If you’ve travelled to the coastal towns of America, you’ve likely come home craving all the crustaceans you can eat. Lucky for you – St. James Crabhouse & Kitchen has just opened up in Kangaroo Point, positioned beneath the Story Bridge, serving up American-style seafood unlike anywhere else in town. The restaurant space is modest in size, allowing for a handful of tables topped with paper table toppers – more on that later. Decor has been kept simple too, a graffitied wall sits perpendicular to one covered in gig posters, creating a cosy nook to sit, or you can dine beneath the warm glow of the ‘crabhouse’ neon light. While the space might be limited, one thing is for sure – the servings here are not.

Much like they do in the States, St. James encourages things to get a little messy. Diners are presented with gloves, a bib, crab crackers, fork and pick, then served their seafood selection – think Australian blue swimmers, Alaskan king and snow crabs, Jonah claws and South Australian mussels – in a plastic bag, alongside freshly baked baguette and their choice of New Orleans, Singapore chilli, Baltimore old bay, citrus beurre blanc or Newport marinara sauce. Don’t be afraid to use your hands and get dippy with that bread – you can make a mess and discard the shells right there on your paper table top (told you we’d come back to that). If you prefer your protein a little darker, you can go for ribs, strip loin, chargrilled chicken or a burger instead. You can also select from a range of Yankee Doodle sides such as shoestring truffle fries, onion rings, corn on the cob and straight-up pickles.

HEAD TO THE STREET PHOTOGRAPHER GALLERY FOR A CLOSER LOOK! 

For opening hours and contact details, head to our Stumble Guide.