Shellharbour is set to get an injection of serious foodie cred, with the announcement of new operators for Shell Cove's twin taverns.
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There are big plans for the two similarly named venues - the Tavern at Shell Cove and Shell Cove's Waterfront Tavern - with Shellharbour council recently awarding the tenders to transform both venues.
The former, located at the Links golf course, will be taken over next week by the team behind one of Wollongong's most critically-acclaimed restaurants.
Burnsbury Hospitality's Andy Burns and Genevieve Digregorio, whose eatery Babyface Kitchen was recently named on the Wine List of the Year awards, will open Ardette's Bistro.
"Our objective is to bring an approachable menu to the guests at The Tavern," Mr Burns said.
"We will be using our current suppliers and connections to bring our great produce and point of difference in true Burnsbury fashion.
"We really want this to be a place where you can grab some snacks or a burger, or have a nicely plated sit down meal."
The menu will also draw from Burnsbury's 2 Smoking Barrels American barbecue joint, and includes gourmet pub fare, like hand-cut chips, burgers and wing-on chicken schnitzels, as well as "large-format shared-style" meals like a 600gm dry-aged sirloin with sides.
"Everything including our sauces will be made in house, even our own sourdough focaccia and cultured butter." Mr Burns said.
Meantime, the prized Waterfront Tavern development site - which has been tipped by developers to rival Bondi Icebergs - has been bought by pub operator Balmoral Hospitality.
The company previously built and operated Shellharbour's Central Hotel, which it sold 12 months ago for $50 million in a portfolio with the Figtree and Unanderra hotels.
Shellharbour mayor Marianne Saliba said the tavern would be one of the most anticipated parts of the new Shell Cove town centre.
"It will be a wonderful family gathering place in this vibrant and exciting new area," she said.
"It's exciting to see the different components of this new major waterfront destination come to life enhancing not only the tourism focus of Shell Cove, but of the entire Illawarra South Coast region."
Balmoral's plan, which won them the tender, included a bar and bistro with a kids' area, space for large group bookings, a wood-fired oven and central bar.
There will also be the more causal Clubhouse, featuring live music, special event screenings, cocktails and bar foods, and a kiosk offering picnic hampers and take-away food.
Fraser's development director at Shell Cove Simone Dyer said Balmoral had pitched plans for jazz on Sundays, craft beer evenings, meet the producer dinners, a pop-up food festival event, picnic in the park with hampers from the kiosk and live music.
"Balmoral's ideas are aligned with our own in what we want The Waterfront to represent for the community - a family-focused destination where people can meet, relax, enjoy good food and entertainment overlooking spectacular views of the NSW South Coast," she said.
The Tavern, part of the massive $2.3 billion Shell Cove marina and housing development project, is expected to be completed in 2021.