Crustaceans on the Wharf

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 were there on Saturday night. Lovely location. Exceptional service and the food was amazing. We will be back.

We enjoyed a nice time at the restaurant. It was in the evening so you can’t really see much of the view. The food was good but expect ~AUD35 per person (without drinks). The deluxe platter is actually worth it if you are splitting it across 4 people (my group had smaller appetites so that was useful).

Wonderful! So many choices for seafood (bugs, crabs, fish, oysters, scallops, lobster); there's also a steak menu and a kids menu. We had the seafood platter for two and it didn't disappoint. Everything was cooked to perfection and the sauces were yummy! We sat inside and caught the sea breeze and sunset. We also got to watch the dinner cruises leave and the tug boats come back in. We booked earlier in the evening so there were plenty of carparks and it wasn't overly busy. The staff were lovely and attentive. It was a lovely night out and we'll definitely be going back at some stage soon! Thabk you Sylvia and Team!

屋外席。おいしい貝類とステーキのグリル。夕日の港の景色を楽しむには、午後 6 時 30 分までに到着するのがベストです。合理的な価格。 Casual rather than fine dining. Unique location, reasonably good food, reasonable prices, cheerful yet at times uncoordinated service being our experience. We booked a table for 2 for 7:30pm on a Friday night. Upon arrival staff were somewhat flustered and not sure where to place us, eventually telling us “actually this table is all we have at the moment” and setting us away from the prime locations by the wharf’s edge. Having been seated I noted for any future visit, to book a table by the water and plan to arrive by 6:30pm to enjoy a sunset over the harbour. After being seated we were asked if we wished to order drinks but had to prompt the young waiter for drink choices, or a menu, which was then provided. Drink orders taken, we began to enjoy the outdoor atmosphere when a second waiter asked us if we wanted anything to drink? Informing him that we had ordered drinks we asked if we could have the food menu. This was fetched and revealed a good selection of local and imported seafood entrees, seafood mains, “surf and turf” style seafood/steaks/pasta mains most with chips and salad, and a good number of desserts. We ordered crocodile skewers and garlic bread as entrees, beef lasagna for her and bugs and 300g beef steak (medium) for him. Entree and mains arrived promptly. Serving sizes were generous, each dish cooked nicely and pleasingly presented and we enjoyed all. Waitstaff were cheerful but seemed distracted and/or tired at times, we had the sense that we had arrived at the end of a busy evening for them, however it did not distract too much from our enjoyment of the meal and the location. Coffee and sticky date pudding dessert rounded out an overall satisfying casual- rather than fine-dining experience. Again, recommend booking, specifying a table harbourside, and arriving to be seated by 6:30pm to enjoy what must be a magnificent sunset to be seen over the harbour.

The service at this restaurant is bizarre!!! We waited for a while after being seated and had to call someone over to take our order, to then be told only the manager is allowed to take food orders. The manager didn’t come as there were many other tables who needed to order too! So what are the other staff even there for!? We tried to ask someone else if we could order, as lots of staff kept walking past our table, and again they told us they weren’t allowed! We had to wait a while for the manager to come. Very strange that only one person is allowed to take orders for a large restaurant. Why is this?!?!? The only good things about the restaurant is the location and the food, so at least they have great chefs!! Service is weird and lets this place down which is a shame.

My partner and I had dinner Wednesday 19th June. I have to say this restaurant is one of the best seafood restaurants we’ve dined at, and there has been a few. Not only is there seafood, but pastas and steak, and chicken meals. The staff, the location, the atmosphere and mostly the food, was exceptional. It was a busy night, but everything was timed perfectly. We had half dozen mixed oysters to share. My partner had the chilli mud crab and I had the garlic prawns. All were beautifully cooked and delicious. I especially liked the fact that they had cocktails from years ago, as well as some modern ones. I can’t fault the food or service and in my opinion, I can highly recommend. And when travelling here again, will definitely return. Very reasonably priced.

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.