Vanessa: The idea of a fish n’ chip shop conjures up the notion in my head of greasy, fried, battered cod, scallops and seafood sticks but alas Crown St Fish Shop has turned that notion on its head. Located on the bustling high st of Crown, this casual, hip eatery has created a menu that offers both the traditional favourites as well as some more inventive options.
Ensconced by a number of different eateries on the street alone, Crown St Fish Shop holds its own by offering dishes ranging from tacos, burgers, through to grilled fish, lobster and of course the classics.
As we, Team FFS, arrived I was impressed by the decor and fit out of the restaurant. Detail and attention has been paid to create an environment that is reflective of a seafood eater and equally of its trendy and hip location. I particularly liked the take away pick up window, it reminded me of something you might see on a pier or at a carnival.
The specials board plays its role in swaying you from the standard menu options, of which there are many. Not to mention the fact that there are daily deals such as Monday night $1 oysters till they run out and Wednesday night $1 dumplings…as luck would have it we dined on a Tuesday!
We opted for a mix of the traditional and inventive that evening. Starting off with the traditional we could not go past the fisherman’s Basket ($27) with its array of battered fish, prawns, calamari and a hefty serve of chips with tartare sauce. A classic and hard to go wrong with really. The batter was light and crunchy and the seafood was well cooked.
We also had two dishes from the specials board that day. The idea of lobster is always appealing so we chose to share the full lobster between us ($48 full/ $28 half) this was served with chips and the lobster was cooked in a chill garlic butter. I was personally a little underwhelmed by the lobster mainly because I had hoped for stronger flavours from the chilli garlic butter which didn’t pack much punch. The lobster was well cooked and well priced for a whole lobster.
The sashimi salad ($14) was a real stand out of for us. It was very fresh, light and was quite a generous serve of salmon for a salad dish. I definitely would recommend ordering this particularly to break up the heavier fried options you might also be having.
We couldn’t go past the fish taco options which reminded me of a modern and advanced take on a fish finger sandwich. 3 small tortillas were served up ,one containing a battered prawn with mustard sauce and the other two with tempura fish. Again super crunchy and an ideal snack for 1-2 people.
Again the specials board lured to us the Bao Street Buns ($15) consisting of 3 fluffy baos containing fish, duck and pork. The protein diversity was a welcomed change to mix up the flavours and the consistency of the bao makes this a somewhat filling option.
We only just scratched the surface of options that Crown St Fish Shop has on offer on their menu. I have earmarked the lobster mac ‘n’ cheese and popcorn shrimp with spicy mayo for our next visit!
This is a good go to option if you are after casual, relaxed dining particularly with a group of people as there are many communal dining tables dotted about the place. It’s licensed and with the specials and deals changing daily, there will always be something different on offer to try!
Enjoy!
Vanessa
Photos by Alex
*ForFoodsSake dined as guests of Crown St Fish Shop. All opinions however are our own.
That is well priced for lobster. Thanks for the review. I was wondering what the food was like there! 😀
I love that baos are everywhere now! And you can’t beat a good serve of fish and chips. Yum.