Tillerman’s Golden Pompano Meunière Is the Hottest Dish This Month
“We’re not a traditional seafood restaurant,” says Andrew Baturo of his Brisbane riverside spot, Tillerman. It’s a claim that sounds slightly disingenuous when you read the menu – packed with oysters, prawns, bouillabaisse and bugs – but look a little closer and there’s a twist to almost every dish.
Not least this cheeky take on a traditional sole meunière, prepared with buttery golden pompano – also known as golden pomfret – instead of the traditional flat sole. “It’s such a meaty fish and it looks so good on the plate,” says Baturo. “It might not be a fish everyone has tried before but when they do, people tell me it’s the best they’ve ever had.”
Choosing golden pompano may be a swerve but Baturo and his head chef, Suwisa Phoonsang, made a conscious decision to not mess with the meunière sauce – it sticks to the strict French playbook of brown butter, lemon juice and parsley. And customers can’t get enough of the combo; the generous share dish has fast become one of the most popular on the menu. To take the old-school/progressive theme to the next level, order yours with a sauce-mopping side of potato scallops, elevated with a dusting of powdered black vinegar and saltbush in a modern nod to humble fish and chips.
The playful take is in keeping with everything Baturo hopes Tillerman communicates; the restaurant is designed to be exacting in its food standards and consistency but also relaxed and approachable. “Leaning into nostalgia in a way that makes people comfortable feels really important.”
