Seafood on Cullen is one of three buffets in Darwin and probably the largest with heaps of indoor and outdoor seating available. I remember back in the day when it was 20 something dollars to get an all you can eat extravaganza and everynight the place was a full house. That was a long time ago (or was it?), with admission these days climbing to $38.50 (or more, I can't remember exactly). That's not pocket change for most people unless your name happens to be Bill Gates.

The seafood is the highlight here, supposedly. You’ve got the usual suspects of crab, mussels, oysters, prawns, octopus and other cute little sea creatures. Just my luck then when none of my oysters were even close to being fresh with a distinct “I’ve been sitting outside for too long” taste, I even had to spit out two. A far cry from the big fat juicy oysters I had a few nights ago at Sunset Restaurant. My friend also had to spit out some of his prawns. When seafood is bad, it is REALLY bad. Definitely explains why nobody was hanging around the seafood section all night.

Thankfully the rest of the food was alright. Not spectacular, but it is a buffet after all. There's a great range of Asian food, steaks, pasta, salads, desert and last but not least the epic chocolate fondue fountain that just about goes through the ceiling. Rest assured, if there's nothing here that you like, then well, you can't be helped. For the rest of you, make sure you get your moneys worth and stuff yourself until you can't move. Then wait 5 minutes and eat some more. Getting down the stairs at the end of the night could be a wee bit problematic though.

Contact details

Address: 51 Marina Boulevard, Cullen Bay
Phone: 8981 4666, booking is recommended
Open: Monday - Saturday, 5.30pm-10pm
Licence: Licensed with bar