Fish Shack

We came over to Manly for the day (Tuesday lunchtime). Chose the fish shack purely based on the name - we wanted F&C at the beach. Two staff were on and the place was half to a third full. Setting is nice with a view of beach. Took a while to be asked in and told where we could sit. Then I had to ask for a menu and to order. Service could have been a bit more attentive. We order grilled salmon and chips. Quite expensive for a simple dish with no side salad. However the fish was beautifully cooked and the chips crunchy but fluffy. Fish serve size was small for the price. Overall a nice place. Owners should ask the staff to be a bit more friendly and attentive.

Food: 4 Food IMO is great, I ordered the fish and chips with the beer battered barramundi and the salt and pepper squid. The fish was tasty and seemed fresh and the chips were nice and crispy. Price: 2 The portion size vs price however is pretty expensive. We had 3 "fillets" of barramundi which were about 15cm in length and 2-3 cm in width. Considering the price for barramundi per kg, I feel like it's a bit more on the expensive side. Presentation: 4 Aesthetic is great inside, the decorations are pretty nice. The food presented was also decent. Location: 3.5 Good location near the beach, near a Starbucks and Ben and Jerries for those hot days when you need something to cool you down. Service: 1.5 Literally could not hear whatever the waiter was saying to us as it seemed he kind of mumbled. It looked like the male waiter who served us doesn't want to be there, the female waiter though seemed pretty upbeat. Food came fairly quick (within 15 minutes), but it was around 1:30pm on a Saturday and most people already seemed to have eaten.

We went to the restaurant without reading the reviews first. We should have. I asked for ab Angus Burger : came cold and veggie Burger instead. When I asked about this, the waitress told me it was Angus beef : with the taste and looks I could tell she lied. She did not even ask if I wanted it rare, well done etc. My boyfriend's calamari was so greasy he did not like it at all. It's not an expensive restaurant but when people say "it's not worth the price" : believe them... The view is very nice but that's it. There are other restaurants along the way.

Slightly apprehensive about leaving a good review after reading an onslaught of recent bad reviews here, but I had a great dining experience at the Fish Shack about a month ago. I had the beer-battered Hoki with tartar and a side salad. Fish ‘n chips were fresh off the fryer, and the service was friendly. Just about anything I could ask for lunch, really. Perhaps I got lucky, but even so, cheers to that.

They serve the smallest Barramandi in Manly & worst service ever. Female server was rude, abrupt & rushed my order. It took 40mins for the entree to come out. A total of 53mins for 2 mains to come out. I also watched a male server drop a bucket of scallops and chips onto their serving table then push everything back in with his hands after cleaning tables. The plates & cutlery were dirty and slippery. Also charged a $2.50 per person surcharge on weekends for the worst fish & chip experience. Get real....