Restaurant: The Oysterbeds Good Food House

Restaurant: The Oysterbeds Good Food House

61 Esplanade

Coffin Bay

Approximately 40kms from Port Lincoln on the Eyre Peninsula is the picturesque town of Coffin Bay. Home to less than 700 people, the summer sees the town swell to 3000. It is no wonder why, as the bay is not only picture postcard perfect, but is home to an abundance of sea life drawing fishermen and nature lovers alike. The town was discovered by the famous explorer, Mathew Flinders in 1802 and was named after his friend Sir Isaac Coffin. I did find that bit of information a bit disappointing. I liked to think "coffin" may have had to do with a casket of some description as opposed to just the name of an explorer's friend!

Being a foodie and oyster lover, it was a given that while holidaying in Port Lincoln, I had to take the pilgrimage to Coffin Bay for their famous oysters. Driving into town, the beautiful bay welcomed me with oyster beds, and across the road sat the Oysterbeds restaurant.

A cute, mainly outdoor restaurant drew us in with their amazing specials board. I was of course, on the hunt for oysters but was tempted by a number of things on offer. We were disappointed that there were no outside tables left, but settled inside after ordering from the friendly bar staff.

Inside, the walls were covered in a local photographer's work. Interesting art, but something in the restaurant seems to be missing. Perhaps its the 90s style chairs, it just lacked character. Also unfortunate was the fact that the smokers outside were sitting close to the door, allowing the toxic smell to filter into the inside of the restaurant. The music playing was great. A Leonard Cohen tribute album played while we had lunch... a great choice! I noticed they occasionally have live music as well. I can't think of anything better.... looking out at the Bay and the oyster beds that call it home, while eating oysters, drinking Sauv Blanc and listening to some live Jazz.

We had a bottle of Adelaide Hills wine, "The Lane" ($38). Not a bad drop, but not near the quality of a good NZ Sauvy. The Adelaide Hills are getting better and better but I think we are still a few years out from having a Sauv Blanc to rival the Kiwis! The kids had the regular blood orange pelligrinni, which unfortunately was forgotten by the waitress. Quickly rectified, the kids enjoyed a couple as we leisurely drank our wine and took in the view.

With so many choices of different ways to have my heavenly oysters, I finally settled on 1/2 doz natural ($11) and 1/2 doz Chilli Teaser ($14). The oysters were so fresh just as you would expect. How lucky is South Australia to have the BEST oysters in the world!? The oysters were perfect. I loved the touch of the little seashells on the salt. A great presentation. Drawn back later in the week for a day of fishing out on the bay, we went back to the Oysterbeds and I tried the lime and sweet chilli ($12) with the natural. All were equally as wonderful and fresh.

As much as I loved my oysters, the stand out dish was definitely the Coconut Lime Calamari and Prawns ($20e/$32m). A flawless dish with so much flavour. The batter was so light, it was almost non-existent, just there to hold the flavour. The crunchy salad was a great contrast. On our second trip to the Oysterbeds, we ordered the Salt and Pepper Calamari and Prawn special. It was just as good. Using dukkah as the batter in that case was an interesting and welcome to change to the regular Salt and Pepper seasoning.

The Sashimi of Kingfish and Bluefin Tuna ($20) was fresh and served simply in a Japanese style. Although incredibly fresh and tender, the price tag of $20 seemed a bit excessive. It was quite a small serve for that cost.

The kids menu was fantastic. Loads of choices from Scotch Fillet, to Fish to the decided Ham and Cheese Pizza ($8.90). Not only were there 3 different types of pizza to choose from, the base was obviously homemade and the ham was beautiful pieces cut from the bone.

The menu was definitely a seafood lovers menu, but I don't think that a person would struggle to find something appealing that wasn't seafood. I have fallen in love with the beautiful Coffin Bay and its fresh bounty. The Oysterbeds is a showboat of local delights and well worth the visit.