fish restaurant

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 ourtableand 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)

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 atablereserved 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.

service from reuben was excellent. food was wonderful, view not as great as expected as we sat on the west side. we booking request atableon the east or north. photos are entrees: scallops and tuna. mains: tuna and market fish )hapuka). dessert poached peach and pear ( very sweet)

finally went for the serendipity high tea on sunday. the waiter was nice enough to go through the menu with us and explain that because of level 2 restrictions everything would betableservice.
we noticed when we walked in that the food was already out on the buffet counter which needed up affecting the salads and made the leaves wilt.
for $55 per person they serve you up to 2 pots of zealong tea each and unlimited high tea items.
i think if it weren't for level 2 we would have enjoyed it more because we would have been able to go and choose what we wanted. felt a little bad that their were certain items on the trays that we didnt try.
it was nice that we were able to reorder items we liked. scones were served fresh from the oven which i really would have liked for the salads too.
view was beautiful and it was just a nice experience for a sunday.
for an extra $20 per person you can get bottomless prosecco.

they cancelled my booking on valentine's day

my partner and i booked our valentine's day dinner via a firsttable(which provide a great service btw) at fish for 14/02 at 5:30 pm on the 8th of feb.
we have received a confirmation from firsttableand from fish restaurant about our booking.
on 11/02 i received one call from fish that i could not answer because i was driving. i called them back 28 minutes after and no one answered.
i thought they (fish) were just trying to confirm my booking. they never tried to call me again.
i was super excited to go there with my partner. by the photos, it was a very romantic place and it would be perfect to celebrate valentine's day. i've planned what we would order, imaged both of us there looking at the ocean and having a nice moment together. so many expectations.
on the 14th of feb, valentine's day we arrived at the restaurant at 5:15 pm. the manager received us at the entrance and straight away advised we could no longer redeem our firsttablebooking (that was scheduled for that specific day and time) that night because they had a set menu for valentine's day. i was hoping he would offer us the set menu and let us use the voucher for the day and time we have booked for. it did not happen. 
after all my expectations, plans and etc my partner and i went walking on the streets to find a restaurant that was not fully booked.
i was so so so so disappointed with fish restaurant. they messed up with our valentine's day. they did not e-mail me to cancel (they actually e-mailed me on the day confirming the booking), they did not txt me, they did not try to call me again (the manager said they tried to call multiple time, which was not true because i can prove they called me just once). they let us go there to say on our faces we no longer could redeem our booking. it is extremely unprofessional and sad. it was not about money, it is about people's feeling and respect.

book atablehere through first table.

we had the pork croquettes to start which had four pieces of bite sized portions and salad. it was tasty but perhaps not the right choice if you are looking for big portions.

i ordered the eye fillet which was cooked perfectly and was very soft. my partner had the rump which was a bit more chewy but as you would expect for that cut of meat. the mains also come with your choice of sauce and sides. i picked the peppercorn sauce which was excellent. as for the sides, we each picked roasted baby potatoes and sweet potatoes to share, which came in generous portions but were rather bland.

overall it was a good experience; staff were friendly and the view was great. however i would not consider the full price to be very good value as i was a bit disappointed by the entree and the sides could have been done better for what is perceived to be an upmarket restaurant. good deal with firsttablethough.

the restaurant experience is ruined by the hotel's negligent reception. when you walk into such joints, it's not just the restaurant but also the whole luxury shebang that unsuspecting folks expect, but one can almost visualize this hilton's mostly hapless staff chortling at the suckers who harbour such delusions. auckland's "5 star" hotel service standards are notoriously dodgy or even absent, and hilton tries to outdo langham (now called cordis) in trying to provide as hollow an experience as possible upon entry. if you feel service deserves such short change, why work in the hospitality industry at all ? lack of staff ensures that the one person at the entrance is running all around to "manage" the incoming vehicles, and if you do manage to speak to him, expect some quick hurried replies. as for pleasantries like "how are you, sir?" or an inviting smile or even some impossibly atrocious thing like a pampering welcome, forget it. we found free parking right in front of the hotel, so yeah a massive triumph there. 

they've installed who looks like a college student at the restaurant reception. again zero niceties of welcome or a smile - just checking the name and leading you to thetable- like a train conductor doing the checks. at-the-table service was better, by a young french gentleman who also recommended a 2014 peregrine pinot noir the slim mouthfeel of which had such beautifully concentrated richness that no other pinot noir in our recent tastings has bested this. the same brand's 2017 rose, also seconded by him, was delightfully refreshing without undue sweetness.

fish has the advantage of 180 degree views of the ocean and a wonderful deck to enjoy the superb waterside views. the restaurant however betrays its name by having only one proper pan-finished/grilled/baked fish dish on the main course (the others being fish-'n'-chips, and a clam presentation). radical tip to staff - we know nz , aus and uk love fush-'n'-chups from ages but please try leaving out such heart-rending nostalgia on a formal restaurant menu.

banana prawns as appetizers were excellent in their ripely tropical yet mellow flavour and tenderness, but a nice lady in our group was served a pathetically small 'helping' of kingfish tartare, as an appetizer, that had phantom flavour. my companions were happy with the cooking of the lamb main, and my chicken main was superbly tender by its sous-vide treatment but secondary layers of flavours - for example sauces or seasoning - to further lift the dishes were found wanting. desserts, from an adventurous lemon-'n'-poppy seed cake, frozen yoghurt and olive oil, to a strawberry-white chocolate number to a banana-tapioca pudding, were all enjoyable. a three course meal costs a reasonable $80 per person. if they fire the managers all over this place and replace them with people who know how to treat patrons, then this 'hilton' brand may get some much-needed value back.

beautiful surroundings. ordered some nice oysters, $5 ea however quite small size for a $5. ordered the medium cooked taupo eye fillet for myself but when it was on thetableit was more than medium already. enjoyed the sweet potato side, had a bit of saffron on it which was a surprise. 6 people shared the $350 bill which is a reasonable price. at least i was not very happy with the free vp parking that advertised on the website, when we got there, all free parking was already gone. then we had a look around, actually very limited number of free parking is available. 80% of the customers actually will have to pay their own parking at wilson parking, approximately $20-30 xtra parking fee for a dinner.

lovely setting, attentive staff and very yummy food prepared and served at ourtableby our excellent chef, fraser. the only one little disappointing thing was that the hilton wanted to charge $45 to park the car!!

really enjoyed my experience with fish. it has a really classy feel and would be perfect for a special occasion or romantic date, particularly at sunset.

we booked a firsttablereservation and the waitress that seated us was very friendly and welcoming which was an excellent start. the other servers for the rest of the night were fine but not quite as friendly in comparison.

we started off with the bread, and then each of us had a main with a sweet potatoes side to share, then three desserts. we all enjoyed our dishes and i found the gnocchi particularly delicious. it was just the right soft consistency that i enjoy. the sweet potatoes were also really good and a decent serving.

i really enjoyed my white chocolate and sorbet dessert. it was definitely my favourite of the three we got (also got the banana topioca one and hokey pokey sundae). the white chocolate cream had great milky taste similar to condensed milked, but not as sweet.

overall it was a great night and particularly great value with the discount.

food presentation and food quality were pretty good except their customer service seriously disappointed me. we bought a voucher through a website to have discounted food dine in here. we requested for a joinedtableand then a middle age beard white guy came along and rejected our request (with very impatient face)and started blaming that it was our wrong to come late. we seriously don't know what did we do wrong and it was actually my friend's 21st birthday. friendly advice, if you don't want your birthday to be ruined, don't choose here. (ps: it was just one of the staff (suited up) that being so rude to us, others were really friendly).

delicately designed, fish by hilton is a keeper for your special treat, for an anniversary celebration, for your business dinner or just come and dine for rewarding yourself.

walking in this space i was completely captured by the whole ceiling of wine cabinet, its soft ambience reflecting the prince wharf at night time and of course the modern fire place that brought us coziness. you would not feel nervous in this classy five star hotel restaurant. you feel immediately set in like your friends' lounge.

yes the chef is another reason i came here. since when has everybody started to love celebrity chefs? it does become a trendy thing. as it is known to all, fraser shenton runs the kitchen under group chef gareth stewart (ex soul chef and bistro lago in hilton lake taupo). 

the day we visited was the first night they started the new season menu. so i was told chef gareth was right in the kitchen guarantee the dish qualities by a well-knowledged waiter from bulgaria, he gave us beautiful advice to order the house wine which turned out nicely.

i just could not help praising the new menu, more fish and seafood options and with a twist of asian cooking technique and flavor. well done!

to start the te kouma bay oyster was such a delight. it came our freshly on a few stones, expressed its marine freshness. then the tarakihi sashimi, paring creme fraiche, lime and sourdough croutons was beautifully presented. however, when the warm south island salmon, dashi broth, ginger rice, pickled radish, soba noodles came into vision we both fell deeply amazed. a brilliant and light way to balance the fatty salmon, transferring it into an authentic fresh japanese fish dish, the red fish, lightly green beans with soba noodles immersed in dashing broth, we couldn't have it enough until the whole plate was cleaned by our greedy appetite!

then the highlight came to me, chef gareth came to mytableand had a chat with me, expressing the menu and his idea behind it. absolutely a icing on the cake for me. much appreciated for his time sparing and it made us privileged.

as for the main, we were still keen for the fish&seafood concept. how can you resist fish dish in a restaurant called fish! my daily caught gurnard was such a treat for this night. with ham and barley broth, savoy cabbage, white beans, winter herbs pairing the nicely cooked gurnard, it did, again, bring out freshness from asian twist. i do love the way they cook with broth to soften the buttery taste of fish cooked in western  way. the fried kale was such a fun to eat with the dish. then came the grilled banana prawns, gremolata, crispy pancetta, soft herbs, it was another well-worthing treat for the night. imported jumbo banana prawns' texture were completely brought out by the italian sauce with parsley garlic and lemon, while on the other hand, the crispy pancetta added more flavor layers to the whole plate. once again it was fully swiped by us!

eventually the dessert session was a bit less attracted though. valrhona chocolate mousse
cocoa nib soil, poached cherries, kirsch, cherry sorbet was 4 out 5, however, the lemon poppyseed cake was a bit dry for me. the frozen buffalo yogurt, lychee was a save to the whole plate. in total this dessert should be 3 out of 5. i did expect more for the dessert though. with nevis bluff pinot gris – central otago 2013 and forrest – marlborough 2011, the dessert became more vivid in our tastebuds.

worth coming back from time to time, for the sake of chef gareth steward. so looking forward to a better refined fish into the future.

came here for the new year's eve dinner- six course set menu. everything started off well, except they were still preparing ourtablewhen we walked in (why we couldn't get anothertablewith the same number of seats i don't know). our waiter was very informative and lovely. he asked about special requirements (we had a gluten free person) and was very helpful, saying he would let the kitchen know. we were confused about the drinks situation- we did not receive a drinks menu, yet people were ordering drinks. there was an alcohol bar at the middle of the restaurant that the waiters poured our champagne. no one offered us anything other than champagne.

the food was amazing, almost faultless. however it came out too quickly. we were out in less than two hours- the wait staff did not ask if we wanted more time between courses, they just kept bringing plates out. we were annoyed that a dish with gluten came out, even though the waiter said he would take care of this. our amuse was served at the wrong time (one course late) and a waitress dumped potatoes and salad on ourtableas we were finishing our mains without specifying why- we didn't order them and they weren't on the menu. but we finished with an amazing desert.

great food but the night felt a bit disjointed- wait staff were mostly quite young and it felt like they were not well-informed and didn't really know what was going on.

lovely restaurant with gorgeous relaxing views. the service was good although could be abit more attentive, refilling our glasses and taking our order before we get the bread and butter. little things that went un noticed: ourtablewobbled and our candle went out- it did get abit dark around the table. after eating our first courses we saw thetablenext to us get a complimentary chef sample which we didn't get so i asked about that and i'm glad i did when we did get it, it was a crumbed oyster absolutely delicious. the salmon was ok the skin on the plate was rubbery and the other "decorations" on the plate seem pointless but the scampi was delicious as were the oysters. the red shrimp was ok but the monkfish was delicious and the baked purée potato with bacon butter yummy. all 3 desserts were really nice too.

the views are great of the harbour  from just about everytableand its all very modern and fresh. the main meal was well presented and the flavours very well balanced. we were also served a spoon treat which was a nice touch. the service was first class but after finishing our main course we just sat for 15 minutes with all the servers vanished so we got up paid and left. it was a bit of an anticlimax! it would not stop me going again...