About
Located on the far north coast of New South Wales, the Clarence River Fishermen’s Co-Operative in Iluka is about as direct a connection to local seafood as you can get. The co-op sources fresh product straight from the Clarence River estuary and the surrounding ocean, which means the seafood on offer reflects what’s actually running locally. Prawns, bugs, mud crabs, Sydney Rock oysters, whiting, flounder and calamari all make regular appearances, and the pricing tends to be genuinely competitive for what’s on offer.
The fish and chips here are a straightforward, casual affair, and the co-op suits families well, with a kids’ menu available and a relaxed outdoor atmosphere. Dine-in and takeaway are both options, and the facility includes wheelchair-accessible parking and entry, free parking, and accepts card and mobile payments. Sea mullet and chips at a very modest price point has been a crowd pleaser, and the cooked prawns draw consistent praise for freshness and flavour.
Service can vary depending on when you visit. That said, for anyone passing through Iluka who wants a fresh, reasonably priced seafood meal direct from a working fishing co-operative, there’s real appeal here. Phone ahead to check what’s available on the day, particularly for grilled options.
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8 Reviews on “Clarence River Fishermen's Co-Operative Ltd”
Great location to eat but the food is atrocious. Ordered the seafood pack for two and a fish patty. The fish patty was disgusting. Under cooked on the inside and huge checks of torn apart fish skin. Tasted old and the smell was yuc, the bonus was the crushed bones mixed in. They forgot a piece of fish and the calamari was stringy and way over cooked All the food was over cooked, except the chips. They were hard, tasteless and soggy. The prawns were 60 percent crumb and again burnt. Fish was soggy and had a very pungent smell. The customer service is hilarious. The two women were actually yelling at us and screaming to read signs out the front and they had no change. The look on the customers was like they wanted to walk out. I wish I did. Great spot but food and service very very poor.
Back in iluka just at the right time, plenty of fresh seafood on offer $16 a kilo for small/med prawns is amazing. Bugs, crabs and my fave pan sized flounder. Get Amy to fry one up for you, fantastic feed!
We enjoyed our lunch. Bugs were very reasonably priced at $30/kg, Sydney Rock Oysters $20 for a dozen. We had those items & cooked prawns, cooked whiting, chips & calamari. All was fresh, tasty & well cooked. The fish & chips, calamari & chips was $16. Good value for money. Great location by the marina/water.
We actually went back a second day in a row for lunch as my parents came to visit & they had enjoyed their meals some years ago. Again, we all enjoyed our lunch. The second time we tried the Coffin Bay Oysters which were lovely & more prawns, whiting, calamari & chips. The wait time was around 45 minutes however we were advised before ordering this was the case. And we got whiting packs instead of the calamari packs we had ordered however one of the lady’s promptly fixed this for us. We are regular seafood eaters & we have high standards. We were not disappointed, pleasantly surprised considering the review we read before coming.
The two staff serving were short and not welcoming at all. Made us feel unwelcome, as though they were doing us a favour by taking our order. It was 5pm on Sunday. No other customers. We asked for grilled snapper and were told grill is off. So
we ordered it crumbed. Deep fried was a pity but the fish was super fresh. Prawn cutlets fresh as well. Very tight with cutlery. Plenty of lemon. Food was good. Service bordering on rude.
The lady serving here is absolutely miserable. I couldn’t even ask a question without it being met by a snarky response. Clearly hates her job. I walked straight back out because I couldn’t be bothered dealing with that so can’t comment on the food. Such a sour experience because it would have been a nice place to eat. Based on other reviews I’m not the only one having issues with this lady.
Worst service and food in the region.
I asked for my 4 pieces of fish to be 3x battered and 1x crumbed. They switched this around – my kids are autistic and refused to eat the incorrect covering, resulting in my needing to remove the crumbing from the fish.
I asked for “a dozen calamari rings” and was only served 6 (I was also only charged for 6 – allegedly). The calamari was well overcooked, and rubbery. The fish was dry and overcooked also.
Nothing about this experience was pleasant, especially given I waited over 45 minutes in the sun for this, and was told that’s the standard when I called to query my issues. My husband and his family has run multiple hospitality venues, and would be appalled by a 45 minutes wait for 4 pieces of fish, 6 calamari rings, and a large chips.
Since the new ownership and management have taken over, this food has been absolutely awful, as has the service. We’ve been coming here since I was a child, my grandparents are locals, and we will never return unless management/ownership changes again.
I’d give 0 stars if I could – it’s that atrocious.
I purchased sea mullet and chips for $10! I also got some prawns which were super good.
What’s happened?
Got some prawns and it seems they’ve been frozen and some were mushy. Could hardly peel them. They didn’t even taste like the Iluka prawns I got a few months ago (which were the tastiest) . Very disappointed.
I’ve been going there for quite some time and this was the worst.
I won’t be recommending the co-op to people if this is your new standard.