AN ABSOLUTE CRACKER

This waterfront seafood specialist offers diners the ultimate in laid-back luxury

KING CRAB CO

MARINA MIRAGE, 74 SEAWORLD DRIVE, MAIN BEACH

Open: Daily from 11am for lunch and dinner

Book it: kingcrabco.com.au

IF you want to wring every last drop of sun-soaked goodness from the final days of summer, there’s a waterfront restaurant with your name on it.

Picture long, lazy lobster lunches under Riviera-striped umbrellas, blue water lapping at your feet as you sip spritzers in the shadow of superyachts.

With its prime position in Marina Mirage, there’s a synergy of setting and menu at King Crab Co (KCC) that few can compete with.

I’ve been hanging out for a place like this ever since I was a teenager watching the Californian rich kids on The O.C. at the Crab Shack and wondering why lobster never made it to my afterschool menu.

Like that model of laid-back luxury, the sizeable, seafooddriven menu at KCC is American-influenced.

The setting, though, is all us. Timber decking offers the best seats in the house, with nothing between you and the water.

The tiered interior has the aircon advantage and comfortable bench seating, with the top level also offering excellent marina views if you don’t mind a bar-stool perch.

It’s a casual vibe, but expect all the perks of full table service.

The drink list is designed for social lubrication, with cocktails also offered in share sizes. The selection of spritzers is my pick, complete with edible flowers that unfurl as the ice melts.

Small plates are good for grazing as you go: fire-cooked scampi ($22), lemon-licked crab cakes ($17), chilled Queensland prawns to dunk in mary rose sauce ($28) and jalapeño poppers ($15).

Simultaneously salty, sweet and spicy, “dirty” fries ($16) are topped with blue swimmer crab meat, chipotle crema and bursts of zingy lime caviar.

While the aforementioned are suitable as share plates, you’ll want to keep the single serve tempura slipper lobster roll ($16) to yourself.

I also ordered half-a-dozen of the creamy Tasmanian Pacific oysters ($20, but pause the press … KCC are launching $1 oysters tomorrow, available every Wednesday and Friday until sold out).

Just when I was thinking it couldn’t get any more lifestyles of the rich and famous, they bring out the serious crab cracking gear — looks like I’m going to have to sing for my supper.

The signature meal is crab in a bag. Choose your crustacean and it’s served swimming in your favourite sauce with selected sides. I would have preferred more information from my waitress while deliberating — options include Alaskan king ($75) and snow crabs ($55), Australian blue swimmers ($34), Fraser Island spanners ($35) and redclaw crayfish (market price) — but settle on the classic muddie (market price, which was $55).

Extracting the sweet meat is hard work — and you’ll be thankful for the crabemblazoned bibs when the miso butter starts flying — but it is worth every bit of effort. It doesn’t get much better.

If you prefer a less labourintensive meal, try the katsu market fish sandwich ($17), Northern Rivers beef short rib ($29), 1kg of mussels with a garlic baguette ($32) or beerbattered slipper lobster and chips ($37).

While you’ll need to shell out if you have a taste for top-end seafood, there are just as many reasonably priced options for those feeling the pinch.

They throw the mega-bucks view in for free.