Crustaceans on the Wharf

The location is very nice, just be careful of birds while eating. The service is slow, I had to ask many times to clear the plates, order new beverages, napkins, and salt and pepper. The food was ok. I ordered the soup of the day, which was pumpkin, and it did not have any flavour, didn't even know it was pumpkin honestly. I tried the garlic bread, which had quite the presentation, and was quite delicious. I ordered the New York Strip and asked for medium rare, it came out close to well done and there was no seasoning on the steak at all. When I ordered the steak the waitress asked me about sauces and I picked one they recommended, did not know it was gonna cost $4. I added fried calamari to my meal and it was not too bad, no dipping sauces provided. A friend I was dining with had a seagull poop into his food and the wait staff replaced his meal quickly. Come here for the ambience and drinks. The toilet could be cleaner and brighter. Wharf discount available, no military discount. Personally I will not come back here.

Wow! A shuttle bus driver said this was the best restaurant in Darwin and we agree. We bought a platter for 3 (at the recommendation of the lady who served us). Platter was large and more than enough food for 3 people. Service was personal and spot on. The ambiance outside on the wharf with the sunset was amazing.

Disappointed ☹️. Best garlic bread I've ever had, but "low alcohol beer" was ordinary beer 🍻 and not non alcoholic or low alcohol. Got the earliest sitting to ensure full menu to choose from, guess what, no cranbs.....very disappointed as last day in Australia. Ordered "Morton bay bugs" and they definitely were not fresh and had been taken out from the freezer. Quite pricey for what it is. No sun shades.

Fantastic we ordered the deluxe platter. The staff are very hospitable, warm, welcoming. This is the true example of Territorian spirit, they really care about their customers, the food was absolutely delicious, it was well worth the money we paid. The kilpatrick oysters was absolutely yummy, the scallops melted in your mouth, the lobster , bugs very tender and perfectly cooked. Can’t fault a thing and seafood is rather hard to get perfect, very fresh.

We arrived about 20 minutes before they closed - service was good, food was delicious. We tried the Moreton Bay bugs for the first time (very similar to rock lobster). We also got to watch an amazing lightning storm from the covered patio.

We love this place, from the seating, view, the staff ( they are so friendly and nothing is too much trouble)and especially the food. We had the deluxe seafood platter ( wow), and a friend had the seafood platter for one ( well worth the money). I found the wine a bit expensive, so make sure you look at the cost before ordering. Highly recommend booking in advance. Make sure you take your camera, the view is stunning, and we had a blood moon. The toilets are clean and big enough for disabled people with no step to manage. If you like my reviews please follow us around Australia 🇦🇺.

What a great place on a winters evening. We had the hot seafood for 1 and coldseafood platter for 2. It feed the 3 of us. Very very tasty. Well cared for will be going back. We had pre booked and sorry I didn't pick up the tab this time.

Disappointing Have heard about Crustaceans for a few years, thought it would be nice as a birthday treat for my husband. Both Strawberry daiquiris were yum, except for the fresh strawberry garnish which smelt like it had been rolling around in the live bait tank at home. The menu had a good range and was priced well. The outdoor table was well spaced and situated in a good spot. The steak cooked really well, chips nice. Salad useless / I’ve had better salads in a country pub. The lobster 🦞 was cold and so was the sauce. On both meals. Great garlic bread, Croc skewers small and chewy, croc can be soft. The calamari was great nd my sons Parma was overloaded with tomato, looked like a who tin of crushed tomato on top. Once again salad disappointing. Espresso Marti great. I had a problem with the waiters leaving drinks at the end of the table for the kids to send down to us, plenty of room for them to bring the drink to the adult who ordered it!

One star for the view over Darwin harbour at sunset on a balmy evening, one star for the restaurant ambience, boat festooned with lights, assorted foliage and seafood/ steak display and one star for the cooking. Didn't try the steak although they looked enormous. Barramundi was fresh and nicely cooked but most dishes except a few entrees and crustacean platters were served with chips a salad, and I craved a little more finesse with presentation. Overall a pleasant way to spend an evening in Darwin.

We enjoyed an adult beverage whilst seated at the end of the wharf. Very pleasant watching working boats come and go with a beautiful sunset. Dinner was lobster and bugs, both good. After-dinner coffee took over 15 minutes to arrive, hence 4 stars.

Great fresh seafood at this restaurant with great views. Very friendly staff. Will bring family and friends here again, especially visitors to Darwin

Crustaceans is regularly listed as one the must-eat restaurants in Darwin and I can't but feel, based on our visit, that it's trading on this a little too much. Firstly, it is in a lovely location, sitting out on the wharf with a view of both the harbour and back towards to city itself. It's a busy place so, without a booking (which we did) you might struggle to get in, or, at the very least, be waiting for a table. Upon arrival we were seated reasonably quickly and our drinks and food order taken. It was kind of strange to have a waitress ask us if we had our main yet before we received our entree and hadn't been waiting long anyway. Then to kind of walk off without letting us know why she is asking when we said that we were (happily) waiting for our entree confusing. Entrees arrived, crocodile skewers because we were in the top end ad thought we should and grilled octopus. Both were lovely but I'll point out the crocodile because I've never thought it was all that remarkable a protein but this was simple but tasty. Mains were a grilled barramundi and a seafood platter. The barramundi was lovely and whilst there was nothing wrong with seafood platter, there was nothing amazing about it either. Pet peeve, as our mains were being served, I asked the waitress if we could order more drinks and she send said she'd send someone but no-one ever came. Money on the table people because we ever did end up being able to order those drinks as there was no wait staff until the table was being cleared The food is fairly basic, which is absolutely fine if it's cooked well and is fresh. For the most part, this was the case. The service was patchy at best. One girl was trying very hard, super friendly and being attentive but others were either a little useless or just lost. It just smacked of being disorganised. There's nothing majorly wrong with Crustaceans and I would not dissuade anyone from visiting, perhaps just lower your expectations from what you will read. Whilst reasonably priced, it's simply not as good as you'd be led to believe and there are better not far away. With a range of quite good options now open on the nearby waterfront and lots of new construction likely bringing even more options, I do hope that Crustaceans can lift its game otherwise I fear it may be left behind.

Not great when the best part of the meal is the garlic bread. My friend and I both had steak and I'm presuming that was our first mistake. I sent mine back - rare instead of medium rare and chock full of gristle and fat. Awful. Both steaks weren't seasoned at all - just bland. On the bright side - the wait staff were friendly and tried their best. So yeah - it was food. But just not anywhere near enjoyable.

The food is really yummy and the atmosphere is serene. The view is stunning at sunset! So stunning! Be sure to be seated outside so that you can get the full experience of dining on the water. I ordered crumbed calamari which I could not fault. Kids under 10 years get to eat free off the kids menu. Each my 2 sons had the spring rolls with chips and the other chicken nuggets with chips. They were fantastic kids meals! I was a little disappointed that they don't do table service so, be sure to order fast and not when everyone else decides to order and you're stuck in a long queue.

Went for dinner 7/08/16 Service was adequate. I order the Reef and Beef. So 300g Scotch Fillet, 6 prawns, potato and steamed vegetables. Steamed vegetables were fine. Potato was 6 super thin slices, which I had to ask for more because it wasnt even a full roast potato (if it isn't even remotely the size of your fist you should probably send it back). It's hard to stuff up Prawns, so the prawns were fine, a little small, but fine. My grievance is the steak. I ordered Rare. Now I've eaten rare for nearly 20 years. I know what a Rare steak looks like at best mine was Medium maybe in some parts Medium Rare. Not one part of the steak looked anything remotely raw. Plus it was fatty, probably the fattiest Scotch fillet I've ever seen right in the middle of the fillet plus around the outside. Now I know scotch fillet can be a little fatty, but not big chunks of grissel. I didn't even want it in my mouth. I spoke to the waitress, she took my plate went to the kitchen came back and informed me that the steak was Rare and thats how all Rare steaks come out of their kitchen and that if I wanted it "Rare" (as how the rest of the world sees Rare) I should have ordered "Blue". The fact that she said that, demonstrates how lacking in knowledge the waitress and the Chef were. No chef worth their salt would say that, it f**king emabarrasing. There is a fundamental difference between Blue and Rare, and I only ever order Blue with aged steaks. She informed me that if I expect quality steaks I should take my business to Char Restaurant and pay $50 for a fillet cooked Rare. How can any business say that or treat paying customers like that? She also informed me that the kitchen was now closed and that they were no longer able to replace said steak at 8.45 pm on a weekend. All I was left with was a half a dozen prawns and some steamed vegetables. So all I can say is, if you want a Steak do not go here. I've been to pubs with better fillets for cheaper and they actually know how to cook a Rare steak. 3/10. Do not go here if you expect anything of quality.

Two things to know here: first, wait to go until a few minutes before sunset. All but a couple tables are on the open wharf deck and there is no shade (no umbrellas or sails) and the sun is blisteringly bright. After sunset it's lovely. Second, make a reservation because the Saturday receptionist doesn't seem to much like walk-ons - even though there were still plenty of tables 2 hours later. And reservations require a phone call and someone to answer the phone, not on Open Table. That out of the way, the food we had was pretty good. Not great or superb, but ok for a place named crustaceans which has a menu full of -- what else-- lobster and Morton bay bugs and prawns and such (be sure to look before you go). Only one fish on the menu- barramundi prepared two ways and it was excellent . Prawns grilled with aoli butter also good but not as. The sticky pudding for desert definitely recommendable. Our bill for four with one beer each was a very reasonable $164. They should charge more and start a shade sail fund I think.