The Fenwick, in the old boat store

The building has stood at the water’s edge here since the 1880s, when J. Fenwick & Co kept its boat store in it. The restoration kept the things worth keeping — sandstone walls, timber beams overhead, and the proportions of a shed built for boats rather than for dining. What the room has now is the water. It sits directly in front, running west past Barangaroo and north to the Harbour Bridge.

Food starts with takeaway in the morning and runs through to dinner. Breakfast, at the weekend only, is walk-in: two hours on Saturday and Sunday, no bookings taken. Lunch is on every day of the week, and dinner is à la carte seven nights, finishing earlier on a Sunday. For a table of 11 to 20 there is a banquet instead — classic or premium, shared down the middle and settled before you arrive.

The Fenwick Gallery takes the first floor, directly above the dining room, and the exhibition on its walls changes through the year. A visit upstairs takes a few minutes, before the table is ready or on the way out. It is also the room used for private events, which means a party upstairs happens inside whatever show is hanging at the time, with the stone walls and the harbour behind it. Half-exclusive hire keeps the restaurant below running as normal.

It suits a few different days. A weekend breakfast off the foreshore walk, taken as it comes without a booking. A weekday lunch that overruns, helped along by the afternoon sun on the stone. A birthday of 15 around one table, or 50 upstairs. Parking at Balmain East is very limited, so take the ferry to the East Balmain wharf and walk the few steps from there.