Best Burger the Lot on the Peninsula. Great chips and POTATO CAKES and South Melbourne Market Dimmies and Spring Rolls.

This is a follow up review from a recent visit that has changed my opinion of this outlet.

Both value and service seem to have gone backwards in the past six months. A piece of fish is now $7.50 or more... and you have to pay 0.70c for it to be grilled!

But perhaps worse, answering the phone has become optional for them. We tried to call ahead to order (having previously noted the tortuously long waiting times for food to be ready) but the phone wasn't answered. Rightly or wrongly we decided to visit, place an order in person and wait. And wait we did...

With plenty of time to kill -- our order of 5 pieces of fish and medium sized chips took 25 minutes -- it wasn't hard to notice they weren't answering the phone. During the entire time we were there, the phone was not answered once, despite constant ringing.

When challenged on this, we were told it was "because we don't have enough staff to handle the orders". Our response was that it took no longer to take an order over the phone than it did to take one in person. Notwithstanding that, why wouldn't they think for about 5 seconds and put in place a measure for when they are too busy -- like record a message for their phone that says orders will only be taken in store?

Or better still, why not put on more staff to cope with the demand? After all, it's a beach side fish 'n' chip shop. Not unexpectedly, it will get busy from time to time!

Finally, the ridiculously priced chips -- $6 for medium -- rendered what we would expect to get in the city for about $4.

All up, an unsatisfactory experience that reeks of laziness at serving a captive market.

We made it clear that we won't be back and we will be good to our word. Life is too short for bad service and overpriced take away food.

The price below is for one piece of grilled fish and medium chips. Ouch!

Approximate cost: $14.00

We regularly order take away fish 'n' chips from Beach Box when visiting family living in Mt Martha. Being close to the beach, it's perfect for a sunny late afternoon in summer.

Our experience is generally good. We recommended the crumbed fish, which is as good as we've tried anywhere. Servings of chips are usually quite generous.

There are two knocks on Beach Box. First, it gets incredibly busy and at times the wait for food can be tortuously long. It is a very good idea to put their phone number in your phone and call ahead -- and demand that they give you a realistic time to collect your food!

Second, none of the staff seem that happy to be there. The service is OK but a smile wouldn't kill anyone.

That said, the quality of their food keeps us coming back.

The approximate cost below is for a piece of fish, single serve of chips and a potato cake.

Approximate cost: $10.00

I've ordered fish & chips from here several times now, and each time have felt that the quality of the food was under par and very inconsistent. The last time was the nail in the coffin for me, when we got home to find our $6 piece of flake was in-eatable (it was hard and rubbery, indicating that it was had most likely been frozen first which is a fish & chip faux pas). The calamari was also that frozen rubbish, not the real deal. With this level of quality, the prices are unjust. I'll be looking for a new place in the future that delivers the hand cut and battered chips and potato cakes and has fresh seafood. Overpriced and under deliver!!! When we gave feedback to the manager about the unsatisfactory food, a minimal gesture was offered in apology. Considering it is a 10 minute drive to collect food to find when you get home, it's rubbish, your not very inclined to want to drive back to rectify. If it was my business, I would have delivered a second order with a token extra, but instead we were offered a voucher for our next order (which will remain unused) and left hungry wondering what we were going to eat.