THE PRAWNSTER — Restaurant in Brisbane City

This establishment is tucked down behind the dockside apartment complex on the marina.

Free 2 hour maximum parking in the central Precinct - but warning signs of tow away if you overstay everywhere.

There is a bottle shop there where you park also.

There are no signs / directions, but a MAP on the Prawnstar site where to go. Facing the apartments, the track down to the boats is on the right, through some beautiful manicured gardens and then down onto a dock currently undergoing renovation work.

The boats are easy to spot once on the marina area.

We were greeted by a friendly gentleman who showed us to our shared table on one of the vessels, and explained how to order.

It's a weird mix of scan a bar code - to see their limited menu items - but then he comes back to take your order, and then you pay at the end.

The prices are up there - you are paying a novelty tax for sure. There are no frills - in fact no condiments or plates.

The other thing is the weird weights. For example the prawns were charged $50 per 800g ($62.50/kg equivalent)!!.

We ended up getting a dozen oysters ($40), 800g prawns, and 6 bugs, and a bottle of wine.

The oysters were fresh and served with lemon and were very enjoyable. A touch of cracked pepper and salt would have been better but still a solid 5/5

The bugs were all very tiny. I've never seen so many small bugs. They were watery and had been frozen. They were not fresh and while "ok" - were not enjoyable, especially considering the price . The meat was smaller than a medium king prawn but rubbery and wet and tasteless. 2/5.

The prawns also were pretty average for. "Prawn trawler". They were pale and small and watery. I noticed other menu options referred to tiger prawns - these were NOT tiger prawns! For $62.5/kg - these are not the best prawn and again had been frozen - not fresh. The feelers were all snapped off short (occurs with frozen prawns) and many broken shells. These are low cost (cheapest) prawns wholesale - being on sold at premium price. There was 3- 5mm of water on our platter under the prawns.

The atmosphere was lovely though. Gentle waves has us gently rocking as city cats go past and the breeze was lovely on a gorgeous spring day.

The wine is one of our regulars - but wasn't very cold, albeit served in a bucket which was appreciated.

Our waiter was friendly and casual.

There was a large table outside the boat on the dock in front of us, piled with dirty dishes / used platters which was weird. I asked if they had to have the dirty platters taken away to be washed off site - but no, they were just stacking them there for some reason... not great to look at.

Overall it was an experience and it was an enjoyable afternoon.

You will be paying a tourist / novelty tax and you can certainly get better seafood for less elsewhere (eg seafood co-op seaworld drive straight from real prawn trawlers - $50 for 2kg fresh ocean kings that were swimming the night before and bugs twice the size for 1/2 the price).

3.5...

"The best prawns and bugs I've had in years!" Let me simply start with the headline for those who are too lazy to take time and read my full review. We ended up at The Prawnster by chance. We had a reservation elsewhere, but the other couple had to cancel, so we were left to our own devices. My wife told me that she had mentioned this restaurant to me in the past (when they were in Kanga Point), but I seemed uninterested. I have a strong belief that things happen when they are supposed to happen, which is why we ended up here around 6:15 on a Saturday evening. We knew that it was in the Botanical Garden, but there were no signs telling you exactly where to go. Ok... it's a boat, so it has to be in the water, but how do we get down to it? As to enter the Gardens from Alice Street, take the 1st walkway down to the pier. There, you'll find the Prawnster Fleet... 3 shrimp trawlers that have been converted into a restaurant for you to enjoy some of the freshest seafood you may find in Brissy! The menu includes Tasmanian salmon sashimi, oysters on the half shell, freshly cooked bugs, and juicy, plump prawns. Like you, I read the reviews prior to deciding to visit, but I prefer to mostly read the 1-star ones. Why? This helps me to set my expectations for how my experience may unfold. I'm happy to report that my experience did not reflect those views/concerns. There are a few things to know before booking: 1. They only serve seafood. 2. The salmon and oysters are raw. 3. They do not have side plates. 4. You can bring your own side dishes and spirits to accompany your feast. 5. The venue is open-air and will be more enjoyable in cooler weather. 6. There is a shade covering the area. 7. There are 2 different seating options (patio chairs or fixed benches) 8. There are only 3 or so staff, so waiting patiently for your order may be necessary. 9. The place feels very popular. 10. Don't wear your finest threads... the seafood is very juicy and the juices tend to spray! 11. The produce is not presented on ice. I discussed this with Jack (the owner's son), and he explained that the boats are running on a generator, and it's not possible to have an ice machine. That being said, maybe this is not as universally expected in Oz. Prawnster was a very good experience. It could be enjoyed as a stand alone affair or the 1 stop of a night on the town. The food and the views were awesome. We...

Went here for a dinner date last weekend and was utterly dissapointed despite looking forward to it all week. To begin; The Prawnster is beautifully located on the Brisbane River with a magnificent backdrop of the sun setting behind the silhouette of Brisbane City's skyrises. We arrived with a bottle of wine and cooler but no glasses or drinks of any kind were offered. The staff member was completely immersed in his phone and seemed to be hidding from us, not in plain sight, we had to search for him and wave him down to place an order. Eventually bottled water was delivered to the table and had to ask for glasses so it could be shared, we were given champagne flutes, the waiter said "that's all I could find". We ordered 'Prawnster Large Platter (serves 2)' and was dissapointed by some of the products on offer. The 'medium' prawns were so small, there was barely any meat on them and they were quite pale and retained a lot of water, pretty certain they were old. Please see photo attached. We had another waiter approach us at 8.40pm and ask if the bill can be settled asap as they were closing. The bill was split at the end of the night and I played in cash, the waiter stated "we can't give you change as we don't have any on board". We got the rest of the platter on ice to take away which was packed and double bagged in two used 3.5kg party ice bags. The ice melted and cold prawn water leaked in the car. The dissappionting part was that there were a few large white chips or what seemed like dry paint packed with our takeaway. Please see photo attached. All in all, dissapointed with the customer service and attention to detail in all areas. Guaranteed to never return...