Why are seafood restaurants becoming a must-do part of weekend getaways?

I recently saw a friend post up her itinerary for a 3 week road trip around the coast of Australia last summer. The itinerary was laid out in a spreadsheet, detailing her plans for each day including accommodation for the night, the route for the day and planned fuel stops. There was even a list of songs that she would listen to for the day to get her in the mood. When I asked her what she was looking forward to the most she pretty much replied that she was looking forward to a place that served crayfish.

That’s true. So I said to my friend what I said to her before, she must be really looking forward to visiting the lookouts and that beach. But no, she said honestly she’s most looking forward to

The Food-led Travel Shift

I said somewhere along the line the meal has become the destination. I think what I mean by that is somewhere along the line food-led travel has become more of the norm rather than just a passing trend, and in terms of why that’s become the case, I think there’s just a huge amount of casual travelers out there that are looking for a good meal, and it doesn’t have to be fancy.

As with any other form of tourism, there are also consequences for the local residents. Coastal towns have always had good seafood. The difference now is that the places to eat it are being ‘hunted out’ by travelers. One beautifully presented whole snapper on a wooden board is enough to have a picture of it saved thousands of times before the weekend is over. Before long the sleepy little fishing town is transformed into a busting seafood town with a queue of hungry travelers waiting to be served every Saturday morning.

Complications arise.

There’s something about eating near the water

For many years it has been said that the best seafood is found in coastal towns and fishing villages. And, while this is true, it is not the only factor that draws people to these locations. There is something special about eating near the water, something that cannot be replicated in a restaurant in the middle of a city. Perhaps it is the feeling of the sea air, the sound of the seagulls or the view of the boats bobbing up and down in the harbor. Whatever it is, it is a feeling that draws people in. And it is something that many restaurants are now trying to recreate.

Seafood restaurants understand this context better than most restaurants. As such, they tend to lean heavily into the experience of dining near the water. Whether it’s an outdoor seating area overlooking a jetty, or a menu which details where and when each fish was caught, people are after a more honest dining experience. The better seafood restaurants offer up a fresh and seasonal offering of seafood within a casual setting – devoid of the frills of the stripped back industrial dining rooms so prevalent in Australia’s capital cities.

Finally, I have to say that I have never traveled anywhere in the world and gone out of my way for a below average seafood restaurant just because it was near the coast. However, there is something about cold weather and fresh seafood, and about dining near the water that seems to heighten the experience of dining on fresh fish and other seafood. For this reason, I am always on the lookout for relaxed dining at seafood restaurants with outdoor seating that allow me to take in the views of the water, or better yet, a dock or jetty. These kinds of dining venues are often found in casual fishing towns and villages all along our coast and feature the freshest local produce.

What is it about a seafood stop that makes it worth planning around on a road trip?

Most coastal towns have great seafood however there are some restaurants that obviously are relying on the great location and have terrible fishy fare. And these places have amazing views of the ocean, of jetties and docks and of beautiful beaches however the quality of the fish is questionable at best and they can serve up poor quality fish and chips as well as other seafood dishes which can be sourced from most markets. There are a few key things which set restaurants apart from the pack that service coastal routes and are worth seeking out.

• Provenance matters. Knowing the prawns came off a boat two hours ago isn’t a marketing line, it’s the whole reason you drove here.
• The menu should be short enough to be honest. If a place serves thirty different things, nothing on that list was caught this morning.
• Unpretentious service is not the same as low quality. Some of the best seafood I’ve ever eaten came with paper napkins and a plastic fork.
• A view doesn’t hurt, but it’s not everything. The meal has to hold up on its own.

Some people claim that they have found all of the great seafood restaurants by searching online for keywords that other travelers have found useful. However, no matter how hard you search there is no guarantee that you will find a great seafood restaurant. A large amount of travelers depend on word of mouth and online reviews to find a good place to eat. Local people are often great sources of information, and then there are reviews on websites such as Trip Advisor.

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The road trip meal, reconsidered

At last I will concede a small point. In raising ‘expectations’ as to what will constitute a satisfactory meal on a road trip I have set up a false polarity between those travelers who simply eat en route and those who look forward to a special experience. The simple fact is that there are many people, not all of them what one might term foodies, for whom a memorable meal on a road trip is a major objective of their travels. That such a traveler might look for a very special meal and that that meal should be seafood of the freshest sort from the best fish restaurants in coastal towns of provenance are two non-identical concepts.

Old road trip eating	Food-led travel now
Convenient, forgettable	Planned around, talked about after
Food as fuel	Food as the actual experience
Whatever’s nearby	Worth a detour
Generic chain options	Hyper-local, place-specific menus

Provenance is something that can’t be faked. Most people have a pretty good idea when they’ve been sold a pup and they don’t pay for it.

Why it keeps growing

There is something very relaxing about a restaurant that serves delicious fresh seafood in a relaxed casual setting. And that’s exactly what’s been missing for so many travelers during the week. They have been able to grab a burger and fries at a pub or restaurant on their way home from work but not a fresh seafood meal. So relaxed coastal dining has become very popular. And it’s not that hard to see why. No need to dress up. No stress or hustle. Just fresh fish that has been cooked to perfection. Cold beer or other refreshing drinks. Beautiful afternoon light streaming in through windows and doors looking out over the water. A lovely place to sit and watch the day slowly come to a close. And more and more people are organizing entire weekends around these experiences. Traveling long distances to find a restaurant they have saved on their phone for months.

Hard to argue with them, honestly.