richmond oysters

As adults, we all love seafood. Remember when you were a kid and you hated seafood (especially prawns), and suddenly, at the age of 19, it's like a bright beautiful window opened in your palate and you suddenly understood the bright salty-creamy taste of oysters and the subtle lightness of fish?

I love to eat seafood the way that one eats rice - a LOT of it, and all in one go. One of my pet hates is when I order a seafood dish for like $40 and it comes in teeny tiny Brobdingnag portions. What the hell man?! I shop for food now and I KNOW that it's not as expensive as some restaurants make it out to be.

Richmond Oysters, alongside Claypots Seafood Restaurant, is quickly becoming a mecca for seafood lovers in Melbourne. I'm talking about an exclusively seafood restaurant, not one with a fish dish on the menu. After restaurants like Waterfront faced their demise in Melbourne in the last 10 years there has been a gaping hole for good fish spots, especially for the asian seafood-eating (not fish and chips) crowd.

We booked Richmond Oysters on the recommendation of a friend for a special occasion and wish we had discovered this gem earlier. 

Right opposite East Richmond train station, the interior is clean, pleasant but not overdone, a long clean fish tank dividing the dining room from the fish and chip area. The menu abounds in delicious things like scallops, tiger prawns, squid and so many different types of fish. We ordered a seafood platter and a paella. 

The platter had a pot of mussels, prawns, scallops, calamari, 2 different types of fish, baby octopus, soft shell crab, tuna on Melba toast and Moreton Bay bugs. 

A giant seafood paella swimming with fresh seafood!

The most important thing about seafood is that it is fresh - this place had it in spades, with great service too. A really good night with fabulous food.

Richmond Oysters
443 Church Street
Richmond
9428 5121