Saltwater Cafe — Restaurant in Kiama

Though the service and staff were friendly the food we ordered takeaway for kids fish and chips, fish and chips and Schnitty and chips were less than average. The chips served for each meal were quite small, the fish was very battery and it did not come with any lemon. The schnitty burger though it looked nice was lacking sauce..We chose this spot on basis of reviews given. We are a family on a budget on holiday so researching before we chose a reasonable place to get fish and chips to try and spend our money wisely was important.

since replying to the owners of this review has been turned off I will add to this review

There was no mention of different portions between the kids fish and chips and the adults fish and chips.

I have been to many fish and chip restaurants and not once have they not given me lemon on the side.

I have no idea why a rainy day would change our takeaway experience as our expectation of your “food” presented to us would be of the same quality.

We came into your establishment with a positive attitude like any small business. We don’t come in with negative attitude to deminish your cafe intentionally. I was on a holiday with my family the last thing I wanted was to have a bad experience and not share them with incoming families looking for a good feed.

By the way what infuriates me the most is the fishy smell that has attached to my clothes while I was holding the food on our way back to our acccomodation. I wasn’t sure what the actual smell was initially but what ever your cooks have done to the fish or oil they’ve cooked the food in. They need to do something about it, never in my life of eating fish and chips have I ever experienced the after smell until today.

Here’s some advice for you, take your reviews seriously and don’t get so defensive about constructive critism. Take some of those reviews and work on those areas you...

Saltwater Cafe Review on 26/4/2024

I give my highest commendation to the owner manager and the staff before I begin my comment.

My group of 8 adults and 2 young children are on vacation at the nearby town, and decide to have fish and chips dinner for a change.

The menu togatger with prices is written in white on two blackboards at the entry. On the glass of the front are posted with the winning award certificates earned by the business.

This quaint Cafe with clinically white wall is tastefully decorated. Even the tables are covered by replica of newspaper printed with news of yesteryears.

A sweet voice of a young staff greets us, and settles us at a "long" table which has been set up. The owner who seldom comes to Cafe in the evening, makes a special trip to help her staff knowing that a "big" group is coming. This is our first visit to the Cafe, and we feel so welcomed.

Before our orders arrive, we try to get everyone togather for a group photo. With our asking, the staff offers to be our photographer.

We ord3r different items from menu. The food presentation is good, and the seafood is very fresh. Unlike other restaurants / Cafe where the content of the Seafood basket is placed in a stainless steel wire basket, Saltwater Cafe uses small bamboo steamers, just like those use for Chinese Dim Sums.

The staff and the manager come to table several times to make sure everything is alright.

My grand niece has one of her baby tooth fallen off. The staff gives the little girl a bag to hold the tooth, and she plays the Tooth Fairy to give her a generous amount of "tooth fee".

It is a great dining experience - quality food and excellent service!

PS Saltwater Cafe could become the world's first seafood dim sum...

Saltwater Cafe is the place to go if you’re after a high quality local seafood meal in Kiama with great friendly service. This is the second time coming to this eatery and it was just as sensational as I remembered.

I ordered the cold and hot platters (with lobster as an extra) which can easily feed 3-4 people generously. Had a lovely chat with the chef who is very knowledgeable about all the seafood. And is serious about serving up high grade seafood.

The highlight for me was the oysters which are source from Narooma. They are tiny but packed with creamy sweetness and an absolute delight to eat. The tiger prawns and mussels were sweet and juicy and the crab salad seasoned very well. The salad was very refreshing and a nice accompaniment to the cold platter.

The hot patter was also a delight. The hoki fish cocktails were coated and seasoned to perfection. Calamari rings also lightly crumbed and cooked just right. This seafood fry-up is an example of how to do it exceptionally well.

The half lobster was served warm and was very succulent. The accompanying sauce was sweet and zesty and paired really well with the flesh.

Everything was prepared with care and high professionalism. I highly recommend Seawater Cafe for any foodies visiting Kiama. Even their coffee was really really good.

Thank you for an...