Salmon and Bear, Newtown

Salmon and Bear is a licensed restaurant specialising in fish and seafood. It's the second store for Salmon and Bear - the first is in Zetland. I check it out with an old high school friend and we have a FEAST.

Salmon and Bear has a bar sort of vibe with it's wooden tables. I order at the counter and grab my bucket of cutlery with two glasses of wine for my friend and I. I'm only drinking red wine at the moment even though we're about to embark on a feast of fish. My friend MS goes for a rose. Cheers!!

I've heard really good things about Salmon and Bear's signature dish which is the Grizzly Plate where you get to choose a main fish, sauce and two sides for $28. It sounds like a bargain of a meal and I'm keen to try their salmon.

I order the grizzly plate and choose the salmon as the main with the salsa verde as the sauce with the two sides. The first side is sweet potato chips (extra $1) and the second corn salsa salad. The salmon (above photo) has crispy skin and is well cooked as it's moist in that natural salmon flavour.

MS and I devour the sweet potato chips (below). I'm a sucker for sweet potato chips. These ones are crunchy and are accompanied with a chipotle sauce. The corn salad is perfecto with a nice dose of sweet corn, tomato, capsicum and spring onion.

If you are not as hungry then you may want to share a few dishes instead. The salt and pepper calamari ($14, above) is always a crowd favourite. It's lightly battered with chilli, spring onion and is accompanied with a soy sauce and lemon. 

Or for something a bit more exotic then you may want to opt for the Tuna Poke ($24, below) which is a Haiwaiian inspired dish of tuna, rice, kim chi, cucumber and seaweed. I'm a fan of kim chi so I really like the chilli, vinegary flavours with the contrast of fresh cucumber and tuna.

If you're not feeling too exotic then Salmon and Bear also have tacos. There is the three choices ($6 each taco, below) including the crispy prawn and corn, sticky soy glazed salmon or the crispy fish. My faves are the prawn and the glazed salmon tacos.

Summary: Salmon and Bear is a nice venue for a casual lunch or dinner along with a few drinks. I think the grizzly plates are a great meal so I would definitely recommend those. 

Price: $20-30 per person

Location: 226 King St, Newtown (not far from the station)

Opening Hours: Mon - Thur 5:30pm to 10:30pm, Friday to Sunday 12pm to 4pm, 5:30pm to 10:00pm

Weekend Food Escapes dined as guests of Salmon and Bear. All photos, opinions and words are my own.