I am slowly emerging from a busy period celebrating a milestone birthday. There’s been a lot of catching up, talking, laughing, and of course feasting. 

In the past, I would have organised a big party. In fact, I initially planned to have the family flown over from France. But then Anne went overseas for the year, and Mum passed away. No longer feeling particularly festive, I ditched the big party plans, switching  to a succession of smaller gatherings instead. 

This year we decided to stay close to home and celebrate at The Pines in Cronulla. Not once, not twice but three times!

The PInes is one of our favourite local restaurants, located seaside and offering gorgeous views of North Cronulla. Formerly a Hogs Breath Cafe, we would often take the kids as it was a convenient spot to have a family meal where they could play at the park nearby. They loved the food, we enjoyed the view. That was over 10 years ago. Fast forward to 2026, the family restaurant is long gone, replaced by The Pines. The water views are still gorgeous, the coastal breeze still wafts thru the open air dining room, but the dining experience is much fancier and adult-like. 

Mr T and I like have dined there a few times since it opened in 2020, mostly for special occasions. This year is no different. Except it is.

Back in March I found out that Nel Restaurant and chef Nelly Robinson are taking over The Pines for a 6 weeks pop-up  in April-May. Nel has been on my list of iconic Sydney restaurants to visit for years. It is known for its nostalgia-themed dining and degustation menus. 

With Chef Nelly taking up residency, it is the opportunity to sample his perfectly plated creations without worrying about the trek into the city. Especially when there are 3 different ways to experience Nel: in the main dining room with a 10 course degustation menu, for a Sunday Roast, and over on the Terrace for a more casual a-la-carte offering. We are booked for all of them! 

Dégustation Dinner

It is just Mr T and I, on a Thursday night. I haven’t been that excited for a dinner in a long time. It is a damp and blustery April evening outside, but inside the dining room  feels warm and inviting. We’re greeted by Jeremy, who happens to know our son ( it’s the Shire, every one knows each other ) and Claire, who will look after us. 

We start with drinks, a beer for Mr T ( no surprise there ) and a Kir for me. It’s funny, Kir is a very common aperitif in France, but obviously Claire hasn’t heard from it. I tell her how to make it ( white wine and a dash of cassis liqueur ) and after coming back with it, she waits to find out if I like it. I do.

We’re handed the menu, a list of 10 curated dishes, focusing on coastal flavours and natives ingredients.  Pairing of premium wines is available, but we decline as I have brought my own bottle of French Champagne, saved for the occasion ( note that BYO wine is available Thursday and Sunday only ).

The first 6 dishes are bite sized and delicious finger food.  

Starting with the Pea, Pepper, Ricotta and Nduja number, wrapped in a delicate brick pastry cigar.

The spinner crab tart and burnt butter follows: presented in its shell, it emerges from a sea mist.   

The prawn with native curry is a lightly fried spicy prawn paste that you dip into the most aromatic pot of curry. We were both fighting over the last drop! ( and I forgot to take a photo, it was all gone by the time I remembered )

The cheese and leek pasty is a playful take with British vibes, with 2 piping hot pasties coming out of a paper bag. 

The wildfire spiced beef with salsa verde is a nod to the local surroundings: tender morsels of beef sits atop a nest of coastal pine ( presumably from the Norfolk Pines in the adjacent park? )

And the macadamia brioche  with burnt honey butter is so soft and luscious, Mr T wishes I’d partake with mine. Not a chance.  

We take a little break before moving on to the “mains”, or the knife and fork eating stage. 

The kingfish tandoori is quite delicate: seared slices of kingfish sit on a bed of smoked yoghurt  and are sprinkled with puffed grain.

By then, we’re on the last of the French Champagne.

We order a glass of 2022 Hesketh Cabernet Sauvignon Coonawarra, SA to pair with the meat dish: tender slices of lamb, served with hummus, parsley, and a lick of bread sauce. 

Dessert comes in the shape of a warm carrot cake with mandarin and vanilla yoghurt ( divine! ) followed by teardrop shaped  salted caramel chocolates, almost too gorgeous to eat. 

We are both very full, and I am definitely ready to go home. But not before Claire ( our lovely waitress ) rushes in with a birthday surprise: a sparkler topped strawberry heart accompanied by a hand-written note. 

Indeed, this is not your typical menu or evening out. 

Terrace A-La-Carte

The Pines Terrace sits adjacent to the main dining room. It is a more casual setting, being outdoors. Mercifully, blinds provide full weather protection.

It is a well suited venue for a Friday night girls catch up. I am with 5 girlfriends, with whom we usually meet at home  for Friday Wines, but being my birthday week, I decided to change things around and make it special. 

We start with a bottle of celebratory prosecco then peruse the menu. Each of us picks an item from the a-la carte menu. Luisa zooms in on the prawn sesame toasts. Stef has eyes on the crumpets with black garlic butter. Shelley selects the leek and cheese croquettes,  and Angie suggests we should have greens and orders the rocket and quinoa salad. As for me, my heart is set on the Lobster rolls. It takes a little help from our waitress to work out the quantities to order, as we’re all sharing. 

The crumpets arrive, house made thick fluffy guys with a delicious quenelle of black garlic butter. An elevated version of breakfast fare.

The prawn toasts are individual fingers, topped with a spicy prawn paste, sesame seeds and tangy squirts of yuzu mayo. Yum!

Everyone likes the croquettes, full of cheesy goodness, and topped with a tasty tartare sauce. 

The lobster rolls normally come as a thick toasted slice of brioche filled with the lobster, apple and mayonnaise filling. Because there are six of us sharing, the kitchen has cut six individual pieces of toasts topped with the lobster. Like little canapes.

The Quinoa, burnt corn and rocket salad is a hit. Thanks to the green goddess dressing: it is tangy, salty, creamy adding a touch of freshness to the rest of the dishes. In fact, I like it so much, I vow to recreate it at home. 

There is only one option for dessert and it is part of the weekly specials: a sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce and jersey milk gelato. My lord, I could have eaten a whole one, it is that good! 

At the end of the night, out comes Jeremy ( the front of house ) to say hello and offer birthday shots. Of course he remembers me from the degustation dinner, but also happens to know some of the other girls from previous encounters.The Shire is such a small world !!

Nelly’s Sunday Roast

Feeling like a Sunday roast for Mother’s Day? Sure, but have it Nelly Robinson’s way. He’s transformed the traditional roast into a ten course degustation. We are joined by Shelley, Tania, Marc and his girlfriend Taylah. They have all heard about our previous degustation dinner experience and are very much looking forward to the evening.

We are now on a first name basis with Jeremy and Claire, exchanging “ Happy Birthday” greetings for “ Happy Mothers Day”. First , we raise a toast with Croser Rose.

The snacks arrive: spiced pork toastie with truffle mayo, kingfish tarts with smoked yoghurt and cucumber, followed by crumpets and honey butter. Every mouthful brings comforting and familiar flavours, but with a fun twist.

The main is a generous piece of lamb shoulder, slow cooked and smothered with a mint and rosemary paste. Accompanied by roast potatoes, butternut pumpkin, sugar snaps, cos salad in green goddess dressing and of course, yorkshire puddings with lashings of Graham’s gravy.The lamb is lusciously soft, and the vegetables roasted to perfection. We don’t know who Graham is but can’t get enough of his gravy and keep asking for extra serves ( happily supplied ) to drown the yorkshire pudddings in ( Tania reckons they need the extra help ). While some of us thought the snacks were a little too dainty, the roast certainly makes up with abundant serves. We struggle to finish it. Or maybe it is the heffect of the second bottle of the very nice red wine. Really enjoyed that Xaiver Goodridge ‘Papa’ Pinot Noir.

We finish with a refreshing dessert of strawberries and cream: a delicious vanilla pannacotta in a bowl of strawberry consomme sprinkled with strawberry dust and capped with crunchy fennel fronds. What a feast ! 

Final Note

The initial pop up was to last until May 24th. It has since been extended to July. While the menus for the Terrace and the Sunday Roast remain the same, the 10 course dégustation will feature a brand new offering starting May 28th. I’m very tempted to come back for that, if I can convince Mr T.