There's alot of negative reviews on this place, so I'm here to present some facts, as well as some information to help you choose between this and Nin's Bins.
- This or Nin's Bins?
It comes down to two things. The first is location. If you're going to Point Kean for the seals, this is right next door. Nin's Bins is closer to Ohau seal colony, or if you're driving up/from Blenheim/Picton.
Nin's Bins is a much nicer looking "shack" and also has tables with much better views of the ocean.
- The weather.
This is fully outdoors. There is one table that is sheltered from the rain, but that's it.
- The price of the crayfish.
They're a bit sneaky in that they don't publish or tell you anywhere what the price per kg of crayfish is. When you turn up, you can have a look at their ice cooler of all their available crayfish. Each one has a different price. For reference, early Jan, the price of crayfish was between $110 and $155, depending on size.
You can also choose a half crayfish.
- Are they live crayfish?
No, none of the crayfish are live. They are already pre-cooked, and will be grilled for a few minutes in butter to warm them up.
- What else is there to order?
Loads of other seafoods. From prawns to paua (abalone) patties, whitebait patties to local fishes, etc. I recommend the fish, either with rice of bread, really tasty and amazing value at like $12. The scallops were also pretty good; they are small scallops but super tasty ($13-16).
- When are they open?
For lunch. Don't know when they start, but they close up shop once they sell out all their crayfish. When we were there on a Saturday early Jan, peak tourist season, they finished at like 2:30-3pm. And this was despite it being a super rainy and windy day.
- Are they much cheaper than other places in Kaikoura?
We checked out another place (Craypot restaurant in town) which was looking to charge $129 per half crayfish! Here we paid $110-155 for a whole crayfish. Up in Marlborough Sounds, we saw crayfish in a restaurant at $60 for half, $120 for whole. So their prices are not super cheap, but probably cheaper than the restaurants in Kaikoura. Don't know compared to Nin's Bins.
- Taste
Really nicely grilled. The crayfish tasted super fresh, and very firm meat indicating the freshness. The rest of the dish (rice, salad, bread) was very mediocre.
- Payment
They accept card payments. Also - no credit card surcharge! Yay! read more