes you think of holidays in far off places? Quite often The Greek Islands have crossed my mind, especially if I'm eating seafood and catch the aroma of charcoal barbecue. This I felt as soon as I came near The Crazy Donkey . My nostrils were alerted to the aromas of perfectly seasoned roasting meats and, like a bee to honey, I couldn't keep away.

With commanding views looking down the Dee Why beach front Crazy Donkey is a new place for friends and family to meet to share ideas and values in life while enjoying good food and refreshments. This brand new restaurant just opened on Monday 20th October 2014. The creation of architect and interior designer, Maria O'Meagher, from Aurora Design , her brother Marino Sotiropoulos and Sean Douneen. This is their first restaurant venture together and they are full of enthusiasm.

Situated on the busy Strand at Dee Why Beach, the cafe is open for lunch and dinner 7 days a week from 11am until late in the evening. They are competing with the other great local cafes, but it is a stand out with their choice of cuisine.



Greek food is their specialty and as the Greeks love to say, "êáëþò Þñèáôå" (meaning welcome) and "& #934 ;& #940 ;& #964 ;& #949 ; & #954 ;& #945 ;& #955 ;& #940 ;" (meaning eat well). This you can do at the Crazy Donkey with its welcoming space where you can just come off the beach and try some delicious mezede and drinks or opt to enjoy a more glamorous occasion with the full Greek dining and wining experience.

The outside area instantly drew me in with the bright red flower beds framing the open air frontage,and with sleek white leather lounges joining the outside seating.



On entering I was also taken in by the alfresco feel and the lighting was wonderful with all the different sized hanging lamp shades. I particularly liked the glow of the coloured back lighting behind the bar and I could see that would be a great pre-dinner drinks area or just to mingle with your friends.




The mirror tiled marble bar features not only warm friendly bartenders happy to make you a special cocktail or pour an ouzo, but a back lit wall that glows with changing colours, effectively reminding me of Greek Island nightlife and seaside sunsets.





Mediterranean people don't wander the supermarket aisles stocking up on frozen food. They are brought up to appreciate fresh seasonal produce prepared with love and this is very easy to see with one glance at the menu. You will find that with Mediterranean eating quite often the most joy is to be found in the small bites and starter courses. A table covered with mezedes of chargrilled pita bread and a selection of fresh dips like tzatziki, taramasalata and marinated olives will get your mouth watering.



Followed by apo ti thalassa (from the sea) harbour prawns with whitebait $17 and chargrilled calamari with a dill mayo $18.



These tasty bites we washed down with a lovely wine from their rather extensive and varied wine list. I could see the wine connoisseur enjoying their visit here even more than for the food alone. Here is a peek of just the red wine list.



They also serve Greek pitzas and a have a selection of meat dishes to choose from - gyros (meat roasted on a spit over coals and wrapped in chargrilled pita bread - choice of lamb, pork or chicken for $10 each. You'll also find slow roasted pork ribs $17, keftedes lamb meatballs $15 or souvlakia skewered meats including prawns $15 -$18 and a rotisserie selection from $17. Each week there is a different slow roasted option such as slow roasted shoulder of lamb or chicken from their special wood fired oven.




There are also plenty of healthy vegetarian options like roasted eggplant, grilled asparagus, spanakopita and a selection of tasty salads to choose from. There is even a children's menu.



Of course I couldn't resist trying dessert. I'm a fan of anything with custard so galaktoboureko (buttermilk custard pie with olive oil ice cream) was an easy choice.



To top it off, even though our bellies were bursting the wonderful hostess, Maria - one of the owners, offered us two complimentary glasses of Italian moscato from her private collection of wine but she said we must drink it with loukoumades (Greek doughnut balls, spiced honey, cinnamon syrup and walnuts). How could we refuse?!



We sat back on the lounges to rest our full stomachs and drank the rest of our moscato, enjoying the ambience of this wonderful new restaurant and vowing to come back and try all the food. No doubt in our minds that this new restaurant bar would prove to be a well loved addition to the Dee Why beachfront dining strip. We look forward to our next visit. See you there!

Check out their Facebook page and join to keep updated as their website isn't complete yet. Keep in mind that they are only open for lunch and dinner at this stage but look to opening for breakfast in December too.



#bars
#cafes
#dee_why
#dinner
#greek_restaurants
#lunch
#new_south_wales
#northern_beaches
#restaurants
#sydney
%wnsydney
214007 - 2023-06-16 07:00:24

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