dux dine

our visit this last saturday rewarded us with very good food. we had been previously last year and wasn't as impressed. maybe they were 'bedding in' the kitchen staff/wait staff when they opened. very good food and prompt service now.

fish is uniformly excellent. not the cheapest, but fish is fresh. good option of ordering 250ml wine when your table can't decide on a bottle to share. better value than 150ml wine.

recommend what we had. we had the fried squid to start andseafoodpasta main. cost for two with wine was $100. ($71 food and $29 for 2 x 250ml wine). filling, fresh and tasty.

i came for lunch by myself and ordered the smokyseafoodchowder. it was exceptional and far better than what i have had in new york; paying more than double the price plus tips. for that i will overlook the rather dismal service that i had. when i got it, it was fine, but having to crank my neck and get attention is not something anyone like to do. i was completely forgotten and i ended up walking up to the counter to pay just so i don’t keep waiting and waiting.
i will probably come back and try other things on the menu. it is a shame i could only give it three stars. bravo to the chef and shame to the front of house.

my current favouriteseafoodrestaurant. aromatic mussels is a must try. polenta fries are also yummy!! they also make really nice americano coffee. good hangout place for friends get together

extremely nice and helpful service. ordered the prawn pizza and it was delicious! after reading reviews and the menu online, we were really excited to try theseafoodpasta but unfortunately they didn't sell it anymore. nevertheless, great atmosphere and good food. the food took a while to come out, but i assume that's because they were hosting an 18th at the same time.

fabulous fabulous! scrumptiousseafoodto drool over! excellent service. good wine list!seafoodpasta and muscles are excellent :) will be back next time in chch!

booked at the last minute on a friday night and the lady on the phone was all too happy to accomodate my 3pax. once arriving, we were promptly seated and supplied water and menus. we placed our drinks order and were informed of the day's specials which all sounded incredibly appetising.
our entrees - crab and prawn dumplings, calamari, the scallop special, and theseafoodchowder came out remarkably fast and were exceptional; these were quickly followed by our three substantial mains - the tuna special, the pasta, and salmon.
no faults could be found with any of our dishes and the house lager was hoppy yet balanced and was a great accompaniment to the seafood. the service was great, despite the slight language barrier and loud ambient sound.

just experienced an average dinner. staff were friendly & helpful. we were shifted tables to a quieter area in a very agreeable way. food was well presented and tasty but then came the big disappointment of the evening. we were recommended a different wine for both of ourseafooddishes but decided to go for a cmpromise wine that would suit both of them, thinking that any wine left over we would take home. when we asked about that, (after the bottle was opened) we were told that under no circumstances could we take any left over wine home due to some licensing law, even though we'd paid for it. this curtailed our spending on desserts consequently and made it a very average dining experience from what could have been a great dining experience for our 32nd wedding anniversary.

we went in for nye lunch as a family.
service started off really good. drinks and meals ordered and delivered quickly. checked on to make sure food was good.

we finished our meals and waited as we wanted dessert. howerver the plates were not cleared and dessert menu or further drinks not offered. tried to get our waitresses attention but without success so we left.

the dux i remember had a stong vegetarian theme with some seafood, but can now see the definiteseafoodtheme.

it was good, and i wouldn't say no to going back, however it wouldn't be my first choice of places to go.

have just returned from a very disappointing meal. we ordered both the smokedseafoodand the antipasto style platters @ $35 each, and a bottle of wine (main divide riesling always a goody) $108 total. the food was bland, under seasoned and boring. i can have olives, hummus and pesto at home. polenta fries were soggy. vics (toasted) ciabatta was great, the un-toasted baguette was stale. the mussels and cockles in the shell and bread made up the backbone of theseafoodplatter with an odd pile of overcooked white fish (possibly left over from the weekend) and what appeared to be hot smoked salmon off cuts that had been warmed in the oven. i could go on but will get to the biggest kicker. when asked how our meal was we very un-enthusiastically replied ok. our tone clearly indicated we were not happy. we were not questioned further. we made our way to pay and without being asked by the cashier how our meals were or if we were satisfied were asked to pay. at this point, annoyed at the lack of interest i commented, "since you asked, our meals were decidedly average" we were asked what specifically and gave a couple of examples the response was sorry you feel that way as he took our money and sent us on our way. we stopped on the way home and my partner got takeaways. you should be ashamed of yourselves this review could have been avoided with a little attention to detail, and taking notice of your customers feedback. we feel ripped off. we eat out at least twice a week and are both chefs, this is only the second review i have felt the need to write. peeved and hungry.

this is my third visit to the dux dine. on previous visits i was very happy with the food & service. the thought the decor and layout well done.
hostess and staff friendly and helpful.
on the down side, i felt that their policy on having to get your own water and take your orders up -if dinning outside, was odd. half of the veranda area was included in the dine in area and 1/2 the outside! we felt that the outside area was close enough to be serviced. it makes no difference to the number of patrons for staff to take orders from outside. as guests will leave an empty table in side. maybe they need to increase staff levels? however there appeared to be plenty. (i have worked in this industry for many years on the floor & management)
myseafoodchowder was nice but had been sitting prior to being brought out to the table. the soup had a skin on and was just hot! yes i could have sent it back and next time i will.
these are just little things that can be easily fixed and hope you think about our comments, with a positive approach. i would give the dux dine another go - if joining others but won't rush on my own accord.