When I moved to the Coogee area, I told myself I want to be part of the community. At that time, one of the things I made sure I did was to join the local RSL club. That’s how I came into contact with Coogee Diggers. I have never been any member of such a club and I didn’t even know whether I was relevant, as, well, I am not a retired soldier. I was just told by my local friends that it doesn’t matter.
As time went by, I became quite attached to the club, not just for the pool, which I utterly love (though nowadays I went there less due to my own COVID concerns and also usually times I wanted to go are occupied by swim schools), but also the gym. But my favourite is without a doubt the Bistro.
In fact, I like the Bistro so much that nowadays it became a running joke among my friends that if they wanted to catch up with me and haven’t thought of where to go to, Coogee Diggers will always fit my bill.
That’s true. In this day and age, I noticed that a lot of places have set up Chinese yum cha or Thai cuisine in their club to expand the clientele. But for me what I liked about the Coogee Diggers Bistro was that it is utterly Australian. And as a proud of Australian, I felt it just right to have Australian style Bistro in an RSL club. Maybe I am weird, but that’s how I felt.
Anyway, no matter how Australian it is, at the end of the day it is about the food. Frankly, I have never had a bad meal at the Bistro since I joined the Coogee Diggers. There was a period that I will go for an evening swim and then just had dinner at the Bistro before heading home. There used to be a door that I could directly access the Bistro from the pool (it opened to the video game area) but I think for fire safety reasons, the door is now looked from one side.
I usually do the $12 dinner specials but at times when I wanted to treat myself, I will order from the menu. I said I will order from the menu, but basically that’s just the King Prawn Linguine, which up to this day I still love. Whenever I went with friends, we usually go for their pizza as they are easy to share. My personal favourite is the Peri Peri Meat Delight. I also love their steaks. I remember I specifically brought my mum to the Diggers for the steak when she was staying with me on holiday, and even she was impressed. On Sundays they usually have their Sunday roast (though I haven’t been there on a Sunday for while), which is usually very nice. If I felt like I want to be healthy, I would go for the Atlantic Salmon. Apart from standard menu items, they usually have weekly (I think they still could be) specials on the board next to the counter. That’s the place where I would try to be adventurous at times. I tried their mussels bowl lately and it was very good, and something I will go back again for when they have it next time.
Staff members are also very nice. From the cashier to the bar and even the kitchen staff who called you for food. They will make sure everything is ok when you take the food. Staff services are quick and courteous. The selection of drinks was also good, though I usually just do beers, but there was a period I was (I don’t know why) addicted to the pineapple juice.
The Coogee Diggers Bistro might not look fancy, but for me a good RSL Bistro is a Bistro that has a solid menu and some solid good food. It does not discount on the quality and the enthusiastic staff there was always an encouragement for my next visit, as I always feel welcomed even though I am not a retired soldier and had not contributed to the country from a warring point of view.
I personally would encourage anyone in the neighbourhood to join the Diggers, and the Bistro should be sufficient a reason to join it 😊.
