When you’ve got young children, it’s always a thrill to discover new family-friendly dining options on the North Shore. The West Pymble Bicentennial Club has been around for years, but for some unknown reason, it wasn’t on our radar – that is, until NSM Sarah visited it with her husband and kids (aged 6, 4 and baby) to review it for North Shore Mums.
Even after a long weekend of sports, swimming and birthday parties, by Sunday afternoon Miss 6 and 4 were still climbing up the walls. So the promise of not having to cook on a school night and a location with activities to occupy even the most active of kids was most appealing! We moved to South Turramurra two years ago, but hadn’t really ventured out to the local eateries. Lucky for us though, as we discovered the hidden gem that is the West Pymble Bicentennial Club and it’s Kookaburra Bistro.
The club is in a great location close by to the West Pymble Aquatic Centre and newly refurbished playground at Bicentennial Park, making it an easy place to stop on the way home after a busy day out swimming, at the gym or playground.
With plenty of parking we were warmly welcomed by the staff and informed that the bistro is open from 4pm. Now this is a bonus as so many venues these days don’t open their kitchens until after 5:30pm by which time my kids are absolutely starving! But we’ll get back to the delicious food later. The club itself is open and well laid out, with facilities for wheelchair users and baby change station as well.
Anzac Day celebrations
Family-friendly activities
After grabbing a glass of wine from the bar, we headed to the greens where game stations are set up to encourage kids (and adults) to have a play and learn some of the skills needed for lawn bowls. A fantastic area with plenty of places to sit, relax and watch the kids wear themselves out. Each station came with a set of instructions and the kids had a ball (no pun intended!) honing their bowls technique. Chatting with Emma the club manager, she mentioned the club is popular with sporting teams or family get togethers as the kids can play and be sociable giving the parents a chance to relax whilst watching on. I can certainly attest to that!
The food
With the kids finally wearing themselves out, we headed inside to check out the menu and have a bite to eat. The kids menu had a great selection – calamari and chips, pasta and cheeseburger to name a few – and at under $10 a meal was great value! For the grown ups there is a wide variety of meals to choose from though we settled on the Chicken Parmigiana and Fillet Steak. Both were delicious, but that steak… wow it was cooked to perfection! The kids were happy with the ice cream for dessert and for the adults there is a dessert buffet for only $7 with a lovely selection of sweets to choose from.
Kids Meal: Calamari & chips
The verdict
The club has a real community feel to it and I recognised quite a few other people from netball and school in the short time we were there. In the school holidays the club runs movie nights and it would be a great venue for mothers group or pre-school catch up with the easy parking and open space available. As we left I noticed that membership is only $10 a year which gives you access to members pricing on food and drink with the bonus of free dessert buffet on a Sunday when purchasing two main meals! So naturally we’ll be back but this time with friends and members card in hand!
Location
West Pymble Bicentennial Club is located at 2 Prince of Wales Drive, West Pymble, with access only meters from the intersection of Ryde Road & Loftberg Road.
Check out their website or book a table by calling 9498 3135
Opening Hours
The Kookaburra Bistro is open:
Disclaimer: Our reviewer was provided with a free meal for her family in return for her honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are her own and not influenced by the company or its affiliates in any way.
