Wheelers Seafood Restaurant, Pambula Review
Most oyster farms sell you an oyster and point you back to the highway. Wheelers, on Arthur Kaine Drive between Merimbula and Pambula, sells you the oyster and then seats you in a stunning envirnment to imbibe them. The farm has worked Merimbula Lake since 1927. The restaurant is newer, opened in 2003 in a building of recycled bridge timbers and local stone after the original kiosk outgrew its premises, which is the right way round for a business to expand.
The room is long, timbered and cheerfully tropical, with a north facing deck and distant views over the lake. Outside sits an Oyster Bar, where a dozen and a glass of sparkling is the necessary opening. It seats up to 120, which sounds like plenty until a summer weekend arrives, and the takeaway shop next door runs a fish and chip counter for anyone who prefers a picnic table to a tablecloth.
The oysters are the point, and they arrive either natural with a sherry vinegar mignonette, with Nam Jim and fried shallots, Kilpatrick or Hokkaido style with ponzu, sesame and pickled ginger. A dozen costs $52. Order the Nam Jim. The rest of the menu is a capable tour of the coast, with WA octopus in Balinese curry, grilled scallops under a chorizo crumb, blue swimmer crab linguine, bouillabaisse and battered fish. A seafood platter at $189 suits people who prefer to pay once, and a lamb shoulder and a Riverina scotch look after anyone who arrived with a seafood sceptic.
Some negatives? Diners have reported the odd uneven dish, an overcooked octopus among them, and the platter depends on the season, with at least one table finding other seafood standing in when the lobster was out. A 10% surcharge applies on Sundays and public holidays which is incredibly fair, given the cost of having staff to look after you and the incredibly low margins venues are running on. Dinner is an early affair, with bookings running from 5pm to 8pm. None of this should put you off the oysters.
Felix Marrow eats on his own dime. Venues are not contacted in advance. — Scoffermag.au
Price Mains $25 to $49; oysters $52 a dozen; seafood platter $189
Bookings Required
Good for A long lunch beside the lake from whence the oysters came
Not for A late dinner
Parking Car park on site
Wheelers Seafood Restaurant is at 162 Arthur Kaine Drive, Pambula NSW
Restaurant Monday - Saturday 12pm to 2pm and 5pm to 8pm.
Sunday 12pm to 4pm.
Takeaway shop and cafe open daily 10am to 6pm
Images supplied
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