Coast To Coast

Sebastian brings seaside Basque charm to bayside Williamstown, writes MICHAEL HARDEN.

- Michael Harden

You had me at heritage-listed 1930s bathing pavilion in Williamstown. Add a restaurateur with runs on the board (Dave Parker of Neptune, San Telmo and Pastuso, among others) and a fondness for San Sebastian’s pintxos bars, and we’re deep into hellyeah territory. Even with this western bayside suburb’s track record of producing disappointing restaurants, expectations at Sebastian are as high as the potential of dashed hopes.

Good news then that expectations win the day.

The first encouraging hint arrives with the chistorra, chef Leigh Robbins’s house-made version of the classic Basque sausage. It’s superb, cooked over charcoal, and flavoured with pimento, juniper, fennel and cumin. There’s plenty of fat and salt in the pork to keep things juicy and full-flavoured, and the accompanying syrupy cider reduction, accented with star anise and bay, hits the classic pork-and apple sweet spot. It’s the sort of morsel that might have you ordering a second with your mouth still full with the first.

And then there are Basque mussels, lightly coated in a tempura-style batter before being fried and served with a sprightly, slightly funky fermented chilli aïoli. Promise, if nothing else, to one day sit on Sebastian’s expansive waterfront terrace with a chilled dry vermouth or Estrella Damm and treat yourself to a plate of these crisp little numbers.