The menu at the Friendly Franklin Harbour Hotel comprises produce from the local area.

The Oyster menu contains twenty different varieties of Oysters dishes.

Fresh Lobster is acquired from local suppliers where they are kept in tanks, allowing us to offer Lobster all year round.

The magnificent menu offers a huge array of seafood, steaks, schnitzels and a special children’s menu. Daily specials are available.

The large private Dining Room pictured above can be utilized for large groups, private functions or conferences.

Individual menus are offered for bus tours and groups. Specialised catering is available for any function. Our menu can be adapted to suit individual needs.

Local wines are available to compliment our menu.

The Lobster Platter

This delightful piece of seafood dining allows two very special people to sample the wondrous seafood delicacies the Friendly Franklin Harbour Hotel has to offer.

The platter contains two lightly grilled pieces of local garfish, two pieces of Coopers Pale Ale battered silver whiting, six large natural Franklin Harbour oysters, delicious salt & pepper squid rings, a grilled barramundi fillet, 6 freshly cooked king prawns, tiger prawns and battered scallops - plus the creme de la creme - Half a rock lobster!

It is now time to indulge yourself!

Our magnificent Seafood Platter
 a Seafood Lover’s Delight

Oysters, best known for their reputed aphrodisiac powers, have been a favourite of food lovers throughout the centuries, beginning with the Roman Emperors who paid for them by their weight in gold.

Oysters have always been linked with love. When Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, sprang forth from the sea on an oyster shell and promptly gave birth to Eros, the word “aphrodisiac” was born. The dashing lover Casanova also used to start a meal eating 12 dozen oysters.

Oysters have been an important food since the Neolithic period and were cultivated long before the Christian era. The Greeks served them with wine and the Romans were so enthusiastic about these marvellous molluscs that they sent thousands of slaves to the shores of the English Channel to gather them.

In 1986 the first Oyster farming trials were conducted in Cowell.

There are currently 13 Oyster farms operating in the Cowell area, producing approximately twenty million Oysters annually—which represents about 25% of South Australia’s production.

The unique flavour of Cowell oysters has been attributed to the clean waters of Franklin Harbour and the healthy stand of mangroves which encircle the bay.

Oysters vary in meat colour and texture depending on environmental variations.

The winter Oyster appears full in the shell, exhibiting a fawn colour, indicating high-energy stores and giving the oyster a desirable full nutritional flavour. The meat is firm with great texture.

The summer Oysters transform their winter-stored energy to a “full milk” coloured body pending spawning. At this time they are smooth and slightly less textured compared to the winter form.

Kingfish
Clean Seas Aquaculture, situated at Arno Bay, is a world class, state of the art facility locally owned by Stehr Group, a pioneering tuna fishing company of Port Lincoln—commercially operating and successfully producing Yellowtail Kingfish and Mulloway since 2001. Clean Seas is also a research and development site for the propagation of Southern Bluefin Tuna.

Clean Seas is ISO 14001:2004 and ISO 9001:2000 compliant—the highest certifications granted with regard to environmental and quality management.

This marine fin fish operation incorporates a land based hatchery and grow out sea cages.

To produce fingerlings, captive broodstock weighing between 25kg—35kg are “tricked” into breeding. In a controlled environment, the water temperature and daily light periods are altered to create ideal spawning conditions.

Fertilised eggs are gathered and placed into incubation tanks where they hatch into 4-5mm larvae within a couple of days. To mimic nature, the larval fish are fed live organisms (zooplankton) called rotifers and artemia (sea monkeys). Large volumes of algae are also grown to feed these organisms and to provide substance to the larval environment. In excess of 20 billion rotifers and artemia are grown each season.

Within 60 days the larval fish have grown into a 5gm fingerling that has been weaned onto a manufactured pellet diet. These fingerlings are then transferred to the grow out sea cages.

Yellowtail Kingfish will grow to a marketable 3kg in approximately 14-18 months when they are sold to various local, state, national and international markets.

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Windy Hill Olives was established by Brian Milner in 2000 just north of Tumby Bay on Eyre Peninsula.

Over 2,000 jars of olives are now processed annually.

Brian’s quality fruit is enhanced using an Ancient Greek Brine Recipe adapted to preserve the natural taste of the many Olive varieties including Manzanillo, Kalamata, Mediterranean, Hardy’s Mammoth, Paragon (Frantoio), Volos.

All of Windy Hill’s products are grown, processed and packaged locally on the Eyre Peninsula with no artificial additives, colourings or preservatives used.

Windy Hill markets its own Extra Virgin Olive Oil which is 100% Natural Unfiltered Cold Pressed. It has an excellent aroma, colour and flavour with a maximum acid content of less than one percent.