Freycinet Marine Farm — Restaurant in Tasmania

It was incredibly hot without a lick of breeze when we pulled into Freycinet Marine Farm, hoping to eat shucked to order oysters that had been cultivated onsite. With my skin practically melting as I dodged mini-buses in the full car park, I couldn’t help but wonder if I was walking into a tourist trap. As the thermometer nudged 38 degrees Celsius at five minutes before midday, I decided it was too hot to care.

Walking under the large raw timber and dark blue, corrugated iron shed, we found it packed wall-to-wall with rows of light blue picnic tables. Off to one side there were some slightly more picturesque outdoor tables with protective white umbrellas, arranged between the trees on a bed of pulverised scallop shells.

Joining a long but fast-moving queue, we’re soon eyeballing the glass counter filled with pre-packaged seafood. While Oysters ($22/dozen) aren’t shucked to order per say, behind the counter there's a veritable army of shuckers working full tilt to meet the heavy summertime demand. So it’s probably as close to shucked to order as most places get, and the oysters themselves are tight, briny and delightful with little more than three drops of fresh lemon juice.

For a real taste sensation, add a tray of Sea Urchin Roe ($15) into your lunch order. Harvested from right here in Coles Bay, these dark orange urchin ‘lobes’ eat beautifully when delicately laid across your oyster. The two contrasting briny flavours intertwine like dancers in a pas de deux. Trays of Australian Prawns ($16/8) are firm fleshed and tasty, dragged through Seafood Sauce ($2) or Wasabi Mayo. ($2).

Using a buzzer system, our last dish to arrive are the Grilled Tasmanian Garlic Scallops ($20). The small but super-tasty scallops are served roe-on, with an accompanying bread roll that’s perfect for mopping up the garlicky buttery juices. It’s the kind of dish that calls for a well-priced glass of wine, and the Milton Vineyard Gewürztraminer ($9/glass) fills the brief very well.

For a place that was so busy, it looked like a tourist trap, Freycinet Marine Farm, made me eat my words. There’s something about eating Tasmanian seafood so close to the places it was recently living, that cuts right through the lowbrow dining experience, which sees you binning your own remains and washing your prawn-peelin' fingers in a kitsch shell-covered...

Edit: We’d like to thank the owner Julia for her reply and for taking the criticism to the team. We are changing our review to 5 stars as we don’t want to harm anyone’s hard business.

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Ah, hate to do these type of reviews. But here goes.

People buy from people. Let that always be your number one credo when running a business depending on customers.

Your food is incredible. We loved every bit of it. We got ourselves a dozen oysters and salmon sashimi for dinner and took it to our rental home. Enjoyed it a lot.

That’s why we came back the next day to have a late lunch on site. We ordered the Sri Lanka mussels and fish and chips. Got the alarm device and waited at a table. The device never went off. So after 20mins we asked for our order number. It was already marked as given out.

For some reason, the same order was taken to the tables by the chef at the same time as no one seemed to have picked it up, but it was for a different order number.

We took it instead but all the food was already cold and lukewarm at most. So we took it back asking for a solution. That’s when things went south. The chef rolled his eyes, crisply agreeing to do our order again.

We did nothing wrong in this entire process. It’s not our fault when the order system fails and the staff isn’t trying to find the people themselves after no one is picking up an order within a minute after it’s ready.

It was only because of the annoyed expression we got after complaining about our cold food, that we asked for an excuse for having to wait for a total of 35 minutes for the food we ordered. A little something on top, as we didn’t get an apology at all for doing nothing wrong.

We then got a GREAT apology a couple of minutes later. Six beautiful Asian style and Kilpatrick oysters. We LOVED them and they were literally thrown on our table by the chef who babbled something and took off the same second, visibly annoyed by our presence.

Again. People buy from people. We planned to come here a third time after a hike in Freycinet National Park. We won’t, although the food is great, but the...

What a surprise discovery!

My family and I stumbled upon Freycinet Marine Farm entirely by chance during a road trip to Freycinet, and I am so glad we did.

We were just looking for a quick stop for brunch and ended up having one of the most memorable meals of our trip.

This place had a charming, rustic, laid back vibe that immediately put us at ease.

The atmosphere was bustling with people enjoying their fresh seafood.

We decided to try the oysters, and they were absolutely incredible.

We've had oysters at many places, but these were on another level. Each one was plump, briny, and tasted so fresh we could almost taste the sea itself.

It was a true testament to the quality and care that goes into their farming.

But the oysters were just the beginning.

We also ordered the prawns which were sweet and succulent.

It was clear that everything was prepared with a deep respect for the ingredients, letting their natural flavors shine through.

Just simple, fresh goodness of the seafood.

We ordered more seafood, they were so good that we eat them up so fast that we forgot to take pictures.

The staff were also fantastic—friendly, knowledgeable, and genuinely enthusiastic about the food they were serving.

They were happy to answer our questions and provided excellent recommendations.

It was this combination of exceptional food, a wonderful atmosphere, and top-notch service.

What surprised me the most was the sheer quality of the food for a place that feels so relaxed and unpretentious.

It's the kind of place you'd expect to find in a big city, but here it is, tucked away and serving up some of the best seafood you'll ever have.

It's a must-visit for anyone in the area, whether you're a seafood lover or just looking for an authentic and delicious meal.

I can't recommend Freycinet Marine Farm enough.

It's more than just a place to eat; it's a true culinary experience that celebrates the bounty of the sea.

We will definitely be making a point to stop here again on our return trip, and I'll be dreaming about those...