Brisbane is home to some fantastic seafood joints that will have your crustacean-loving hearts skipping a beat.
With everything from American-style crab doused in flavourful sauces, classic fish and chips with a twist to a luxe seafood buffet you can unashamedly stuff your face full at, Brisbane's seafood restaurant scene is second-to-none.
All you have to do is gather the squad and pick a place to start your next culinary adventure, or better yet, make a day of it and work through all of them. Did someone say weekend plans sorted?
Fresh Sushi Co
Fortitude Valley
If you happen to love hand crafted sushi prepared by a professional Japanese master chef, then Fresh Sushi Co might just be the next greatest thing in your life. While all your favourite flavours are present—like prawn tempura and wagyu beef—Fresh Sushi Co takes things one step further by ensuring that every roll is handcrafted by master chef Toki to ensure the balance of flavours is just right. With all of its rolls made with the freshest seafood from sister company Fresh Fish Co, Fresh Sushi Co is your mouth’s happy place.
Clayfield Seafood Market
Clayfield
The classic Aussie fish and chips dinner has never looked better than at Clayfield Seafood Market. Seriously, their food is so pretty it more than deserves a spot on your Instagram hall of fame. With a menu changing constantly with the ebb and flow of local catches, you can expect to find panko-crumbed cod, Mooloolaba prawns and salt and pepper calamari on any good day. They also offer a variety of scrumptious burgers for those in your squad who aren’t the biggest fans of seafood (those poor souls), making the market the perfect stop for a cheeky afternoon gathering. Fish and chips might be an oldie, but it’s definitely still a goodie.
Jellyfish
Eagle Street Pier
Boasting between 8 and 14 species of fish on offer each day, the iconic Jellyfish Restaurant—located in the swanky Eagle Street Pier Riverside Centre—sure know their stuff when it comes to serving up seriously good seafood in Brisbane. With an array of exotic fish on offer, including Mooloolaba swordfish and black kingfish, Jellyfish prides itself on being able to recommend the perfect batter, sauce and side to accompany whatever tickles your fancy. Customisation highlights include a curry batter, citrus and dill infused crumbs and the tastebud-tickling peach and habanero dressing. So many choices, so little time to consume everything!
Gambaro Seafood Restaurant
Petrie Terrace
An icon of Caxton Street since its opening waay back in 1953, the Gambaro Seafood Restaurant more than deserves its title of Brisbane’s Best Seafood Restaurant. Under the expert hand of head chef Lucas McEwan, Gambaro continues to impress with signature mud crab, green lobster, Moreton Bay bugs and Tasmanian oysters. Our recommendation? Treat yo’ self and indulge in the stunning Gambaro Seafood Platter, featuring a veritable smorgasbord of fresh local seafood served with the secret in-house sauce. Seriously guys, if they told you the secret of their special sauce they’d have to kill you.
Thyme2
CBD
What do you get when you take the luxury of the Sofitel Hotel and combine it with one of Brisbane’s best seafood buffets? Why, Thyme2 of course! Combining comforting, and ever-so-slightly fancy ol’ French cuisine with the freshest local seafood, Thyme2 is a seafood lover’s paradise—and they totally wont judge you if you stuff your face because it’s a buffet. Now, that sounds like a win-win to us. Oh, don’t forget to sample your way through the buffet’s selection of desserts when you’re done with your feast, created in-house in the hotel’s own patisserie. Our stomachs are grumbling just thinking about it.
Reef Seafood And Sushi
Newstead
Whether you're craving a cheeky bento box filled with hand-made sushi and sashimi or their famous crumbed tuna, Reef Seafood And Sushi sevres up the freshest, most delicious seafood in Brisbane. Perfect for a casual dinner or lunch, Reef's dine-in and takeaway options means you can stop in on the go, or linger a little while over dinner—glass of wine in hand, of course.
St. James Crabhouse & Kitchen
Kangaroo Point
If fine dining isn’t your thing, we’ve totally got you covered with St. James Crabhouse & Kitchen. It’s messy (we’re talking DIY prawn-peeling), it’s clothes-staining and it’s so delicious we don’t even mind the thought of having to wear a plastic bib. Drawing on the classic flavours of a good ol’ fashioned American Crabhouse, St. James’ signature dish has to be the Alaskan king and snow crabs, served how you like it with a selection of sauces available to please any palate. Why not try something a little bit different with the citrus beurre blane, a lemon and champagne reduction, or go classic with the cajun New Orleans sauce. Just make you book ahead as this hole-in-the-wall joint gets booked out fast—and for very good reason.
Need some event ideas to go with your seafood dining plans? Check out these awesome things to do in Brisbane this week.