Fish of the day ($21) at Ocean Beach Hotel, Shellharbour Village

Fish of the day ($21) at Ocean Beach Hotel, Shellharbour Village, originally uploaded by Vanessa Pike-Russell. It was such a lovely day it seemed a crime to spend it inside. We made our way down to Shellharbour village and enjoyed good food and a fantastic view at the Ocean Beach Hotel.

With such a lovely beach view fish of the day ($21) was the only logical choice. The fish of the day was flathead, one of my favourite fish and it was very sweet and flavoursome. The chips were beer-battered and delicious, as was the salad which included thin strips of freshly cooked beetroot, rocket, carrot and tomato. Not a slice of capsicum to be found, which was a nice surprise!

A prawn was added as garnish and whilst the photo shows some tartare sauce in a scallop shell we also indulged in the OBH' own seafood aioli made of garlic, cream, lemon and lime juice - divine!

What more can you ask than a great view, lovely weather and good food. Another great dining experience with the Ocean Beach Hotel.

Seafood platter for one at Ocean Beach Hotel

Another birthday celebrated at Shellharbour's Ocean Beach Hotel.
This time it was my Sister's birthday and since she loves seafood (like her big Sister) we decided to share the seafood platter for one. Luckily it is enough to feed three, as was evident when I ended up taking a third of it home with me.


My Sister chose an entrée of Crispy pork belly with fresh queensland sea scallops, confit of garlic and honey glaze ($18.90). I almost forgot to take a photo of it, hence the fact some has been eaten. I had a small taste of the pork and it was very sweet and flavoursome.

My Mother decided on her favourite - a mixed dozen of oysters. Raw, Kilpatrick and Gremolata ($32.90)

Finally the seafood platter for one ($70) arrived sand it was difficult to know where to start first.


The platter included fresh and cooked prawns, several oysters, two scallops, several varieties of fish, smoked salmon, spring rolls stuffed with king prawns, fresh crab, half a lobster (a little over cooked, grilled with a scorched flavour) and some summer fruits to cleanse the palate. The dipping sauces were very tasty and we left feeling very full and sated.

Dipping sauces included a green curry aoli, lemon aoli, thai sauce with fish sauce and coriander, and horseradish.

Ocean Beach Hotel

Lamb with rissoto

battered king prawns

Lamb roast with beans, asparagus and creamed potatoes with a garnish of seaweed salad and tomatoes

Children's menu: Chicken nuggets with chips, fruit and icecream for dessert

Ocean Beach Hotel, Shellharbour

To celebrate my Mother's birthday we travelled down to have lunch at the Ocean Beach restaurant in Shellharbour. The restaurant is directly opposite from Little Park and a wonderful view of the boat harbour and rockpools. It is a favourite spot of mine, especially due to the fact that my wedding reception (1996) was held there.

My Mother had suggested a late lunch but unfortunately despite the advertised 'all day menu' we were told that we could not be seated inside the restaurant and would have to be seated outside on the decking or inside the hotel. Thankfully it was a lovely July day so we opted to move outside and enjoy the spectacular view and soft breezes. I attempted to order a seafood platter for two and was told that unfortunately the menu was restricted to a one page 'all day dining' selection which consisted of snacks and entrees until 5.30pm. We tried to make the most of the situation and ordered two entrees which we hoped would tide us over until the restaurant opened for dinner.

[ Platter of oysters - mix of Oysters Kilpatrick, Mornay and Natural by Vanessa Pike-Russell]
The first entree was a mixed platter of oysters which included Oysters natural, mornay and kilpatrick. We had to wait until the restaurant was open for dinner so chose another appetizer of Crumbed Mushrooms with avocado salad.

Crumbed Mushrooms with avocado salad from
Ocean Beach Hotel, Shellharbour, by Vanessa Pike-Russell.

[Crumbed Mushrooms with avocado salad from Ocean Beach Hotel, Shellharbour by Vanessa Pike-Russell]

My Mother and I both love mushrooms and these delicious morsels were a feast of the senses. The beetroot was fried and the outer crispness was an amazing contrast to the sweet and tender beetroot texture within. The salad was very tasty, nicely seasoned and the avocado a nice contrast to the crumbed mushrooms and beetroot.

I thanked the waiter when he came to take our plates, expressing our appreciation for the wonderful entrees and asked to advance order the seafood platter for when their restaurant opened. The waiter seemed puzzled that we had been told that the seafood platter wasn't available, especially due to the fact that it was a very slow day. If he had been asked he would have served us a seafood platter at 2pm rather than ask us to wait three and a half hours on what was a special birthday celebration which also marked the birth of my Sister's baby the day before.

It was getting colder and by 5pm we decided to go elsewhere for dinner and walked down to Addisons Seafood Restaurant for the seafood platter.

The Ocean Beach Hotel
2 Addison St, Shellharbour NSW 2259
p 02 4296 1399 · f 02 4297 1486