Stephen’s Sound Bites – SheShells

SheShells Restaurant

Until I visited this restaurant, my experience was that Australian sea fish amounted to only four types!

My local fish & chip shop offers Flake (gummy shark). If I go to a restaurant, I might order an up-market Barramundi, or more expensive Snapper or King George Whiting.

However, endangered shark meat is regularly being sold as Flake fillets in some SA fish and chip shops. Barramundi are mainly farmed on land in tanks and ponds. Snapper or King George Whiting are exceptions to imperfect sourcing, as they are wild caught and unthreatened.

In my experience, this family-owned restaurant has by far the widest variety of fish species on offer. The owner has a daily visit to a fish market, so the species offered change and are fresh, of course. In previous visits, there were over 10 species offered.

My recommendation is that you ask for a mix of grilled and battered. In this way, you can experience the changes in texture and taste between fish. Staff can give you information on individual fish variety, flavour etc. Importantly (for me at least) almost all are wild caught and sustainable.

Even when full, SheShells has a low noise level. The owner specified the restaurant design and made clever choices on materials e.g., acoustic ceiling tiles, cork wall coverings and old wine bottle corks around the bar. Consequently, chatting is comfortable.

I am happy to pay the bill if I experience good food and an interesting conversation. It is worth noting that SheShells’ pricing is significantly lower than seafood restaurants, for example, on Glenelg Marina.

The fact that I have left the ambience level to the end of my review, is because at SheShells you can focus on what matters – food and company. Not noise.

Stephen