Shearwater Restaurant & Cafe — Restaurant in Summerlands

Absolutely do not waste your money at this restaurant inside the Penguin Parade visitor centre. If you have the option to eat elsewhere before coming to see the penguins, do it — the food here is honestly terrible.

I ordered a chicken burger, which was overpriced and tasted very average — nothing special for the cost. My daughter loves udon, so we ordered the most expensive item on the menu: the salmon udon, priced at an eye-watering $36. It turned out to be a complete disaster. The udon noodles were soggy and overcooked, like instant noodles left in boiling water for far too long. The salmon was cooked to death — dry, rubbery, and fishy. This was the first time ever my daughter refused to eat udon.

My wife ordered the chicken korma, and it was a disgrace to Indian cuisine. Barely any sauce, a few dry chunks of chicken thrown on plain rice — it felt like someone tried to recreate the idea of curry from memory and gave up halfway.

This place welcomes visitors from all over the world, many of whom may be trying Japanese or Indian food for the first time. Instead of showcasing these cuisines with care, the kitchen here just slaps ingredients together with zero respect for flavor, technique, or authenticity. It’s a shame — both to the ingredients and to the global food cultures...

Absolutely disgusting food with ridiculous price. Ordered vegan burger & asked staff that - " does chips which r served with burger r fried in same oil as fish? & to my surprise, their answer was yes... what kind of vegan food this place is selling..?? It could be strict dietary requirement or something RELIGIOUS for some ppl.. Burger patty was extremely oily that oil was literally dripping.. Absolutely no taste at all.. The way price is nearly double the popular Burger joints, food shld be at least ok in taste. But worst taste with rip off prices.. Kids penne pasta was literally boiled penne pasta with tomato puree on top. Garlic bread / turkish bread was same... literally bread with full oil / butter. No taste of even salt or hint of garlic. Had to throw...

Came here to grab some food before seeing the penguins, ordered around 7.45. Didn’t get food until 8.15, so I went to check with their staff. The one spoke to me was not helpful and a bit rude. She basically said this is a big restaurant so just have to wait. Waited for another 15 mins, asked her again, same answer. At the time, people who got their food all ordered a lot after me. So we talked to another staff and they still told me to wait. At this point, me and my friend were a bit mad. So we basically very rudely argue with them and asked for a refund. This is when they finally willing to check the order and found that they missed our order and not very willingly, refunded to me. Almost cost me not able to see the penguins. The...