Sydney Fish Market -Overpriced but Is it worth for a visit?

Sydney Fish Market was one of the hotspots for tourists, established in 1945; it is the largest seafood market in the Southern Hemisphere, so expect to see a huge range of seafood here. I have been here several times and my recent visit has given a shock. Well, everything seemed overpriced and this place is a tourist trap! There is hardly any locals here but mainly tourists from Asia and Mainland China. Well, locals do visit Sydney Fish Market during Christmas and New year eve to buy seafood for their celebrations, prawns are still the main seafood they purchased.

I was here in a weekday slightly pass 12 pm, there were a number of small buses loading down tourists for lunch.  Where is Sydney Fish Market?

The Sydney Fish Market sits on the Blackwattle Bay foreshore in Pyrmont, 2km west of the Sydney Chinatown.  It sits beside a working fishing port and I guess that is one of the selling points here. Visitors can either choose their seats indoor or alfresco outdoor, but beware of the sea birds, they can be quite annoying with their cry and sometimes the sea bird may rob your food if you are not paying attention.

The variety of seafood is huge, over 100 species of fresh seafood place in boxes, some are still alive. So how do you order this seafood if you intend to have your lunch here? Well, there is pre-cooked seafood, some can be eaten fresh like sashimi (tuna, salmon, scallop, abalone, shrimp, the staff will slice for you)-these you can take away so you just need to find a good spot (outdoor & indoor available) and eat them here. Alternatively, you can go to one of the Chinese restaurants in the fish market, sit in and order from the menu, the restaurant will prepare your food according to your liking, eg, steam, chili or with ginger or shallop.

The best way is to walk one round in the fish markets, visit each stall check out what they offer and the price list.

There are a number of sellers here; each seller specialize in their are of seafood but overall are quite similar to each other. However, Peter’s seems to offer bigger selections and variety of choice.  Peter’s also selling pre-cook seafood.  I find the big garlic chili prawn is very pricy, with each one cost Aud $9.50!  That’s pretty insane.

These oysters look pretty small compare to the last time I visited here a few years ago.  The other day I was shopping in Woolies (Woolworths) and saw their oyster at their seafood corner, it only cost slightly above Aud1.00 each.  These oysters cost Aud18.99 for a dozen, I don’t think is worth to try them here.

These lobster and crabs are sold by the kilogram or quantity, living in the tank and boxes.

There are lots of pre-cook seafood and deep-fried fish and chips at Peter’s stall. I don’t prefer having deep-fried seafood as it kills the freshness of the seafood and it is unhealthy. I ended up ordering a steam lobster’s tail with garlic & shallop, soft shell crab and some eel sushi.

We choose to sit outdoor as the seats indoor were all taken due to cold weather, it was winter when I was here.  The wind was fairly strong and also some drizzle.  The good thing sitting outdoor is you will be rewarded with a seaport view, very close to the water and lots of sea bird flying around.

There is a separate building which was called Musemeci Seafood, selling pretty much the same seafood.

Lots of parking space in Sydney Fish Market, the parking fees are not cheap if you park there for more than an hour. So the best way is to visit the SFM within an hour time.  Pay at the machine before you go to get your car.

0:15-1:00 $4.00
1:00-1:30 $10.00
1.30-2:00 $16.00
2:00-2.30 $22.00

2:30-3:00 $28.00
3:00-3:30 $34.00
3:30-4:00 $40.00
4:00-4:30 $46.00
4:30-5:00 $52.00
5:00-5:30 $58.00
5:30-6:00 $64.00

Sydney Fish Market
Bank Street Pyrmont Blackwattle Bay N.S.W. 2009, Sydney Australia
Tel: 02 9004 1100
Opening Hours: 7am – 4pm (Mon – Sun)

Final thoughts:

Similar to the Osaka Kuromon Market in Japan & Daepohang Port Fish Market in Korea, the Sydney Fish Market has a huge variety of seafood to choose from. Should you visit? Why not, I think it is still worth to come here to experience the Fish Market’s vibe. Find a seat outdoor near the water, enjoy the seaport, sea birds and the weather. If you like wine, please bring along a bottle of wine to wash down the fresh seafood.