5 July 2008

Best Seafood restaurant in Canberra?

| Charchar
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Hi,

I’d be really grateful for any recommendations on good Canberra seafood restaurants (not takeaway places). A couple that have been recommended are Maestral in Weston and Con’s Seafood in Mawson – has anyone been to them?

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KnowTheFacts2:10 pm 14 Nov 12

Con’s Seafood restaurant in Mawson – an oldie but a goodie. Hands down the best seafood restaurant in Canberra.

The restaurant strip at Dickson has some good Chinese seafood restaurants, Jimmy’s is probably the best. Also some of the clubs – Hellenic Club, Southern Cross, etc – provide good, cheap seafood. If you are willing to forego being waited on – and remember you are paying extra for that – then there is some good fare to be had at the cheaper places.

KnowTheFacts3:40 pm 09 Feb 12

If you’re looking for nouvelle cuisine, Con’s Steak & Seafood is not the place. However, if what you are after is a big mouth-watering high-class meal at a reasonable price, try this place. I ate there three times. The first time was about three months ago. I liked the fish. I went back the following week and was happily surprised again when I had a steak. Then I tried it again with a couple of friends from Melbourne. They said they were hungry. I knew exactly where to take them. We took a cab to Mawson. Con’s Restaurant is a simple place run by simple rules: serve heaps of very good food. They have a selection of meats and fish and pasta and risotto, but that’s where the similarity to other restaurants ends. The food is FRESH. They get fish delivered from the Sydney fish market three times a week. They serve the fish with rich old fashioned sauces that make you wonder if you’ve exceeded your calorie intake for the week at one meal. The cocktail bar is amazing. It’s an old red leather and wood bar, something from the movies. The wide selection appeals to the ethnic neighbourhoods of south Canberra. There are spirits from almost every European country. The wine list is not amazing, but you can get a bottle of Australian or French red or white wine starting from under $20, and, more importantly, they’re drinkable.

I would go to Maestral at Weston.

So we went to Cape Cod and overall I was pretty impressed – the service was good and the food was lovely although portion sizes were small for the cost. One small piece of fish for $30 with not much else on the plate seemed a little overpriced. I’d definitely go back but only for a special occasion.

Let us know what you think…

Thanks for the comments everyone. I think we’ve decided on Cape Cod in Deakin.

I’ve had a couple of excellent meals at The Peppered Prawn. I’ve been disappointed the last couple of time I’ve been to Maestral, so much so I don’t go there anymore.

For MODERN seafood the MAESTRAL in WESTON.

Con’s Seafood Restaurant has been there forever.

Nothing changes there.

I like this because I think it’s perfect.

It’s the best TRADITIONAL seafood restaurant in Canberra. Beautiful (as) fresh (as you can ever get in the ACT) food cooked perfectly with all traditional sauces also cooked perfectly.

Lunch is a treat. Last time I went, $16.50 gets soup, (the best ever) garlic bread and a main plus tea or coffee. GREAT value. Mains include Spag Marinara, Steak or a Seafood Basket. Seafood Basket is superior in every way – fantastic batter and cooked to perfection.

Yes – it’s a time warp because it’s untouched since the 1970s. But if you like what you ate there in 1975 you will not be disappointed. I think the same waiters are there too! 🙂

I left Canberra 15 months ago and live in Brissy. I eat seafood here and at the Gold Coast and I miss Con’s. One of the FEW things I miss about the ACT.

I went to the Peppered Prawn about 16 months ago. It was lunch time and not very busy at all.

I took my parents and dad was paying so we ordered like a Nazi general!

The food was incredibly poor for the price. The place was pretentious and overpriced.

Mainly – food was crap.

I have discussed with many others and I am yet to meet anyone who liked the food there.

I used to work for a pasta and fish shop in the glebe park eatery. Best calamari I ever had, and we made all the batters, crumbing mix, cut our own calamari etc, etc. went off fish after a particularly large fish fest at the south coast, many whiting caught and consumed, can’t handle the smell now, but can still eat abalone, oysters (cooked) pippi’s (fresh) on the barbecue plate – I don’t go to restaurants, I would rather drive to Durras nth and catch my own….

Clown Killer10:37 am 07 Jul 08

Short of catching it yourself or going down to the docks an waiting for the boat to come in I seriously doubt that there’s anly real diference in the “freshness” of seafood Available anywhere on the Australian east coast. It all gets passed through the same few wholsale markets before ending up on your plate. Product turnover and the pride of the establishment are more likely to determine freshness.

The Ottoman in Barton does increadible calamari.

… and remember, your only legally allowed to sell a prawn as “fresh” if it’s been frozen and thawed less that three times.

Con’s in Mawson is exactly as HA described. I would never go there again…

I second the Peppered Prawn… Their soft shell crab dish is awesome…

Iori Japanese resturant in civic does good seafood dishes. I would not recomend cons seafood, last time we went there it was very tired and the food was very average. To be fair this was around 2 years ago so it may have improved since then.
I have heard a few mixed reviews for pepperered prawn, apparently its pretty average.

kean van choc5:22 pm 06 Jul 08

We gave Cape Cod a run for the first time the other night – the best fish and chips I’ve had in Canberra by far. The mixed entree tasting plate was good too: coffin bay oysters that were as fresh as you can get in Canberra, a very tasty crumbed/spiced calamari that one of my dining companions rated as the best calamari they had had in sometime, and a really tasty smoked trout risotto ball. My wife had the mussel linguine and, while the mussels were tasty and fresh, the pasta sauce was lacking any zing – a few levels above OK. We also had a couple of salads (rocket and parmesan and a pear and green apple) that were made with good quality produce – they were perfect.

The service was spot on – heaps of waiters, all very attentive. Atmosphere is casual – you would feel comfortable in a shirt or a t-shirt – and lively. All up it costs us $200 on the nose for four people – pretty reasonable (I think corkage was around $6 or so per bottle).

Cape Cod at Deakin is def worth a meal..lunch or dinner. Not cheap but innovative and prepared with flair. Con’s at Mawson is tired, aged, heavily battered/fried food; give it a miss.

At the end of the day, we’re inland so the fruit of the sea ain’t fresh fish, the seafood has been brought quite a way to us…seafood is not a Canberra highlight.

Mælinar said :

There’s nothing to rave about any seafood anywhere along the Eastern Seaboard of Australia thats 2 hours inland from the ocean.

True enough. the only member of our family who likes fish food is from Brisbane! We’re all natives of here, and I can’t believe people eat anything that smells like that.

There’s nothing to rave about any seafood anywhere along the Eastern Seaboard of Australia thats 2 hours inland from the ocean.

I don’t think either the food or the service at Peppered Prawn is particularly good.

Cape Cod at Deakin is not bad.

But I haven’t found anything to rave about on the seafood front here in Canberra.

Go to Peppered Prawn. It’s very good food and service.

I had my family 18th at Con’s some years ago. It was pretty good. Suffering a bit of ‘aging restaurant syndrome’ around the decor and what not, but still pretty good.

Peppered Prawn at Woden?

Admittedly I have never eaten the seafood at Maestral but they do wonderful work with all things meat! We have been there several times and never been disappointed.

Although not a “seafood restaurant”, The Charcoal Restaurant in the Melbourne building does exceptional fish-food. They get the best of whatever’s in season delivered daily, like trouts and oysters and what-not. there were always assorted fish vans and trucks out the back, the chef or the owner often came out to have a poke and decide on what to buy that day.
People used to rave and drool about their lobster dishes.

My esp tells me that a shameless plug for a canberra cafe website will be coming soon.

Gungahlin Al12:35 pm 05 Jul 08

Opps: Delissio – Braddon – used to be Coggan’s.

Gungahlin Al12:34 pm 05 Jul 08

Had a scrumptious calamari with chilli mandarin sauce lunch this week at Delissio – just $10.

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