Saturday 26 September 2026Water 19°C · Nor’easter 15 knCronulla’s chip paper
Catch of the dayKurnell side · Line-caught
Flathead is back
Dusky flathead are running again off the Kurnell side. This morning’s boat came in at seven, the fillets were on the board by ten, and they stay there until they run out.
By the fry cook · Filed from the back room
Fig. 1The dusky flathead, drawn from life (briefly) on the back of a docket.
After a quiet winter of gummy shark and good intentions, the flathead have come back to the sand flats. The boat we buy from worked the drop-off before sunrise and brought in a tidy few — enough for today, and maybe tomorrow if the Friday crowd behaves.
We fillet them in the back room: skin off, pin bones out. Then it’s your call. Our light batter is plain flour, soda water and a pinch of salt; or we grill it on the flat-top with lemon and cracked pepper. Either way it comes as three fillets, because two never feels like enough.
Flathead is sweet, white and fine-flaked. It doesn’t need tartare, but nobody’s stopping you. Add a scoop of chips and a potato scallop and you have the traditional Cronulla lunch, eaten on the esplanade wall with one eye on the gulls.
When the board says sold out, it means it. If you’d rather not risk it, tick it in the classifieds and order ahead — we’ll set yours aside with your name on the ticket.
The catch
Turn the cards over for species facts.
Dusky flathead
Platycephalus fuscus
Battered or grilled · $16.90
Turn over
Dusky flathead
Lies half-buried in sand and ambushes passing baitfish.
Both eyes sit on top of its flat head.
Sharp spines on the gill covers — we do the filleting.
Flake
Gummy shark, Mustelus antarcticus
Battered or grilled · $13.50
Turn over
Flake
In Australian chip shops, “flake” usually means gummy shark.
Sharks have cartilage, not bones — so no bones in your fillet.
Mild and firm: the one kids trust.
Barramundi
Lates calcarifer
Grilled with lemon · $17.50
Turn over
Barramundi
Lives happily in fresh, brackish and salt water.
Most start life male; many become female later on.
Big, buttery flakes — we grill it with lemon.
Calamari
Southern calamari, Sepioteuthis australis
Salt & pepper · $12.00
Turn over
Calamari
Its fins run almost the full length of its body.
Changes colour in the blink of an eye.
Scored, dusted in salt and pepper, ninety seconds in the fryer.
Potato scallop
Solanum tuberosum (battered)
Battered · $1.80 each
Turn over
Potato scallop
A scallop in NSW and Queensland; a potato cake in Victoria.
No seafood was involved in its making.
Sliced thick, battered, fried till it crackles.
Classifieds
The menu. Tick anything to add it to your order.Sample prices
Fish, for sale
Catch of the day. Three dusky flathead fillets, battered or grilled, with lemon. While it lasts.
Gummy shark, boneless and mild. Light batter or grilled. The one the kids trust.
Thick fillet, grilled with lemon and sea salt. Battered on request, no judgement.
Two delicate fillets in a golden crumb. Ask for grilled if you’d rather.
Seafood, misc.
Salt and pepper, a good handful, aioli on the side.
Butterflied, crumbed, tails on for holding.
Sides & scoops
Chips by the scoop
Thick-cut, twice-fried, chicken salt or plain. A large feeds two, allegedly.
The smallest serve we’ll wrap. Perfect for one, disappointing for two.
Sliced thick, battered, fried until it crackles. Not a scallop. Not sorry.
Steamed or fried — tell us at the counter. Soy on request.
Sauces & sundries
Both sauces made here in small batches. Lemons from a mate’s tree.
Cold drinks
From the fridge by the door. Cans only — the beach doesn’t need more glass.
Family notices
The Family Wrap
Four flake, four potato scallops, a large scoop of chips and two sauces, wrapped as one fat parcel.
WANTED: one lost thong, left foot, blue. Last seen near the kiosk. Enquire at the counter.
NOTICE: the gulls have not changed. Keep your parcel wrapped until you are seated.
Chippy notices
Posted by the till, updated when the owner remembers.
Opening hours
Mon–Thu
11am – 8.30pm
Fri – Sat
11am – 9pm
Sunday
11am – 8pm
Public holidays: usually open — the board out front has the final word.
Cash & card
Both welcome. Tap, insert or hand over coins — we’ll count them with you.
Ordered ahead? Pay at the counter when you collect; your ticket name is all we need.
Beach tips
Keep the parcel shut until you’re seated. The gulls work in teams.
Tables on the esplanade beat the sand, which gets into everything.
Bin your paper or take it home. The beach is everyone’s dining room.
Gluten & allergens
Our batter contains wheat. Fryers and the grill are shared, so we can’t promise anything is free of gluten, fish, shellfish or egg.
Ask before you order and we’ll tell you straight.
Find us
Cronulla, NSW — across from the beach, a short walk from the station. Look for the queue.