Shearwater Restaurant

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Shearwater Restaurant

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514 reviews

#4 of 225 Restaurants in Coffs Harbour$$ - $$$, Contemporary, Australian, Vegetarian friendly

+61 2 6651 6053+ Add website

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Hours

Sun

8:00 am - 3:00 pm

Tue

8:00 am - 3:00 pm

Wed

8:00 am - 3:00 pm

Thu

8:00 am - 10:00 pm

Fri

8:00 am - 10:00 pm

Sat

8:00 am - 10:00 pm

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What is Travellers’ Choice?

Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

Ratings and reviews

4.5

514 reviews

#4 of 225 Restaurants in Coffs Harbour

Travellers' Choice 2024

RATINGS

Food

Service

Value

Atmosphere

Food and ambience

Local cuisine, Australian, Contemporary, Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

“Prawn pasta”

“... ...I can get that anywhere The salad should have tasted awesome I couldn'...”

Special Occasion Dining, Romantic, View, Groups, Business meetings

“We always feel very welcome by the staff and in a very special occasion we we...”

“Delicious, friendly, romantic”

Location and contact

321 Harbour Dr The Promenade, Coffs Harbour, New South Wales 2450 Australia

+61 2 6651 6053

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Is this restaurant good for dinner?

Yes

Unsure

Details

Manage this business?

About

Shearwater Restaurant is a Modern Australian Restaurant and Cafe in Coffs Harbour. Open for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, we serve a modern Australian menu complimented with desserts, wine, beer, cocktails, hot drinks, coffee, cold drinks and a kid's menu. Some of our breakfast menu items include smashed avocado, corn fritters, bacon and eggs, tacos, pancakes, eggs benedict. For lunch, we serve oysters, share plates, seafood, squid, burgers, thai salads, fish and chips, pork belly and much more. Perfect for functions, weddings and events, we service the greater Coffs Harbour area including Boambee, Toormina, Sawtell, Korora, Karangi, Sapphire Beach and all surrounding suburbs. If you are looking for the best restaurant with a view in Coffs Harbour then look no further.

PRICE RANGE

$8.00 – $39.00

CUISINES

Contemporary, Australian

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Brunch, Drinks

FEATURES

Reservations, Outdoor Seating, Seating, Parking Available, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service, Waterfront, Gift Cards Available

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4.5

514 reviews

Excellent

314

Very good

112

Average

Poor

Terrible

Bartonbears

Coffs Harbour2768 contributions

Top spot for breakfast

Sept 2020 • friends

Three of us enjoyed a lovely breakfast in this great location. It is central but the expansive view over Coffs Creek feels well away from the everyday hustle and bustle. The service was friendly, possibly a little slow but we were in no hurry, and the food was very tasty and nicely presented. We enjoyed the scrambled eggs with bacon on sourdough and at $12 it was very good value. Nice coffee too and the Covid-safe arrangements were reassuring. We'd certainly recommend this venue.

Written 23 September 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

elainej465

Queensland398 contributions

Excellent food, nice outlook…be patient though

Aug 2021 • friends

Met a friend for brunch. Check in easy and able to choose table so sat at one with a lovely view of the water near the door. Was a little busy which might of contributed to very slow service but to be honest I think we got forgotten. Finally attracted attention & ordered. Must say the breakfast I had - Truffle Mushroom (mushrooms, goat cheese, poached egg & truffle oil served on sour dough $15- I added spinach $2.50) was worth the wait. It was by far the best breakfast I’ve had in a while. I ordered a jasmine garden tea. Which they topped up for free too. It was definitely good enough to overlook the delayed service & for me to recommend to viewers to go

Written 4 August 2021

sym3

22 contributions

Family dinner

Aug 2020 • family

The duck was amazing! The prawn pasta needed garlic it was a bit plain. This restaurant needs table cloths, it’s a formal restaurant & for the prices they charge you expect a little more decorations. The staff are great & over all it’s a lovely well located restaurant for all meals.

Written 10 August 2020

MIchaela R

1 contribution

Disapppointing and very overpriced

Aug 2020 • none

My sister and I took out elderly mother for lunch on Saturday. We have been to Shearwater before for breakfast on many occasions (pre co-vid) and couldn't fault it. As my mother has Alzheimer's we looked up the menu online to make our selections, however, when we arrived the menu was different. I asked the waitress and was told Oh we haven't updated the website. The majority of the selections online (which sounded amazing) now didn't exist. We asked about the share plate and were told yes it's big will feed 1 to 2. Yes the plate WAS big ,there was 1 sweet potato rosti, 2 lamb kofta which were inedible, they actually tasted like vomit and left a foul taste at the back of the throat, and about 6 very small pieces of pork belly. We also ordered the Mezze plate, again disappointing, maybe a tablespoon each of the 2 dips, and not much of anything else, a pumpkin, rocket, pine nut and feta salad (no dressing) and a buddha bowl for mum which seemed to be the best out of all. This should have been more than enough for 3 people, but was such poor quality and small serves that we ended up ordering a bowl of hot chips and another different dip platter. Unfortunately, our visit to Shearwater was incredibly disappointing and I will not be returning nor recommending it. It was the most overpriced "meal" I have ever eaten. The quality was very poor considering the cost and the service wasn't that great either, The girl and guy serving us were lovely themselves, but not very alert to the customers, we witnessed another couple complain several times so it wasn't just us. Unfortunately , we won't be returning to Shearwater, the experience has literally left a very bad taste in our mouths.

Written 21 August 2020

Anthony N

Mooloolaba1 contribution

Unfortunately just not great

Oct 2020 • none

I really wanted to like this place but one of the waitress staff made that impossible. A tale of two personalities. One of the staff was amazing, outgoing talkative and great service. The one we were served by bordered on rude... when you factor in it was just me and my young daughter for breakfast and it edged over $50 it was expensive. Underwhelmed

Written 5 October 2020

TrevandJo

Coffs Harbour10 contributions

Shearwater

Apr 2021 • none

The steak was cooked perfectly, but the days of surf and turf served with lashings of thick salty sauce on a bed of uncooked potatoes are long gone. We had to find a staff member to order initial drink once we were seated and then again when entree was served and then for a third time. The pasta was ordinary with a dry hand full of rocket placed on top of it. This restaurant feels like you have stepped back to the 90’s. Wait staff were inattentive and their uniform tops were old and scruffy. Restaurant needs a deep clean.

Written 10 April 2021

lidsdale

96 contributions

Is 3 pieces of rocket classed as salad now

Jan 2021 • none

Ordered the sirloin steak with chips,salad,mustard sauce & lemon,,,dont know what the lemon was for & the pieces of rocket was the salad so was disappointed with that but i will say the steak was cooked perfectly & the chips were nice just not worth the money. Atmosphere was great by the quiet river until a table of approx 8-10 celebrating a birthday turned up & the kids yelling & screaming & the adults trying to control them & then couldnt wait to get out of there. Table service was vey slow,i think the waitresses forget about us & another couple that waited a long time for service. Wont return mainly due to service & overpriced food.

Written 14 January 2021

sharna h

4 contributions

Abousltely incredible

Aug 2020 • couples

The staff were the most accommodating waiters I have come across. My partner and myself have a passion and love for food and dining. The food was absolutely brilliant. As two mid 20's adults, we loved the young men waiters with lots of personality and made our experience so extrodanary. For two people who enjoy dining and a taste for incredible food, we give this restaurant 5 stars.

Written 15 August 2020

Jennifer Hill

Nambucca Heads9 contributions

Breakfast Mid Week

Sept 2020 • none

Went for breakfast mid week to Shearwater. They are operating on a reduced menu due to COVID19 but I felt the selection was fairly good and would appeal to most tastes. They had a full english breakfast through to a light yoghurt bowl with fruit and a range of dishes in-between. They were particularly busy on the morning we went but the service was quite prompt despite that and the food good. They had a fair few vegetarian options available which impressed me as some places only offer a token option for the non meat eaters. Overall we had a great meal and the view over Coffs Creek is great.

Written 7 October 2020

Karine

Sydney14 contributions

Very good food and location but long wait

Jan 2021 • none

We had dinner there as a family with 3 young children during our holidays in Coffs Habour. It’s a lovely restaurant with a gorgeous riverside setting. The staff was very nice and helpful. The food was very good and well priced. We had the seafood linguini and duck confit which were both excellent. The kids menus were good value and generous. The only downside is we were the last customers in at 7pm on a Saturday night and the restaurant was very very busy. It took 1h 15min to get our starters and another 30 minutes to get our mains which was becoming challenging with young children. No compensation or little extras offered to help with the wait :-( I’d go back but earlier in the evening or mid week.

Written 9 January 2021

Sarah V

Liston1 contribution

Forgot our mains..

Nov 2021 • couples

Arrived at 6:30 for our booking and got our first drinks 30 min later. Than it took an hour to get attention from the wait staff to order another drink and appetizers. Finally received them both another just under an hour later, as they gave us our appetizers and drinks we orders our mains. It hit 8:50pm and we asked where our mains were and they had forgotten and the kitchen was closed .... From 6:30pm to 8:50pm we were there Really disappointed as we are locals and loved it there

Written 12 November 2021

dellwood2015

Coffs Harbour57 contributions

Birthday lunch with a friend

Jan 2020 • none

We went to the Shearwater for a birthday lunch celebration. The meals were excellent. I had the steak and it was cooked perfectly to my liking with a lovely garlic sauce. My friend had the duck and she said it was fantastic. I would highly recommend both meals. The day we went was fairly windy, and the door next to our table kept slamming in the wind against the glass door jam so that was the only annoying thing. Looked like the staff couldn't fix it or didn't know how too. Beautiful setting and great service.

Written 4 January 2020

Smeeeeee

Sydney68 contributions

Incredibly disappointing.

Jan 2021 • none

Incredibly disappointing. A beautiful location but that’s unfortunately where the praise ends for me. The service we experienced today was comically bad - rude, cold, unfriendly with constant errors. Our meals took over an hour to arrive. The lamb was dry, the open ravioli was a disaster! Half the menu is misleading or otherwise not available. Completely overpriced. Not likely to return.

Written 1 January 2021

Linda H

Bellingen41 contributions

Christmas Lunch was a big disapointment,

Dec 2022 • none

This is a bit late but better late than never. I had Christmas lunch 2022 here with Five friends, two of who did not drink alcohol so paying $170 for an inclusive lunch was a bit painful for them. First course, oysters, smoked salmon and prawns, were fine. Second course:- cold and overcooked pork, ham and cold Turkey, cold gravy, roast potatoes that were not crisp and hot, undercooked beans and a thrown together green salad. Underwhelming and disappointing as well as the presentation not up to scratch. Third Course :- Pavlova and fruit salad, Christmas pudding for dessert, nothing outstanding. If you drank there was plenty of wine and beer,the staff were cheerful and helpful We won’t be going back, they need to put their socks up and improve.

Written 26 January 2023

HentyH9

Australia50 contributions

Tranquil Welcoming Dining

Dec 2020 • couples

Nice spot. Last minute booking and we weren't disappointed. The hard working host made us most welcome and the young staff were attentive. Both our meals were plentiful and cooked well and the beer and wine list very reasonable. Has a great Coff's feel about it.

Written 5 December 2020

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