Marra Bar and Grill, Coogee Bay Hotel

The Coogee Bay Hotel is located straight across the road from the beautiful Coogee Beach. The Coogee Bay Hotel has a number of spaces including a casual sports bar area, outdoor garden and an indoor restaurant called Marra Bar and Grill. I recently went on a lunch date with my new bae to check it all out as we were going to go to the beach.

Bae and I sit down in the Marra Bar and Grill and orders some drinks. I treat myself to a watermelon margarita ($21). This cocktail was very well balanced with sweetness and a hint of spice. The watermelon margarita has Don Julio Blanco tequila, rosso vermouth, watermelon, agave, lime and roasted capsicum. My bae goes for a 4 pines beer which is refreshing and a usual favourite.

Bae is particularly hungry so we do go a bit crazy and order three entrees. The first is the Salt and Pepper Squid ($19). This dish is always a favourite of mine so I enjoy the light crunchy coating with the soft squid. There's a green mayonnaise and lime to balance the flavours. 

The second entrée that we ordered is the Nacho Spring Rolls ($16). The Nacho Spring Rolls made me curious as this is not a usual item on a menu. The plate comes out and there's 3 spring rolls with a side of guacamole and corn chips. As I bite into the spring roll, there's a nice crunch into the pastry and delicious beef/bean filling. Delicious! Bae loves this dish and ends up eating most of the dish.

The third entrée we order us the Tempura Cauliflower ($14) which is my moderate attempt at including some vegetables in my meal. The tempura cauliflower has a light coating covering the cauliflower, pickled red onions and a delicious date sauce. Bae and I enjoy all the entrees.

From the Josper Grill, Bae orders the Scotch Fillet 300g ($52) which is cooked with red wine jus and shoe strong fries. Bae orders the steak medium and is happy with how it comes out. The steak is delicious and easily falls apart. Bae is pretty full after eating the scotch fillet but insists he has a separate stomach for dessert.

Bae orders a side of broccolini ($11) to complement his scotch fillet. The broccolini has a mouth watering cashew pesto that really enhances the natural vegetable taste. 

 I order the Blue Swimmer Crab ($34) which has linguini, fermented chilli and lemon. This dish is quite a generous portion with lots of pieces of crab flesh. There's a lot of liquid in this dish. I would probably prefer this dish with no liquid. Less is more. I love eating the crab meat. It's so yum.

Bae has a major sweet tooth and orders the Strawberry and Cream ($15) which has toasted marshmallow, meringue, strawberry sorbet and a crumble. I really enjoy the mixture of texture and flavours in this dessert. I have not eaten a marshmallow in a long time. 

Bae also orders the Sticky Date Parfait ($12) which is a really clever dish that has chocolate crumb and caramel. There's delicious sticky date pudding pieces in a creamy hard parfait texture. I love it.

Summary: Overall, I enjoyed the meal at the Marra Bar and Grill at the Coogee Bay Hotel. It's a nice way to sit back, relax and have a delicious lunch. All the dishes were delicious. My favourites were the Watermelon Margarita, the Nacho Spring Rolls, broccolini (I know strange to mention a side but it was delish with the cashew pesto) and finally I really enjoyed the sticky date parfait. 

Catch public transport if you can as parking is a bit tricky in Coogee near the beach. Note that it is smart casual dress in the restaurant. Not sure if you can get away with beach gear.

Price: Mains vary from $22 to $34ish with grill dishes costing more $$

Location: 253 Coogee Bay Rd, Coogee

Opening Hours: 

Monday to Friday 11am to 10pm

Saturday 8am to 10pm

Sunday 8am to 9pm

Lots of love. Ellie Xoxoxo