The Best Seafood Restaurants in Melbourne
Here's where to find Melbourne's best seafood — across fine-diners, messy crab shacks, local neighbourhood eateries and lavish omakase haunts.
The Best Seafood Restaurants in Melbourne
Here's where to find Melbourne's best seafood — across fine-diners, messy crab shacks, local neighbourhood eateries and lavish omakase haunts.
On the hunt for the best seafood restaurants in Melbourne? Luckily, our bayside city abounds with options. Whether you're after a messy, hands-on, bibs and wet wipes affair, a refined wine-bar serving sustainable seafood, or a luxe omakase experience, we've got you covered.
Here you'll find everything from decades-old dining institutions to modern Malaysian multi-level restaurants, and unassuming spots serving some of the best sashimi in town, to lively Chinese restaurants where seafood is the star of the show, and so much more. One thing they all have in common is that they pay the utmost respect to the goods of the sea. The fish is fresh, the oysters are ready to be shucked, and you're in for a treat.
Recommended reads:
The Best Sushi in Melbourne
The Best Restaurants in Melbourne
The Best Beachside Restaurants in Melbourne
The Best Steaks in Melbourne
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Housed in a corner building on Rathdowne Street, Cordelia’s focus is on sustainable seafood, with wines to match. The menu includes fresh fishy bites such as Merimbula Sydney Rock Oysters with blackened lime vinegar, octopus and merguez skewers with espellette and saffron aioli, and marinated sardines with soured cucumber. The dishes are built around whichever fish is fresh, in season, and, where possible, feature lesser-known species.
Gold Band Snapper is served with fermented lemon verbena honey, Rainbow Trout is cooked over coal and dressed with capers and chives, and John Dory may be pan-seared with mussels. While Cordelia isn’t siloed into a seafood-only corner, there’s also pasta, Falco milk buns with kombu agro dolce, and other considered protein dishes such as a charcoal half chicken, the seafood is undoubtedly the star of the show. Hot tip: the fish burger, served Wednesday to Friday for lunch, rivals sister restaurant’s Don’s famous chicken version in crisp and tasty levels.
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Pipi’s Kiosk is a hidden gem along Melbourne’s generally underutilised foreshore. The picturesque restaurant, which sits unassumingly on the Albert Park waterfront adjacent to Kerferd Road Pier, is changing the way Melburnians perceive seaside dining — for the better. Jordan Clay and Tom Hunter have distilled their years of hospo experience and knowledge into creating the beautiful Pipi’s Kiosk, named for the pipi shells that crunch beneath your feet as you walk along the white sand below.
For them, it’s a dining space “that looks to encapsulate the Melbourne Bistro…while sitting at the bay…A place to rest, reflect and watch the boats go by.” While not strictly a seafood restaurant, given the uninterrupted views of the sparkling sea and the smell of salty ocean wafting by, it’s no surprise that seafood features strongly on the menu. Snack on the likes of Sydney Rock Oysters with rhubarb mignonette, grilled calamari skewers with ink sauce, salted cod croquettes and seaweed sourdough. Pending what’s seasonably available, you might try snapper crudo with Tokyo turnips, octopus with romesco sauce or John Dory, pan-seared and served with grilled sprouts and champagne cream sauce.
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Self-taught chef Junda Khoo is single-handedly reimagining the place of Malaysian food within Melbourne’s diverse culinary landscape. Junda is ambitious, resilient, and forward-thinking. Across his various venues, he strikes a sweet balance of upholding traditional home cooking while also finding ways to modernise and make Malaysian food playful.
While Ho Jiak is not strictly a seafood restaurant, a large majority of its signature dishes showcase fish and shellfish. Oysters are served with a Nyonya mignonette and trout roe, raw kingfish is amped up with Assam Laksa granita and pineapple salsa, and Shark Bay Scallops are seared in XO butter. The star of the show is Junda’s Rock Lobster or NT Mud Crab, which is served with Malaysian chili sauce, or sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves with foie gras. There’s also a banging John Dory Bakar with sambal chimichurri.
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Melbourne may not be well known for its seaside dining; however, there are a few notable exceptions. Set on the St Kilda foreshore, Donovans, an enduring Melbourne icon, is one of those beachside venues that dispel the myth that you can’t have good food alongside a good view. Self-described as a ‘house on the beach’, Donovans is warm and welcoming, comfortable and cosy.
Donovans, as you’d hope and expect from a restaurant that has stood the test of time (it’s been serving Melburnians since 1995), is one of those restaurants with certain signature menu items whose reputation precedes them. With the golden sun reflecting off the ocean at sunset, many diners are drawn to the high-quality seafood dishes that feature prominently on the menu. Whether you go for the fresh or tempura oysters, crayfish with finger lime and avocado, the crudo selection of the day or octopus with nduja, you’ll be off to a flying start. Choosing between the spanner crab ravioli and the seafood linguine is not an easy decision, nor is deciding whether to go for the crunchy classic beer-battered fish and chips or the in-house smoked salmon with blinis and creme fraiche. Whether you want a change from the hustle and bustle of the city, want to feel part of Melbourne’s hospitality history, or have something to celebrate, head to this beachside venue that’s like a home away from home.
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Located in Hardware Lane, Claypots Barbarossa brings the wild, party atmosphere of a European market town to Melbourne’s CBD. If you’re looking for somewhere to sip rosé while listening to a two-piece jazz duo and enjoying the last rays of sun as ‘Aperitovo Hour’ sets in, then this is the place to visit. It really works for every occasion, be it a first date where lingering silence isn’t something you need to fear, a long business lunch where loosening the belt a notch or two is a given, or a boisterous night out with your mates.
Oh, and the food is damn good too. The approach is European fare with a heavy focus on the Spanish tapas tradition and seafood. Get around seafood pasta, garlic-drenched prawns, Moroccan clay pot creations and fillets of whatever fish is fresh that day.
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Richmond Oysters began its life in 1959, when brothers Nick and Tony Anassis opened a small shopfront next to the rail line on Church Street. The story goes that one of the brothers stayed in the store shucking oysters and selling them to the locals, while the other brother drove around town, sprucing their wares to local bars, pubs and restaurants.
From their early successes, the business grew into a family-run retail store, wholesaler, takeaway fish and chip joint and high-quality dine-in restaurant. However you like your seafood, Richmond Oysters nails it. Sustainably caught seafood is also a huge part of the business’s ethos, so you’ll likely be told exactly who caught the fish you’re eating that day and where it came from.
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You’ll notice Richmond’s Pacific House from the street with its array of ducks hanging in the windows and chefs working frantically behind them. The street scene tells you everything you need to know — this is a place that’s serious about food and not much else. There are no bells and whistles here, just deliciously made Cantonese food you know won’t let you down.
Grab a seat inside and settle in for a big ol’ feast. The duck that you saw in the window is a must-order, but seafood is equally essential. Our favourite? The incredible lobster noodles that have been on the menu for as long as we can remember. That and whatever the waiters tell you is the star in the tanks out back.
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Ministry of Crab began in 2011 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, as an ode to the country’s legendary mud crab. The brand was so successful that it subsequently opened seven additional outposts across Asia. Now, the internationally renowned restaurant can be found at 226 Flinders Lane.
First, sample crab across an array of starters such as baked crab, crab liver pate, avocado crab salad, and kaphrao crab, a signature dish of mud crab stir-fried with garlic, chilli and Thai basil. For the main event, you choose your size of crab — ranging from medium (700-799 grams) all the way up to Crabzilla (two kilograms) — and which fragrant sauce to accompany it. Options include pepper crab, garlic chilli crab, and Sri Lankan curry crab. While eating crab is messy work, this is no finger-lickin’ beachside shack. The globally acclaimed restaurant has been included in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants List for delivering a multi-sensory, impeccable dining experience with quality ingredients, bold flavours and excellent hospitality.
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Inspired by the grand old brasseries of New York’s Meatpacking District, The Atlantic, located within Crown, is a smart and sophisticated establishment. With a stylish interior decked out with artistic flourishes, moody lighting and old-world furniture, it’s a destination for special occasions or a power broker’s business lunch when the boss is paying.
There are over 300 seats, and yet it regularly books out. Thankfully, with an 80-seat oyster bar and another cocktail bar downstairs, they’ll likely find a way to squeeze you in. Just make sure you wear the right shoes when visiting — otherwise you won’t be allowed into one of the best seafood restaurants in Melbourne.
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Opened over twenty years ago by chef and owner Hiro Nishikura, Shira Nui is the type of restaurant where looks can be deceiving. The dining room’s design is fairly basic and the menu is laminated — but the food is nothing short of incredible.
You can come here and order a la carte, but the fairly casual omakase experience is an absolute banger. Not only are each of the seafood-centric courses carefully balanced and made with only the best Aussie produce, but Nishikura is an absolute blast to hang out with — as are the rest of the staff.
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Run by Ross and Sunny Lusted (Sydney’s Woodcut and Aman Resorts), Portuguese-inspired restaurant Marmelo, along with late-night basement bar Mr Mills, are the beating heart of ultra-cool, HYDE Melbourne Place hotel. Known for cooking with wood and charcoal, Ross has centred Marmelo’s open kitchen around a custom-built charcoal grill and woodfired oven, with a menu that strongly showcases fish and shellfish.
Seafood snacks include the likes of cod and potato croquettes with hot mustard sauce, oysters warmed over fire with charcuterie dressing, tuna with botarga cream, garfish with coriander and apple and swordfish with ash-grilled peppers. For a showstopping main event, go for the arroz de marisco, a signature portugese rice dish, with wood-roasted seafood.
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We’re calling it: you’ll struggle to find a Melbourne lunch spot with a better view. This fine-dining institution is set right on St Kilda Beach, with the option to sit inside at the main dining room (and marvel at the view through floor-to-ceiling windows) or in one of the private dining spaces.
Wherever you sit, locally sourced seafood is the name of the game, showcased in a range of creative and contemporary eats thanks to executive chef Jason Staudt (Aria, Bea Restaurant). Note: If you’re in the mood for carbs over seafood, head downstairs to Stokehouse Pasta & Bar for some of the best pasta in Melbourne.
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Named for the famous Tsukiji seafood market in Japan, this unassuming Melbourne seafood restaurant is unlike your typical sushi and sashimi joint. Instead of just ordering off a menu or choosing from pre-made sushi, here you head to the fridge, select your fish, and watch the chefs carve it up for you fresh in the kitchen.
You’ll find servings of tuna, salmon, octopus and scallops, among other cuts, which the chefs will prepare for you on a delightful personalised sashimi platter. The place itself is small and always busy, which gives off the bustling feeling of the Tsukiji market.
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Previously named the Richmond Seafood Restaurant, this Melbourne stalwart (now in Fitzroy) won’t give you long lists of ingredients or a heavy-handed use of spice and gastronomic fuss. Everything at RST is kept simple because the team focuses on sourcing only the best produce, and when you have seafood this good, you don’t need to do much to it.
Start off with a round of bloody mary oysters, some lobster sliders and a couple of whitebait fritters before tucking into bigger dishes like the grilled scallops, Moreton Bay bugs and mixed seafood linguine. And with most of the fish options, you can choose how you want it cooked — grilled, fried, battered, egg-washed or panko crumbed. However you like your seafood prepared, these guys will make sure you get it.
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It’s always good to have a cheap and cheerful option to consider and Krabby’s Crab Boil is more about fun than finesse. There’s no dress code here, no need to book ahead and we’d strongly advise against it as a first dates venue — unless, of course, your love language is making an absolute mess of yourself.
At Krabby’s it’s all paper bibs, plastic gloves and glistening grins. The idea comes from the American South, where everything is tossed in a pot together and slathered in sauce. It’s old-school communal dining done with no more than a hefty pair of shell-crushing scissors and ten fingers.
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Yugen Dining is a multi-faceted drinking and dining destination with a dramatic aesthetic and an impressive commitment to detail. Downstairs is home to a lofty, open restaurant space and adjacent bar area with soaring ceilings and a majestic chandelier. Either come here for cocktails at the bar, an omakase experience upstairs on the mezzanine or a build-your-own-feast from the a la carte menu.
However you choose to experience this place, you’ll be dining in one of the most glamorous spaces in Melbourne, likely biting into some of the city’s best seafood dishes that are plated up with Japanese craft and precision. Yugen’s premium sashimi platter is the ultimate dish to splash cash on for your next celebration. The luxe platter features everything from otoro to Paradise prawns, snapper to kingfish and scallops to salmon roe.
Feature image: Pipi’s Kiosk.
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