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“Fins seafood restaurant at Byron Bay was one of New South Wales’ landmark restaurants. The chef, Steve Snow, was awarded two prestigious chef’s hats every year since it opened in 1999. Locals loved it and holidaymakers flocked there. So when the restaurant abruptly shut its doors in July 2007, it was a shock to many.
At the time, Steve was finalising plans for a second Fins, 30 minutes further north on the Tweed Coast. The original fine-dining Fins was to be the flagship, and the new spot a more casual incarnation. “I didn’t want people to see white tablecloths and think, ‘We’ve got to go there when it’s my birthday.’ It wasn’t meant to be a special event place”, he says.
The plan changed when Steven and the Van Haandels, the new owners of the Beach Hotel where Fins was housed, didn’t see eye-to-eye on the business. Fins closed, and consequently Steve’s focus turned completely to the new project, which meant it stepped up a notch to include a smart restaurant. “It was always going to happen, I guess,” Steve says, “I like taking things to the highest level.”
Steve has worked with the designers to create a light and airy bar, restaurant and takeaway in the new development of Salt Village on South Kingscliff’s Salt Beach. “It had to be sexy, but not trendy,” he says. “And it definitely had to be different.” Slabs of Italian marble comprises the bar and indoor tables, and there’s alfresco dining on the deck.
As you’d expect from one of the country’s leading seafood chefs, Steve is fanatical about the quality of his catch: “If I’m not excited about the fish, I don’t want to do it anymore.” All the fish is line-caught where possible (never farmed), with the highlights of the fantastic local catch, including jewfish, mahi mahi and pearl perch, as well as eastern king prawns.
The menu’s international reach reflects Steve’s love of travel. Fins devotees will be happy to see favourites such as the Portuguese dishes of seafood cataplana (like bouillabaisse) and arroz de marisco (seafood rice) make the move, too; alongside new recipes such as deep-fried lotus root and lemon myrtle.
Tapas is served at the bar: there’s sashimi, Stradbroke Island oysters shucked to order, and bacalau balls made from local fish he salt-cures himself. And if you order a cocktail, some of the fruit – perhaps pomelo or limes – may come from Steve’s property in the hinterland.
Desserts on the menu are also given the attention they deserve. The flourless tangelo cake with fresh date and orange-blossom sauce is creatively served in individual tagines. The Italian gelato-maker a couple of doors down from Fins creates the accompanying saffron ice cream.
The takeaway section lets people enjoy a taste of Fins with the sand between their toes, but Steve lets his staff preside over this area. “I’m scared of the takeaway part!” he says. “It’s like ‘Hurry up, put it in the deep-fryer and do it quick!’ I just can’t work like that.”
It’s easy to get caught up in Steve’s excitement, as he talks non-stop about the beautiful interior, the exemplary produce, and the dishes he’s creating. However, it’s been hard work starting a new business with new staff, while cooking around the globe as a guest chef and writing his first cookbook.
To keep focused and stress-free, he escapes for a surf now and then, and makes time to meditate for 30 minutes every day. It seems to have worked; compared to when he opened Fins in Byron nine years ago, Steve says he’s much calmer. “These days, I’m more interested in treading lightly and being a reasonable human being. I used to be a mad axe-murderer and want to kill everyone in the kitchen; and now I’m the nicest person you’ll ever meet,” he laughs.
Fins was recognized as best regional restaurant in NSW many times over the years, but Steve says he doesn’t understand why the title of best seafood restaurant always seems to be in Sydney. “I’m not saying I’m the best seafood chef in Australia, but I will say that we have the best produce in Australia; if I get the food wrong after that, I should be shot.”
It looks like he may just have to head to the big smoke. Steve is considering a couple of proposals for Fins in Sydney – one a “three-hat thing”, and another relaxed set-up like the Tweed Coast restaurant. Of course, that’s only after the new place can run without him, and when he completes his book that’s due out next year. And then there’s the proposal for a beachside Fins in Cascais, Portugal… Long live the 30-minute meditation! 5/6 Bells Bvd, Salt Village, South Kingscliff, NSW, fins.com.au”
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