Whalers Seaside Dining — Restaurant in South Australia

Went here for dinner after hearing rave reviews about it from different sources. Location and ambiance were gorgeous, staff were super friendly, good options for the kids menu. Gave it 3 stars though as the food was disappointing - we ordered a Thai beef salad and the special dish King George Whiting. Nothing wrong with them and was a decent size - we ate it all and it was totally fine. But certainly nothing special or particularly yummy. The beef salad - ok fair enough we weren’t in a Thai restaurant so can’t expect too much but the dressing was very bland. The “special” dish with the King George whiting was definitely not special - fish could be either crumbed or battered, chips were great as they were perfectly crunchy, salad was a super standard basic garden variety. I guess for the price of these dishes, and especially for “the special” fish dish at an fairly pricey seafood restaurant I expected more to be done in the preparation and serving to bring out the natural flavours of the fish. I’ve eaten much better for half the price at regular fish n chip shops. PS I considered all the fresh fish options on the menu - they were all battered or crumbed with the same salad and chips. The only one on the menu that had anything different going on was the Barramundi - but I decided against choosing that only because I want fresh local seafood rather than the frozen Barra from the top of the NT. But perhaps I should have ordered that one 🤷‍♀️

So overall not a bad experience - we still had a pleasant family night out, but I’m sorry to report that the food was...

Unfortunately never thought I would be unhappy with the service at Whaler's. Attended for happy hour and had also booked to stay for dinner. Usually when happy hour finishes at 6.00pm the girls come around the tables asking if you are staying on for dinner. When you say you are, cutlery and a menu are brought to your table almost instantaneously. Last night no person asked if we were staying for dinner, no cutlery or menu was presented. After 15 minutes asked for cutlery and a menu - was told there only had 20 menus and one would be given to us when available. In the meantime three couples arrived, were seated and were presented with menus straight away. After another 15 minutes finally managed to obtain a menu and ordered - garlic bread to see us through until the mains arrived. 25 minutes later still waiting for garlic bread (the other three couples had already starting eating their meals) - husband went to check on food and was told everything would be coming out shortly - all this occurred in the one and a bit hours after happy hour had finished and even though it was busy (as it always is) never had this issue before - ordering and obtaining meals were always quite quick. We were also told that we didn't "check in" for dinner - never had to do that before as I booked over the phone and it also had it written on the reservation slip on the table that we were. Sad to say we had to cancel our meal as we had other arrangements made for after dinner and were already running behind and also sad that management didn't really...

We had an incredible dining experience at Whalers Seaside Dining during our recent trip to Encounter Bay. It was a last-minute decision, and we were pleasantly surprised when they accommodated us without hesitation. We were seated at a fantastic table with stunning views over Encounter Bay and The Bluff, setting the perfect ambiance for our meal.

We started with a few drinks, which arrived promptly, allowing us to relax and enjoy the atmosphere. For our entrée, we shared the Dukkah Board for two, featuring locally baked Turkish bread, Egyptian dukkah, mixed olives, olive oil, and balsamic glaze. It was beautifully presented and absolutely delicious.

The timing between our entrée and main course was perfect, allowing us to savor each dish. For the main, we chose to share the Down by the Sea Platter for Two, which included battered garfish, salt and pepper squid, crumbed prawns, prawn cones, chips, salad, and a selection of sauces. Each item was flavorful and cooked to perfection.

The phenomenal service from all the staff truly stood out. The restaurant owner checked in on us, took another drink order, and even brought us more of the delightful tartare sauce.

Our only regret is that we visited on the last day of our 5-day holiday—why did we wait so long to try this gem? If you're in the area, make sure to stop by Whalers Seaside Dining. You won't be...