Manta

Ph: 9332 3822; The Wharf At Woolloomooloo, 9 Cowper Wharf Rd, WOOLLOOMOOLOO 2011 www.mantarestaurant.com.au

Seafood, $$$, ** for Food & Ambience, Good Wine List
Open Lunch Mon-Sun noon-3pm Dinner Mon-Fri 6pm-10pm Sat-Sun 6pm-10.30pm; Licensed, BYO, Corkage $6 bottle; AE DC MC V EFT
Chef (Daniel Hughes, 2007-11-3) Owner (The Truffle Group, 2007-11-3)

Mietta's Review
Another Cowper Wharf veteran that's still going strong. Stefano Manfredi, one of Sydney's premier Italian chefs, was consultant here for a year or so before handing over full resposibility to the current chef, Daniel Hughes, in mid 2006. The food remains Italian in name if not in flavour. It's not bad just a bit boring. Manta has other virtues - that outdoor, water's-edge, Sydney thing. It's all pretty nautical, you can see a little sea, lots of boardwalk, wharves and the odd battleship. The restaurant is a long narrow strip which is part of the much longer Cowper Wharf string of side-by-side restaurants. Its premier seats are outside where diners are protected from the sun by awnings along the walls of the wharf. At ground level there are two row of tables with an aisle between. This configuration makes an ideal catwalk. The male waiters at Manta revel in it. Endlessly parading up and down with a stylised Italian saunter. This apparently is their main task as the actual work seems to be accomplished by the female floor staff. Perhaps there are some parts of the Italian culture that survive transportation.

Other published opinions

Gourmet Traveller 2009 Australian Restaurant Guide "Very little beats harbourside dining in Sydney; sitting on the wharf at Manta doesn't disappoint. Large sails provide ample cover over the city-facing boardwalk so diners can while away the afternoon enjoying Daniel Hughes' straightforward, mainly piscatorial menu"

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2008 Score: 14.5/20 "A meal at any restaurant along this finger wharf is a quintessential Sydney experience. It's exciting to see Manta revitalised under new owners"

Sydney Morning Herald Simon Thomsen, 14-8-2007 Score: 14.5/20 "This smart seafood restaurant once again finds its feet under new owners with an Italian-style menu notable for its quality beef."

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2007 Score: 14/20 "This finger wharf is still one of Sydney's sexier sites - even more so when dining outside on the promenade by the water, romancing a partner, doing some minor celebrity spotting or eavesdropping on the next table."

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2006 score 15/20, 1 Hat "Where Manta Ray once stood, now you'll find Manta. At first glance, the shortened title is the only obvious change since last year. Okay, so the space has been remodelled slightly, with a blond colour scheme and some candle-style lighting inside, but the only things that matter are the chairs that dot the outside of the Finger Wharf - and their city views. The best change is that, with new chef Steve Manfredi at helm, the food has taken a turn for the better."

Gourmet Traveller 2006 Australian Restaurant Guide "Should there be a rule against restaurants which fail to serve the foodstuff for which they're named? Gun Italian chef Steve Manfredi revived the fortunes of the restaurant formerly known as Manta Ray in early 2005, keeping the seafood focus, but refracting it through the filter of ltalian flavours and techniques. "

Sydney Eats 2006 Category Winner "There's something exotic about watching a fiery sunset from Manta's outside tables with the boats of the ultra-rich moored in front and a parade of beautiful people going by. Stefano Manfredi's menu reinforces the holiday feeling with its Mediterranean accents."

SMH Good Food Guide 2005 Score 14/20 Good Wine List "It's always buzzing with a glamorous crowd, and Manta Ray serves them the ocean's best. Co-owner Tim Connell used to work at the Melbourne fish market and now uses his skills to help choose oysters that make connoisseurs swoon. Every dish, from the crab minestrone to the octopus and chorizo salad, is designed to highlight sweet, briny flavours."

Sydney Eats 2005 "The seafood sister to clever Coast at Darling Harbour, both of which share chef Phil Waddington, Manta Ray has performed solidly in this glamour spot. Simple classical food fits the attractive brown and olive room"

SMH GFG 2004, Score 14/20,'the young team continues to offer simple and superfresh premium seafood,with sparkling water views...City suits roll up their sleeves on sunny days and hoe into crabs and lobster plucked straight from the tank,washed down with classy wines from a carefully composed list.'