Christmas Day Prawns and Fresh Seafood Options in Brisbane

Find out where to get the fresh seafood in Brisbane just in time for Christmas!

Christmas in Brisbane… it’s all about fresh seafood, cold beer & wine and cold salads. At best it’s a barbecue – so where do you get the “shrimp to throw on the barbie”? Here’s our top tips for getting your Christmas Day prawns and other fresh seafood in Brisbane.

Please note – all information is accurate at time of writing. We would advise calling ahead or investigating online to avoid disappointment. 

So will there be a shortage of prawns this Christmas 2024?

The short answer is … probably! There always is!

It is probably best to get your orders in now… or consider buying now and freezing it for December 25.

Tips for getting the best fresh seafood in Brisbane this Christmas 2024

Not all seafood shopping is created equally!  Luckily, being in Brisbane we usually have access to amazing fresh, wild caught seafood at Christmas time!

• Take your Esky. You could be in line to pay for a while.
• Order ahead where possible.
• Know exactly what you want and make a beeline for the stuff that sells out first (crabs, oysters kilpatrick etc).
• Take a bottle of water.
• Take cash, often retailers put on a second “cash-only line” when things get busy.
• Don’t forget sauces, lemons and dressings.
• If you’re using dry ice to keep seafood chilled, do not place it in your refrigerator as it fills the fridge cavity with carbon dioxide (VERY IMPORTANT ADVICE).
• Avoid taking the kids (if you can, obviously!).
• Don’t forget to lock your car. It’s peak time of year for car break and enters and Christmas Eve, when they know you’re in a queue is a perfect time for criminals to prey on your car.
• Choose fish with clear, raised eyes – as fish gets older, the eyes sink and become cloudy.
• If buying whole fish, be sure to ask them to scale and gut before you leave! It’s a gross job. Most seafood stores do it for you for free.
• Wild caught prawns have “chuckier” digestive tracts (that bit you pull out before you bite in).  Farmed seafood is sprayed with ice water while still alive, which causes them to rapidly empty their digestive system.  That’s the best way to tell if your seafood is wild caught or farmed!

Fresh seafood in the Moreton Bay area

Redcliffe Peninsula – Morgans Seafood | Scarborough

Redcliffe is the mecca for fresh seafood in North Brisbane. The time honoured Christmas Eve tradition of lining up with your esky outside Morgans still lives on. Morgans tends to be at the high end of the list as far as pricing goes (not the highest but definitely not the cheapest) but they do have a wide variety of very fresh seafood – including crabs. You can order online at the Morgans website now until Saturday 21 December (at noon) to avoid disappointment. Please note that they have a limited number of pre-orders available, so get in quick!

• Address: Pick-ups from Morgans Deport, corner of Bird of Paradise and Thurecht Parades in Scarborough.
• Ordering instructions: There is a minimum spend of $120 and a non-refundable $50 deposit is required. Pick up is on Christmas Eve between 7am – 4pm. Don’t forget your esky! Note that they charge a packing fee and your spend will depend on daily market prices (Christmas Eve prices). Again, Morgan’s is NOT the cheap option!

Sandgate and Shorncliffe area

Shorncliffe is known for its seafood, especially at Christmas time. Jump in any local Facebook group and the local trawlers always get a good wrap.

Sandgate Trawlers

Image courtesy of Grain and Crop Images

If you’re native to the Sandgate/Shorncliffe area you’ll have your own Christmas tradition… getting up at 4am on Christmas Eve to watch the trawlers come in with swags of seafood so fresh that it’s practically still swimming. The trawlers are an excellent place to grab yourself some bay prawns, king prawns and bugs for Christmas Day.

With all UBER fresh seafood though, it’s whatever was caught that night, so don’t bank on sandcrabs or mudcrabs. Many of the fishermen do have crab pots out but Bramble Bay is suffering a massive decline in crab numbers so there’s no guarantee.

Saying that, all crews will post Christmas availability if taking orders in the first week of December.

• Opening hours: Dawn Christmas Eve, Sinbad Street Shorncliffe (the inlet of Cabbage Tree Creek). While some fishermen take EFTPOS, most don’t so it’s a good idea to bring cash.
• Ordering instructions: Most of the trawlers have a mobile number on their wharf. Simply call the mobile number and check with individual fishermen what the ordering deals are. Del Maree Trawler is a firm favourite at our house but Lucinda Bay Seafoods is also well respected in the local area.

Trawler Fishos

After the closing of Sandgate Co-op, lots of the trawler owners set up their own Fishos (seafood vans open at specific times and days only). The best fishos on Brisbane’s north side include:

• Trawler Boys on Wheels
  • Address: 1977 Anzac Avenue, Mango Hill 4509
  • Opening hours: Friday to Sunday, 9am – 5pm

Seafood shops North Brisbane

Woolworths

Did you know that you can contact your local Woolworths and pre-order your Christmas seafood?  You can pick it up when you drop in for your last-minute groceries before Christmas – so simple!

• Opening hours: Check your local Woolworths for opening hours
• Ordering instructions: Order soon in person or call your local Woolworths

Samies Seafood Hamilton (there’s also one at Calamvale)

Samies (formerly Sam’s Seafoods) at Hamilton is priced right at the high end of the fresh seafood market in Brisbane. Bring your esky!

• Opening hours: Seafood market is open 7 days a week from 9am – 7pm
• Address: 33 Remora Road, Hamilton QLD 4009
• Ordering instructions: There are some pre-made platters or you can head into the store to make your own selection but get in quick. Pickup is from 22 – 24 December. The shop shuts 6pm Christmas Eve. 

Rufus King Seafoods

They offer king prawns (cooked and green headless), bugs, sand crabs, mud crabs, shell oysters, bottled oysters, sea mullet, summer whiting, tailor, school and Spanish mackerel, bream, snapper and flathead. They specialise in quality local North Stradbroke Island seafood, however, they do also source market products such as fish, squid, mussels and scallops.

Please note that they are open on Christmas Eve from 5am – 3pm (orders to be collected by midday) and closed on Christmas Day. Find more information here.

• Opening hours:
  • Ashgrove: Monday to Friday, 8am – 6pm | Saturday, 8am – 5pm | Sunday, 9am – 4pm
  • Seafood van: 8am – 11am
• Address:
  • 243 Waterworks Road, Ashgrove QLD
  • Seafood van at Cleveland, Redlands RSL carpark
• Ordering instructions: They take pre-orders so get in quick to save queuing! Home deliveries cease on Friday 13 December; however you can still collect at their Ashgrove or Cleveland stores after this date.

Aussie Seafood House Strathpine

Affordable fresh seafood – this is the go-to place for Christmas prawns and seafood for a lot of Brisbane families  The long morning queues are all about crabs and specialised seafood. Keep them in the coldest part of your fridge and they’ll be beautiful and fresh for Christmas lunch. Call ahead as early as you can to confirm what they will have in stock this year. Click here for more information.

• Opening hours:
  • Saturday 21 – Sunday 22 December: 8.30am – 5.30pm
  • Monday 23 December: 8am – 6pm
  • Christmas Eve: 6am – 6pm (they advise that the best times to come are after 2pm or after 4pm)
  • Christmas Day: closed
• Address: 690 Gympie Road, Lawnton QLD 4501
• Ordering instructions: They do not take pre-orders as they have a very large supply of seafood.

Princess Charlotte Seafoods

Princess Charlotte Seafood aims to provide Australian and New Zealand-sourced seafood of the highest quality. This includes a variety of fish, prawns, oysters, mussels, bugs and so much more! Perfect for a Christmas Day seafood feast. 

• Opening hours and address: Check out their website here for the various opening hours during Christmas time and locations.
• Ordering instructions: Online orders for Christmas are open now and will close 5pm Friday 20 December. Pre-orders can be lodged for pick up at the factory or you can walk into any one of their trading locations for your Christmas fare.

Clayfield Seafood Markets

Clayfield Seafood Markets serve some of Australia’s best fish & chips, Burgers and Fresh Seafood. They receive fresh deliveries direct from Australian Fisherman 6 days a week with everything filleted fresh onsite or made from scratch by qualified chefs to ensure the best restaurant quality seafood. For Christmas you can either choose from their product list or buy a seafood pack. Find out more information here.

• Opening hours:
  • Monday to Friday, 10am – 8pm | Saturday and Sunday, 8am – 8pm
  • Christmas Eve: 6am – 4pm
  • Christmas Day: closed
• Address: 5/823 Sandgate Road, Clayfield QLD 4011
• Ordering instructions: Last orders for pre-ordered seafood will be accepted on COB Friday 20 December. All deliveries are carried out by Door Dash & Uber Eats drivers.

Reef Gasworks Seafood & Sushi

Reef Gasworks Seafood invites Australians to infuse their Christmas festivities with the finest ocean delights. The Christmas seafood offerings boast a variety of crowd-pleasers, including the Seafood Box packed with prawns, oysters, and caviar, as well as delectable scallops, mussels, bugs, crabs, and lobsters. The selection extends to whole fish, sashimi, and gourmet products for those seeking a culinary adventure. To secure one’s preferences for the holiday feast, customers are encouraged to place their orders online well in advance. With Reef Gasworks Seafood, this Christmas promises to be a celebration of the sea’s bounty, ensuring a memorable and flavorful holiday for all. Click here for more information.

• Opening hours:
  • Monday to Thursday, Sunday, 9am – 8pm | Saturday and Sunday, 9am – 9pm
  • Christmas Day: closed
• Address: Reef Gasworks, 76 Skyring Terrace, Newstead QLD 4006
• Ordering instructions: Please note that there is a $250 minimum order. Pick up available till 4.45pm on Christmas Eve.

Seafood shops south Brisbane

Fish Factory Morningside

This is the go-to place for fresh seafood on the southside of Brisbane. Located at 355 Lytton Rd Morningside, previously they’ve claimed to be the only Brisbane fresh seafood store not to run out of sandcrabs on Christmas Eve!

• Opening hours:
  • Monday 23 December to Tuesday 24, 7am – 4pm (open 33 hours straight)
  • Christmas Day: closed
• Address: 355 Lytton Road, Morningside QLD
• Ordering instructions: Pre-orders are not available for Christmas. Please be assured that they will have a wide variety of products and stock is plentiful.

Aussie Seafood House Capalaba & Durack

Image courtesy of SMH.com.au

Like its north side counterpart, Aussie Seafood House in Capalaba and Durack are favourites for affordable fresh seafood. Plenty of fresh prawns, plenty of oysters, plenty of everything this Christmas. They recommend coming in a few days before Christmas if you specifically want crabs for Christmas Day. Keep them in the coldest part of your fridge and they’ll be beautiful and fresh for Christmas lunch. Find more information here.

• Opening hours:
  • Saturday 21 and Sunday 22: 8.30am – 5.30pm
  • Monday 23: 8am – 6pm
  • Christmas Eve: 6am – 6pm
  • Christmas Day: closed
• Address:
  • Cleveland: 3230 Old Cleveland Road, Chandler QLD 4155
  • Durack: 656 Blunder Road, Durack QLD 4077
• Ordering instructions: They do not take pre-orders as they have a very large supply of seafood.

Marine World Seafood Cafe

Marine World Seafood Cafe is at the affordable end of the spectrum of fresh seafood near Brisbane. They offer prawns, oysters, barramundi, parrot fish, snapper and much more. If you have something specific, they suggest calling ahead to ensure they will have it. Click here to check out their website.

• Opening hours: Monday to Sunday, 9am – 8pm
• Address: Unit 19/1029 Manly Road, Tingalpa QLD
• Ordering instructions: When booking for Christmas orders, please schedule your order between 19 December – 24 December. If you need it earlier you can contact the store.

Remember if you’ve got a hot tip for the best places to get fresh seafood in Brisbane for Christmas, please share below!