DETAILS
A visit to Darwin naturally includes a wander round the revamped waterfront area with its popular wave lagoon and spectacular Convention Centre. Just past this impressive building, Stokes Hill Wharf leads out to sea. A working wharf with a fascinating history, Stokes Hill features pearl shops and small eateries. In the dry season the wharf takes on a festive air at sundown with live bands, line dancers and queues of the hungry ordering fish and chips, salads and Asian dishes from the array of takeaway eateries. Kids toss chips down the precipitous wharfside to thankful moonfish, large as dinner plates, swishing silvery sides in the harbour spotlights. It's busy and bustling and fun, but if you weave through the crowds to the far end of the wharf, you'll find Crustaceans, which is a rather different kettle of fish.
Crustaceans offers romance, Top End-style - alfresco dining under the stars, fish caught locally from the tropical sea. Darwin residents visit for special occasions – a birthday perhaps, or a wedding extravaganza. Tourists gravitate to Crustaceans for its unique location and reputable seafood. In the wet season, dining might be indoors, with a view of thunderstorms flashing lightning over the ocean.
The entrance beyond the crowded benches is low-key. The restaurant is a charming mix of elegance and concrete with the outdoor dining area perched on the very tip of the wharf, and the industrial feel softened by semi-dark light. A table nearest the water affords intimate conversation, and, if you're lucky, a view of dolphins frolicking only metres from your seat.