Australia’s coolest lager is poured straight from a frozen tap at Felons Seafood on Manly Wharf

Felons Brewing Co is going from strength to strength, rejuvenating Manly Wharf and expanding with its new venue, Felons Seafood. While the food menu is impressive, it’s the specialist beer that’s making a splash.

To say we were excited when we first heard the news of Felons’ expansion along Manly Wharf would be an understatement. Having seen the success of the brewery and barrel hall in Brisbane first-hand, I knew their arrival in Sydney would be big. Less than a year since Felons Manly docked on the wharf, the team have broadened their horizon round to Manly Cove, on the eastern side of the wharf.

We took the trip to Manly to visit the new seafood restaurant and learn more about what’s on offer – including the crisp lager poured at below freezing temperatures.

The coolest lager in Australia

We mean that literally, too.

Picture this: you’ve spent the morning exploring Manly corso and been for a swim at Manly Cove. Next on the menu, lunch. Step up from the beach on to the wharf and secure a seat at Felons Seafood – either inside the bright, airy restaurant or outside on the wharf. The choice is yours.

You don’t even have to think about what drink to order, as it has to be the Super Cold Crisp Lager. Poured fresh off the tap into a frozen mug, it’s a game-changer.

The Felons team worked with UAP — specialist artists who mostly work on custom large scale sculptures — to create a font that can withstand freezing temperatures. The result? A new pouring technique that delivers consistently at -2°C.

The Felons Crisp Lager is part of the core range: smooth, clean and crisp, it was already heralded as Australia’s most refreshing lager. But now, thanks to the team’s patience with crafting the perfect font, it’s even more thirst-quenching and the coolest beer in the country.

You’ll notice the font itself is covered in an icy glaze, and may even see some ice floating up in your glass. It’s the perfect post-swim refresher. Best enjoyed while looking out over Manly Cove, this will be our drink of the summer, we can already tell.

What we ate

Head chef Luke Bourke, a proud Palawa man born on Darug Country in Western Sydney, and Corey Costelloe (of Rockpool) have put their heads – and skills – together to create a menu that triumphantly celebrates Australia’s oceans and coastlines.

Bourke’s Indigenous heritage sings throughout, with native ingredients such as finger lime, kelp and desert lime included seamlessly. They’re not going overboard, cramming them into every dish. Instead, there’s a far more measured approach, considering what truly balances together on the plate.

Produce is key too, of course. Brand director, Dean Romeo, shared that the team “can pretty much name the person who caught the fish.” It’s all about seasonal, high-quality and locally sourced ingredients to create the ultimate waterside dining experience. Here’s everything we ate:

• Fish ceviche tostada with avocado and jalapeño
• Raw & tartare: bluefin tuna and Fraser Isle scallops
• Felons beer battered potato scallops with Blue Swimmer crab remoulade
• Charcoal grilled Southern calamari with desert lime salsa
• Plate of clams with white wine, kombu butter and parsley
• Rock flathead and King George whiting from the Josper oven
• Sides: Prásinos Greek salad, mushy peas with ricotta and mint, and hand-cut tallow-fried chips

Standout dishes for us were the ceviche tostadas; the beautifully smoky charcoal grilled calamari that’s paired with a zesty kick from the desert lime salsa; and the flathead and whiting, which were both cooked at 700°C in the Josper oven, that only a few skilled chefs know how to use.

Felons Seafood is cool, relaxed and undeniably polished. It captures that elusive sweet spot between casual wharfside dining and elevated, thoughtful cooking, where a plate of delicately sliced raw tuna can sit comfortably next to beer-battered potato scallops, and both be equally celebrated.

The vibe is unmistakably coastal-Australian, but your dreams of a Euro summer will come true too: the interior is filled with textured walls, rattan lampshades, lemon trees in large vases and pops of blue that transport you to a Greek island. It’s a place you could easily spend the whole day.

Start with a pint and a few oysters, dive into the wine list (curated with seafood in mind), then wrap it all up with one last frosty lager as the sun sinks behind the wharf. Felons Seafood might be the new kid on Manly Wharf, but it already feels like a classic.

Felons Seafood

Address: East Esplanade, Manly NSW 2095.
Opening times: Monday–Sunday 11:30am–11pm.

felonsbrewingco.com.au