garlic & herb barramundi, cuttlefish & calamari

A few months ago, a PR emailed me asking for my opinion on the best fish and chips in the UK. I replied with “Morgans Seafood in Brisbane”. “No, in the UK,” she reiterated. “Oh. Well in that case, nothing.”

Because honestly, after having grown up with Morgans Seafood’s fish and chips, nothing in the world even compares, let alone be “the best” although, “be the least worst” could also be another way of looking at it.

Morgans SeafoodΒ is this tiny little (probably multi-million dollar) operation in Redcliffe just north of Brisbane. The “shack” that they operate out of hasn’t changed in over 20 years, nor has the food and not surprisingly, nor have the queues of hungry Brisbanites who cram in every single day to get some of the best fish and chips this world has to offer.

If you look closely, you can spot Panu and my dad eyeing up the food while little ol’ me waited in the queue. The queues are always long but they have efficiency down to an art and the wait for freshly cooked seafood is never more than about 30 minutes at worst.

We’ve been coming to Morgans since I was a wee one and we used to lay out picnic blankets in the park, stuff our faces with fish and chips and climb all over the ancient trees. Things haven’t changed much except the trees are now being ravaged by a newer, scarier generation of tots and well, we’re eating at the tables.

Not that that’s anything to complain about. Morgans provides a number of outdoor tables, all with a view of Scarborough Boat Harbour.

Anyway, the food. I wish Morgans had an online menu I could point you to, because there is such an enormous selection of seafood to choose from and I can’t remember any of it. We usually get barramundi fillets – which you can have grilled, breaded or battered and fried – and my all time favourite, cuttlefish.

grilled barramundi

cuttlefish and calamari

When I was little, I used to think the cuttlefish looked like little hands. Oh wait, I still do! πŸ˜€

Anyway, they have a massive selection of different fish, scallops, mussels, oysters, prawns and all the fandangly sides like pineapple fritters, seafood bites and what-not. And of course there are the chips. Fat, fresh chips. YUM.

They also sell salads, drinks and all the condiments, but mum made a huge bucket of salad for us with home grown lettuce from dad’s garden.

People shots!

Lunch was amazing, especially in the glorious Brisbane sunshine. After lunch, we took a drive along the coast and stopped for a walk at Woody Point pier. I mean honestly, London never got blue skies like this. At least not for longer than a four hour window.

Morgans Seafood
Bird of Passage Parade
Scarborough Boat Harbour
Redcliffe, Qld, 4020
(07) 3203 4592
website

Morgan's Seafood and Teppanyaki on Urbanspoon

14 Thoughts on “Morgans seafood: best fish and chips in Brisbane.. no, Australia.. no, THE WORLD.

  1. The cuttlefish looks like Dr Zoyberg’s face from Futurama…LOL. Enjoy the blue skies…I never get sick of it…blissful.

  2. It cetainly doesn’t look like the kind of fish n’ chips I’m used to; do they do mushy peas too!?

    And as for London’s blue skies, AHEM, might I remind you of the glorious weekend of sunshine we had for Easter..? πŸ˜‰

  3. Good fish and chips is hard to come by, especially if they’re the sort you want under $20. The chips look amazing! I’m here eating my brown rice and wishing I have a giant packet of hot chips instead πŸ™

  4. Miss Piggy: OMG it does too! We’re eating Dr Zoyberg’s FACE!!

    Lizzie: Oh Easter… yes yes, I vaguely recall πŸ˜‰ And you’re right it’s not I suppose the “traditional” fish n chips with mushy peas. But there are fish, and there are chips! πŸ˜€

    Rose: Awwww.. but you are healthy! And you can have chips tomorrow πŸ™‚

  5. As an old Mancunian band once sang, ‘Love is found in the east and west. But when love is at home, it’s the best’. And so it’s the case with fish & chips. Being from the north of England, I have to say London’s offerings compare poorly to to the fish & chips from up north.

    That said I do like Aussie fish & chips. The fish is always good quality, and most places fry-to-order rather than fry-in-advance like they do in the UK. But it’s hard to compare cos the fish are literally different. I still remember my first visit to Oz when confronted with the likes of barramundi and orange roughy instead of cod and haddock!

  6. OK so this is yet another place in Brisbane I have to try? πŸ™‚

  7. Mr Noodles: Ah, p’raps I didn’t get a chance to try the fish and chips up north. A couple of people have commented on my facebook that there are good fish and chips in Blackpool or in Anstruther in Scotland. Ever tried those? And yes you’re 100% correct that a big difference is in the actual fish. I love a good barra!!

    Lorraine: YES πŸ˜€

  8. Your mum and dad are so CUTE!
    Fish and chips are one of my favorite meals, although I prefer milk-soaked cod. Squishy peas? From a can? EEEeeeeeeeeew! lol. If it weren’t for that Hubby doesn’t like fish, I would eat so much more of it. I think I overdosed him on scampi.
    Back in the day, as they say, H. Salt Fish & Chips was everybody’s favorite. They also fried breaded zucchini slices (lengthways). I don’t know why they went out of business, cuz, they were a goldmine. Do you sprinkle malt vinegar on your fried fish? It’s wonderful on fish, but awful on meat, as it makes ground round taste spoiled. I tried that once and spat it out. I’m a tartar sauce girl. :0)

  9. Never had cuttlefish but it looks freakin delicious! And yeah it totally looks like a hand. What a fab day with a perfect lunch

  10. Ok, that’s a darn good reason to head on up to Brisbane sometime. My favourite was always down at Balmoral Beach. But I’m willing to accept that I probably liked it as a kid because we could ride our bikes with training wheels along the esplanade.

  11. Christine on September 24, 2011 at 8:57 am said:

    “I used to think the cuttlefish looked like little hands. Oh wait, I still do! :D” hahaha you make me laugh out loud.
    “Dr Zoyberg’s face” haha funny coz it’s so true!
    I do miss a good fish & chips. Had another bad one in London last week. I keep ordering it hoping it’ll be good but always so disappointing. Masters Super Fish near Waterloo is the “best” we’ve had so far.
    We were at Hi Sushi & Scoop the other night – we all missed you!
    Hope you & P-man are both well =D
    xox

  12. Linda: haha yeah my folks are cute πŸ™‚ I add malt vinegar to chips/fries sometimes but not fried fish! Will have to try!

    Nic: good cuttlefish (ie not chewy) is AWESOME. Try it!

    Tori: Yeah, if you ever make it to Brisbane, try this place out, it will bring back memories of childhood fish n chips!

    Christine: LOL, i miss you too! I heard you girls were going out for dinner and I was all sad! We are both well… sunning ourselves in Qld πŸ™‚

  13. The batter has such a lovely golden colour! Will need to put this down on my to go list!

  14. You’re making me so envious with all these gorgeous photos of blue skies! I can at least comfort myself with the fact that London is gloriously sunny this week. πŸ™‚

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