Take a peek inside Catseye Pool Club, Josh and Julie Niland’s forthcoming Hamilton Island dining destination
Late last year, Josh and Julie Niland of hatted Sydney fine-diner Saint Peter made waves with the announcement that they’d be opening a waterfront restaurant at Hamilton Island’s brand-new luxury hotel, The Sundays, in April 2025. This week, the duo is offering a preview of what’s in store. Catseye Pool Club is the name of the new concept, a sun-soaked, family-friendly eatery where the Niland’s famed whole-fish cookery will be showcased via dishes like hand line-caught coral trout in salt pastry, alongside non-seafood centrepieces including Coppertree Farm grass-fed beef rib eye.
It’s not every day that you see a chef with the pedigree of Josh Niland take his talents to a far-flung corner of the country. But that’s exactly what the high-profile chef – a thought leader in the culinary arts, famed for his style of whole-fish cookery – is doing with his new restaurant, Catseye Pool Club.
The dining destination is set to open on Thursday April 24 at The Sundays, Hamilton Island’s newest boutique hotel. Perched overlooking the calm turquoise waters of the Coral Sea and powdery sands of Catseye Bay, the restaurant and bar will celebrate leisurely island-style dining, with Josh and Julie Niland eager to make the most of the region’s abundance of high-grade produce and deliver it in a glamorous, yet relaxed, waterside setting.
Though renowned across the globe for his pioneering ‘gill-to-fin’ approach to fish butchery, Josh’s newest concept isn’t a seafood restaurant. Yes, the influential Australian chef will showcase top-notch seafood across Catseye Pool Club’s menu, but guests can also expect a broad spectrum of Australian ingredients to earn equal billing, with each dish on the menu designed to be shared.
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“Whilst ‘family style’ or ‘share style’ dining is very much a way restaurants have operated for many years, the Catseye Pool Club approaches its menu with each item very much designed to be enjoyed as a whole table, with all the trimmings coming with each dish,” Josh explains in a statement. “The menu is still undergoing final deliberation, but guests can expect beautiful fresh pastries made by the team, ‘CPC’ Spanner Crab Royale and Coconut and Verjuice Honey Bircher.”
An early glimpse at the menu as it stands hints at mouthwatering signatures like eastern rock lobster served with floury white bread rolls, tarragon mayonnaise, salted butter and salted chilli condiment, roast Sommerlad heritage chicken with slow-cooked zucchini, tomato and grilled bread salad, chicken fat roast potatoes and garlic aioli, hand line-caught coral trout in salt pastry with vadouvan roast cauliflower, garlic saltbush and warrigal greens, pickled sultanas, almonds and curry leaf, and Neapolitan sundaes for dessert. The restaurant will also offer an exclusive breakfast just for hotel guests while, on the drinks front, Saint Peter’s beverage director Sam Cocks is assembling a Queensland ingredient-focused cocktail menu.
“Opening The Sundays and Catseye Pool Club is a hugely exciting milestone for the team at Hamilton Island and I couldn’t be prouder,” adds CEO of Hamilton Island Nick Dowling. “Together, The Sundays and Catseye Pool Club underscore our commitment to making Hamilton Island ‘Australia’s Tropical Island’, offering world-class accommodation, dining and hospitality to all visitors to the heart of the beautiful Great Barrier Reef.”
The Sundays is now open for bookings ahead of its grand opening in April – you can reserve your stay via The Sundays website.