New Zealand Herald

Reviews for FISH Restaurant

by Al K.
29th January 2012

This business is a MenuMania SponsorOne of the Business' Favourite Reviews

An awesome 5 star dining experience!..For our 5th wedding anniversary I decided to take my wife out to Fish. Saw their impressive online menu and was already sold to it. We arrived at 9pm and were kindly greeted at the door. Walked up the staircase and into the restaurant, The atmosphere and ambiance inside and around was just amazing a total WOW factor, with a mixture of contemporary lighting with a touch of blue fluorescent lighting under table in the front really got our eye. We were greeted and taken to our table facing the ocean. A friendly gentleman introduced himself and gave us a run down on the menu for the night and also suggested some of them to us. He also asked if it was any special occasion for our dining. To begin we ordered some bread for a start. My wife ordered Tempura Prawns and I ordered Snapper Soup with crab dumplings, both absolutely made to perfection, we had two waitresses bring in our order. The Snapper soup was brought in two dishes and mixed at our table by the adding the sauce to the dish, I found this very appealing as it had a class of its own. A bottle of fine white wine was a definite choice to compliment our meal. Table was cleared and cleaned once we finished our entree’s. All new cutlery arrived for our main meal in a very timely manner. For our mains I ordered the Pan roasted hapuka with capers / parsley / potatoes / vermouth and my wife ordered Red king crab with linguine / chilli / parsley. The favours were absolutely mouth watering, The Hapuka was beautifully garnished …a definite must try menu. Our serving waiter was very attentive and made us as comfortable as possible. All the staff were very friendly as well, always smiled whenever they went past. There was also a small Indian wedding reception happening on the far end of the restaurant. There was soft Indian classical music being played from time to time. I managed to pickup a few lines for my wife to it make it special for her lol. For our dessert we had Hot chocolate fondant with aged rum and raisin ice-cream. This also was truly delicious all over and had a mixture of both hot and cold on one plate. We finished our dessert, ordered the bill and were just about to leave the table when the chef gave us a little surprise for our Wedding anniversary. He brought was a nice rectangular White plate and Happy Wedding Anniversary written with chocolate all over, a candle in the middle and on the side had two little round pieces of chocolate balls mixed with wafer and apricot, garnished with coconut……this made us feel soooo special. Overall does come with a price tag. Bill came to $174.00, but worth every bit of it. We left the restaurant with some great memories and hope to return back for another great experience very soon.

by Tia-Marie N.
8th May 2013

Food was delicious with great presentation! Loved the fresh oysters in the chardonnay dipping sauce. The market fish was cooked to perfection and the desserts were delicious. The crayfish however, was it little overpriced for the size and what it was worth. The customer service was not up to scratch for the price. I called to make a reservation in the afternoon however ,when we turned up they did’nt seem to have a table reserved for us and did’nt have us on the list. Someone did come up and speak to us regarding the oversight .The waiter waiting on us was a little abrupt and we got the feeling that we had to hurry up as the resteraunt was closing down being a Sun eve towards 10pm . The wine connoisseur was probably the person who made up for our dim first impression. He was friendly and suggested some beautiful wines to accompany our meals.
Overall, customer service is a very important thing for me and I won’t be going back to that resteraunt.

Comment from Celine M. of FISH Restaurant 8/05/2013    Hide »

Dear Tia-Marie, Thank you for taking the time to place your…    More »

Dear Tia-Marie,

Thank you for taking the time to place your feedback on MenuMania. I am sorry to read that your dining experience did not live up to expectations in all areas.
Here at Fish restaurant we are committed to doing our very best for all our guests, but in this case it appears that although you enjoyed the food you felt the service was not up to scratch.

Your feedback will help us give all our guests a great experience, and I would be happy to hear from you personally at 09 978 2041 to discuss your comments in further detail.
(email :- vincent.rey@hilton.com)

by Eric H.
24th March 2013

Food was average but seriously overpriced. Guy at cashier was extremely rude and arrogant. Pulled numbers out of thin air and charged for things that you may think are complimentary e.g. bread starter which we didn’t even order but was just brought to the table. Organised a party for 15… very sad let down in the end. Would not go back there.

by Whitecat X.
18th March 2013

Great, fantastic sea view restaurant. We visited there before the sunset and enjoyed it for hours. What a stunning location!
However, the food was not so impressive maybe the view too nice. We both ordered seafood entree and fish main to find out good. But still not attractive enough for us to be back.
Their service looked nice, however the female staff often cut in our conversation to make sure everything’s alright or to ask for additional orders. Every time she came to us, we lost our direction of talk. A little too far from true hospitality and doesn’t suit to this fancy restaurant.
Big space and tables for the number of customers that night. We may come back if the service becomes more sophisticated.

by Kat M.
14th February 2013

FISH is by far our favourite fine dining restaurant. The prices may be a bit steep but the quality of the food definitely makes up for it. Have been here many times for different special occasions.
Our last visit was a surprise for me from my partner on our anniversary. He had been in touch with the manager to organize a special night for us – this was all via email as my partner was overseas! We were given the best seat in the house right on the balcony overlooking the water. The waiter was fantastic and looked after us so well. The food was to die for – so delicious. I had the surf and turf, eye fillet and prawns, while my partner had rack of lamb with crayfish. The portion sizes were very big, not at all what you would expect from such a high class restaurant (normally big plates with a tiny amount of food!). For dessert I was brought out a plate of chocolates that was decorated by the chef with candles and had “Happy Anniversary” written in chocolate sauce. Was an amazing night made even more special by the staff that went out of their way to help. If your looking for something special FISH is a must.

by Helen W.
8th February 2013

My partner and I headed off to Fish for my partners birthday, after reviewing their menu and ensuring it catered for vegetarians (not both of us).
Unfortunately we had such a terrible experience I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone. Price was not an issue, but value for money was. The maitre d was absolutely appalling – he was dismissive and made us feel quite unwelcome. Seriously he’s a maitre d not the queen.

The waiter however was perfect. He was very friendly and had to apologise for the maitre d’s attitude.
My entree, a 63 minute egg, was completely raw. Not soft boiled – raw and my main – was smothered in soy sauce.

Having said that my partner had excellent scallops for his entree and a satisfactory fillet for his main.

As we went on a Tuesday night – their main chef may have been off that night. If that is the case then they clearly have an issue with ensuring their staff know the menu and how to cook and present it.
I was looking forward to a wonderful meal at this restaurant but was highly disappointed. A good chef can cook what is popular on the menu – an excellent chef can prepare an outstanding vegetarian meal. This was not the case. If it wasn’t for the waiter, our rating would be one star.

by Anna
13th January 2013

Was taken out to lunch here as part of a large group celebration. The view is fabulous but there is something a little sterile about the general feel of the place – it isnt my style. The service was attentive and consistent, my glass of water was kept topped up and I was never long without a glass of alcohol in front of me. The food was a set lunch menu and there were several choices for each course. The bread and tomato foam stuff that came with it was lovely but there was only one little bread roll each. I had the bruschetta and vegetables and buffalo mozzarella and it was delicious and moreish. If I’d been paying I might have quibbled about the size, but it was delicious for what it was. For the main I had the beef and it was tender and moist and I savoured every melt in the mouth forkful. The accompanying potatoes, silver beet gratin and sides of pear and rocket salad were also fantastic and the whole meal was the perfect size and mix of flavours. For dessert I had a very small and tasty chocolate mousse and pistachio ice cream that was light and a good finale for the meal. All in all the food was fantastic. My boyfriend also raved about the Caesar salad which was the best he’d ever had he said. I wouldn’t come to Fish of my own choice but as a guest of someone with lots of money I enjoyed the experience of it.

by Chris B.
10th November 2012

Had dinner with four friends last night (including one from Britain). Food was really nice but the service was poor. The evening started well with lots of attention from the wait staff, but this deteriorated as the evening wore on…in the end we were having to demand service. It looked as if there was a shortage of waiters and those on duty were under stress to cope.

by Marsha L.
22nd September 2012

Had a very delicious meal, the tuna was devine! I thought the location and the staff attention was extremely good. Was very impressed overall and will be back!
Also, the wine list was very good as well.
Thumbs up to ‘Fish’!!

by Carol J.
12th September 2012

First visit to Fish and thought the service and views were great. Sadly the same could not be said of the food. The fishcakes were OK, but the fishpot was truly disappointing. If this dish was served to Simon Gault on Masterchef I’m sure the contestant would be despatched home without second thought.
I had to poke around under the gluggy layer of potato in search of the seafood which turned out to be 2 prawns, 2 very small pieces of white fish and the same of salmon. All this disguised in an unremarkable sauce with no particular flavour.
HIghly disappointng and I will not return or recommend.

by leannex
31st August 2012

I think these two top chefs need to come to my house for lunch as I can certainly do much better than what I experienced yesterday!

Decided to take advantage of the Auckland Restaurant Month menu that Fish was offering – $31 for 2 courses or $39 for 3 courses and were pleased to find a very nice wine for $45 a bottle, so all good so far.

We started with bread and dip (an extra cost) and this consisted of 3 small buns and an interesting tomato mousse style dip – so OK.

I then opted for “Corn chowder / bacon / crab / pesto crouton” – what a joke this was! Basically it resembled Watties mixed vegetables in some thickened, unseasoned water with bits of bacon and a few shreds of crabmeat which looked like the tinned variety. The pesto crouton was a half of the buns served with our bread and dip and the topping was certainly green, but that’s where it’s similarity to pesto ended – it had no flavour at all – absolutely dreadful!

For the main I selected “FISH pot pie / selection of seafood / scallop / prawns / market fresh fish/ crayfish cream sauce / parmesan potato top”. This was nicely presented with a leaf salad on the side. I did find one nice juicy prawn (certainly not prawns plural) and a couple of pieces of fish, but think the scallop must have escaped along with the crayfish cream sauce as the bulk of the pie was a rather bland white sauce, but there were plenty of peas (which I detest). This would be the sort of thing I’d serve up for Sunday dinner, but mine would have more seafood and flavour – very ho hum!

I felt no urge to give the desserts a go based on the entree and main course, so we moved on elsewhere for coffee and certainly won’t be in a hurry to return.

by Tornado
18th August 2012

Excellent lunch, fantastic service, well priced, and beautiful view. Highly recommended.

The set menu included fish pies, fantastic tuna burger and a mousse. Very well mannered personnel and took great care of us.

by de w.
15th August 2012

Had lunch today, 3 course august special 39 dollars per person.
Very good service, friendly and professional. Nice view over the harbour, the food was divine. Both our 3 courses were very, very good. We were on 5,5 stars cruise ships en the quality was the same compare to Fish The restaurant classy. Will definitely come back.

by Maloo22
27th July 2012

Really really wanted to like this place.

In my opinion the best location for a restaurant in NZ – sublime views, lovely breeze , pristine outlook – outstanding location.

But

It just isn’t up to scratch

We arrived and one of the waiters (off duty) was standing with 3 people right in the way for a group to get past – so we threaded our way through them to our table (yes, we eat out enough it would seem to know who waiters are from various places ) .

One thing that strikes you right away is being one of only 2 groups in a restaurant at lunch time and a whole lot of empty space, and it didn’t fill up.

OK, onto the food.

Starters were good – no problems.

Mains – on the whole pretty good, but I would like to have heard what a Master Chef panel would have said if they’d been served up what we had….

The steaks were fine, no problem

The tongue however was 1/4 thick, right beside the steak, complete with the taste bud follicles nicely attached for all to see – if one is going to serve it at least make it look a little different and appetizing to those who are not great fans, or slice it thinly with some nice presentation – it looked like spam out of a can.

The seafood stew needs to be kicked into touch – it was Pub Grub at best, not fine dining.

Deserts – don’t know as were not offered any after 20 minutes post mains being cleared.

We eat out at least twice a month and the team decide where we go as it is their sales performance that is rewarded.

We generally spend $700 to $1500 on lunch, and the feedback from the team is that they wouldn’t go back.

I really wanted to like it and we anticipated spending a lazy afternoon having a long long lunch, but left disappointed.

Outstanding location though!

by gary
26th June 2012

It was our first visit to Fish and will be followed by many more. We have enjoyed Shane Yardley’s cooking in other restaurants however at Fish we feel Shane has taken the menu to a new level. I had the bacon & crab chowder followed by the twice cooked pork belly. My wife enjoyed the Caesar salad and fish pot pie. Our daughter described the fish and chips the best she has ever had and wanted to take some home for dinner! You couldn’t fault the service. The view was worth the visit on its own. Fabulous food, fine wine and service, a great way to spend an afternoon.

by Glenda
13th May 2012

Read the reviews and thought sweet! Special anniversary dinner for us at a silver service restaurant. Our previous visits have always been top class. Last night we could not fault the food and strong compliments to the chef and team on superbly cooked and presented dishes. Unfortunately we didnt think the service matched the 5 star food. Host was very casually dressed and at first we thought he was a customer, we were shown to our table and a waitress was pointed out to us. Friendly but not attentive, plates hurriedly placed on table, dirty plates sat for ages and we were given two different menus. It just wasn’t as good as previous visits and equal to the many casual restaurants we frequent. Sort of spoilt the ‘ special’ factor of the food. Service did not reflect the quality of food or the price $300 for two ( 3 courses and a glass of wine)

by Nicole A.
9th May 2012

OMG! Exquisite food, lovely attentive and personable service (Thanks Eddie, wonderful), and a view to die for! This must be Auckland’s best kept secret. Add to that, the amazing value-for-money lunch set menu ($31 for 2 courses), and why would you go anywhere else? Thanks Fish for an outstanding experience

by Jan O.
9th May 2012

Unfortunately didn’t hear back re booking but fronted up anyway. Met by maitre de who admitted he read the booking but didn’t reply!
On being seated in a nice position, menus given to us, my friends was marked and dirty which we felt was not good for silver service restaurant.( perhaps being picky!)
Lunch menu was excellant, food and service during our lunch was excellant, so overall a pleasant lunch.

Would recommend to friends as special place.
Jan

by Edith H.
5th May 2012

Fish is a wonderful restaurant with excellent service. Food really flavoursome and beautifully presented. The only gripe that I have is that my Kingcrab fishcakes were not properly drained so they were rather oily. The rest was lovely. The Fishpot was superb indeed. Will definitely go back.

by Palm
20th March 2012

We had a wonderful time at Fish last weekend. Our waitress was friendly, attentive and created a great atmosphere for us. It was a nice surprise at the end of our meal when a garnished plate with some chocolate balls arrived at our table with a Happy Anniversary message.

The food tasted great, was visually spectacular and creative. I would highly recommend Fish, especially if you’re celebrating a special occasion.

by Nicki H.
22nd February 2012

This place is fantastic!!!! Get a table outside as the view is fabulous and the gas fires are gorgeous if it gets chilly. Don’t worry as it’s all under cover. The service is fabulous and the food is just superb. Had my 50th birthday there and we were treated like royalty. Could not fault a thing!!!! Will go again for sure and although it’s expensive, they make you feel like it’s totally worth it and you forget the cost.

by leigh b.
29th December 2011

Enjoyed a lovely pre-xmas diner treat here last week, the service was impeccable and could not be faulted, the bread and tomato mousse was exceptional. Our mains were very good, the steak got a glowing review very very tender and cooked to perfection. The flounder was also cooked just right, the butter sauce on top was a little salty for my taste and my prawns seemed slightly overcooked, but this did not detract from the delightful flounder. The Malibu sorbet that was part of the desert was simply devine and we could have eaten just a plate of that.

by Love f.
26th August 2011

“FISH” is the new “White”, having enjoyed a perfectly cooked lunch this week its so much much more than a name change. The upgrade comes courtesy of the team behind Euro, Shed 5 and JSH…. so with this knowledge our expectations were piqued with anticipation. To begin we were seated in the outside dining balcony with the most perfect harbour view. Sun shining almost as much as the smile and helpful professionalism of the young lady looking after us, service was much better than good, timing, helpfulness, anticipating our needs were all spot on. The menu is very much in the smart dining category with a thoughtful menu displaying no shortage of dish variation or kitchen skill. There is creativity and passion at work here,in both food and service. With food in mind the real test was if it tasted as good as it read or if there were one or two culinary tricks too many? Dining with two friends we enjoyed different dishes which did provide us with much enjoyment as well as small tastings from each others plates. Inevitably with any menu there are dishes a person likes and enjoys more than another – that’s personal taste. What I can say is the taste and quality of the cooking is at a very high level, hugely enjoyable and with more than a little theatre thrown in – There is a chocolate dessert which you simply have to order, its prepared at your table and your in for a hugely enjoyable surprise!

Write Review