The Salty Crab — Restaurant in Vincentia

Lots of positives, would have been a much higher rating but for the time we waited. Drove from Canberra on Thursday Dec 28, 2023 and arrived and ordered at 12.50pm. The waitress told us there would be a 25 minute wait. No problem I said, we’ve just driven from Canberra for fish and chips, so thanks for telling me about the wait. There were a lot of people waiting inside and outside. The place is in a suburban shopping centre facing the car park with about six or seven large covered tables outside and a few more places inside to sit. I ordered two crumbed fish and chips and 6 calamari rings. $35, so reasonably priced. We waited over an hour. That’s a long time for any takeaway let alone such a small order. The food was good. The fish lovely and well-crumbed, the chips were good. The calamari was typical fare with chewy membrane and in large rings but was fine. What exacerbated things was there seemed to be no rhyme or reason to how the orders went out, well not from how it appeared anyway. I was number 97. Number 96 was called half an hour before we got ours. People turned up and went in and then left or sat down with their order and we were still waiting. I did go inside after about 45 minutes to check our order hadn’t been mistakenly collected by someone else (cause my husband accidentally took number 87 after mishearing it, but returned it asap unopened once he realised) but the lady who had taken my order checked and said it still hadn’t been started. At 2pm they put up the closed sign and there were still a lot of people waiting. A couple next to me were number 120 and they went and cancelled their order. Finally we were called out. There was at least four people working so not sure how many are needed but clearly more. If you are told there will be a wait you don’t mind so much but over an hour is too long. Clearly this is proof how much people love good fish and chips. So maybe expand or hire more staff for...

The order was incorrect, the wait for food was too long, and the food was awful. If you have very low standards, you might enjoy it here. More details below.

We ordered battered flathead, grilled barramundi, a halloumi burger, 4 potato scallops, and the seafood basket. We were charged and given an additional salmon which we did not ask for. I admit this is my fault for not checking the receipt, or asking the cashier to repeat the order. And it turns out the salmon takes 30 minutes to cook which is an outrageous amount of time to cook fresh fish.

Let's talk about the food quality and freshness, which I barely give a 1/10. 1 point for nothing rotting or slugs found, but no other redeeming factors. It turns out The Salty Crab, located in the coastal town in Vincentia, imports their "fresh" food. We were given a box to carry our order in which confirms the food is not only shipped from China, but pre-cooked and crumbed. Based on the cardboard taste of the rest of the food, I am forming the opinion that the rest of the food is also imported, frozen, and pre-prepared. The chips were starchy and had no crunch. The barramundi was dry and flavourless. The potato scallops, crab stick, fish cocktails, and flathead was composed of more batter than food. And I now know why the salmon takes 30 minutes, it's because they cook it for twice as long as it needs, probably to mask the freshness.

After reading the owner's previous comments, poor preparation space and lack of cooking equipment is not a good excuse. I hold McDonalds to a higher standard than this place. What a disappointment for small local...

The best fish and chips experience I’ve enjoyed in many years. As an older Englishman, I think I’m well qualified to comment. We each ordered battered blue grenadier (hoki) with three battered prawns, chips, tartare sauce and a drink. We ate indoors and in about 10 minutes a large plate arrived for each that immediately impressed. The grenadier was a generous portion, with three ample prawns on a bed of golden chips. Everything was exceptional, perhaps the chips could have been a little more crunchy. The fish was succulent, white and flaky. The batter light and crispy. One bite into the first juicy battered prawn was almost a religious experience. It was bursting with plump, freshness. The tartare sauce was also rich and glorious. So good and only a little over $21 each for this memorable and totally satisfying meal. This location is away from the tourist traps. They have to be good here, and they are. A local resident recommended The Salty Crab to us, so there’s lesson there for...