This is a roll that’s been road-tested in the service of proper appetite. It’s serious, built to keep you going as the winds blow and the ocean crashes, and – if you can find your way to the front of the queue before they sell out – $14.50 will see you fed, body, mind and soul.

This is not just a roll, but a luge for prawns. A generous heaping of the squeakily fresh crustaceans and chunks of avo have been given a quick bath in a sauce that is perfect parts mayonnaise, tomato sauce, lemon juice and Worcestershire, a glorious combo that lubricates and livens up the whole proposition. A smattering of house-made dukkah gives crunch while the few cos leaves make it feel like all the vital food groups have been covered. The Sriracha finisher is optional but delicious.

It’s fresh, it’s fun, it’s the local tradie’s answer to lunchtime meat pie, and the holidaymaker’s perfect lunch. It’s so complete in its glory that it makes you pause to wonder whether to eat it or pop it behind some museum-grade glass to preserve it for eternity.

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It all began when owner Garry Lyons saw a gap on the island for fresh and delicious lunch options. He started serving his off-menu prawn rolls almost immediately after taking over the pint-sized turquoise-hued Prawn Shack in 2022.

“It takes around three hours a day to peel between 10 and 25 kilos of prawns,” Lyons tells Broadsheet. “I make the rolls in-between serving my customers. Sitting prawn rolls are a ticking time bomb of soggy misery, so I make them in batches of 10 or so, sell them, then make the next batch. It needs to be exactly like I’d eat a roll at home: fresh, delicious and simple.”

But “simple” takes work. Prawns are sourced locally from Rufus King Seafoods. Lyons called in a friend to teach the local baker to make loaves and rolls exactly the way he wanted them. For Lyons it’s important to sell Stradbroke Island products and hire locals where he can to help fight the seasonal downturns that come with business on a small island.

When asked what he thinks about his cult prawn roll, Lyons shrugs. “It’s just a simple classic done to be the best possible version of itself.”

Eating it, on the other hand, is an exercise in engineering. A significant amount of hand-eye coordination is required to keep these pockets of creamy prawns and avo contained. You lean over and shovel it in, your cheeks slicked with mayo and crumbs at your feet. The whole experience is so joyful and comforting, it’s as if this humble prawn roll has given you a gentle back rub.

None of it is subtle; none of it is poised. But it’s big on flavours, huge on joy, and the crowds agree.

The Prawn Shack
2 Mintee Street, Point Lookout
(07) 3492 5700

Hours:
Daily 9am–4pm

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@prawnshack