Kingston Beach used to be the place I went to for fish and chips after a summer swim.
A couple of weekends ago, my summer swim was thwarted. By the time I got to Kingston the temperature had dropped eight degrees. I found Osborne Esplanade had changed. I stopped in at Robbie Brown’s.
A relatively new cider, wine and cocktail bar, opened only a few months, Robbie Brown’s is a welcome addition to Kingston Beach. It’s a sign the suburb is growing up.
Local Kingborough boys, Mark and Brett have opened Robbie Brown’s alongside their café next door, Beachfront 32. The kitchen’s shared but the spaces are targeting different demographics. Family swipe left, swipe right if you’re looking for a cool drink and cooler decor.
Wines by the glass are reasonably priced and I chose the Delamere sparking. I was looking for a lunch of modest proportions. I choose the tempura vegetables and the lamb kofta. These bar snacks are generously sized and I ate literally half of each plate.
What Robbie Brown’s has going for it is location and style. It’s a very smart, dark interior. There are outdoor tables and the front of the bar also looks out over the beach through French windows open to the sea air on a warm day. They’re neither pub, nor Salamanca prices, and the bar snacks will line your stomach even if they don’t set your world on fire. My tempura vegetables were a combination of small mushrooms and large undercooked zucchini. The key to anything involving ground meat is to cook a small taste to ensure your seasoning is right. The kofta needed to be cooked with salt.
Now I’m moving the locality, Robbie Brown’s is going to become a local for a drink on the beach even if I go a little cautiously with the snacks. The Two Girls will be a little less northern suburbs/CBD-centric soon so be watching for more posts, south of the border.
They’re located at 32 Osborne Esplanade, Kingston Beach.
Opening hours are 11 am until late, Tuesday to Sunday.
