Prawn Star Mooloolaba — Restaurant in Sunshine Coast Regional

We may be a tad dumber than others but the address was not specific enough for us and we wandered along the entire wharf looking for this location- even knowing the premis of this moored business. Anyhow we did locate it and walked on to the entry point and stood awkwardly for a minute until a female staffer acknowledged us with a cheerful greeting. We had made a booking for two but we’re assigned to a large share table. I fail to see the point of a reservation for our special occasion if we seated with 6 other strangers. A smaller private table was ‘found’ after much umming and ahhing at the computer screen. The menu is limited to prawns, lobster, Moreton bay bugs, oysters and salmon slices. No salads, no fries. All finger food basically peel, dip and eat. The setting sun was hot and the biting insects were felt but with little to no other food options we headed off around the food precinct in search of dessert and coffee. We observed two family groups arrive separately at the Prawn Star and leave after viewing the limited options. The ambiance was not nautical, or classy or fun - missed the mark of a festive time of week/year/location. They did stick a sparkler into a prawn and provide a reserved rendition of singing Happy Birthday which...

Unfortunately the high price of the food doesn't include good atmosphere, service or value for money. The service was very strange, and almost non existent from one of two team members who spent loads of time talking to a large group who arrived after us but didn't give us much attention or advise how we would be assisted, we were offered to order drinks but not food, and had to ask the other team member if we could actually order food. The food was delicious (we were given a voucher to use and then could afford the $130 platter) but the venue itself is really run-down, messy and tacky looking with the 3 or 4 different types of string lights up (including multi coloured flashing ones), considering the location and cost of food. If you're going to charge that much for very basic seafood and out-of-a-bottle sauces, you should provide good service and value at a minimum. The novelty of dining on an old trawler wore off pretty quickly, we won't be...

Disappointed with our experience here, especially seeing so many positive reviews. Came here for dads bday lunch and am regretting the decision. The positives were that the location is interesting being on a boat on the wharf and the staff were polite and friendly. The oysters and sashimi were nice but the prawns were average and overpriced. The main negative- the soggy bay bugs. Unfortunately the food was NOT fresh seafood as advertised, it was “fresh frozen”. Basically we saw the bugs go from frozen boxes and defrosted by dumping them into plastic crates sitting on the dirty ground and then into the sinks. At $225 for 4 people I feel a bit ripped off to be honest.. To top it off, an old prawn head was sitting on the ground in direct sunlight near the defrosting area and the entire time it had flies all over it which kept flying around us too. Unfortunately not the best experience 😞 but at least the...