ortega fish shack & bar

service plays an extremely important part in my opinion about a particular restaurant. this is my second visit to wellington and my second visit to ortega as well. i had a wonderful memory of this place last time i was here, and wanted to re-live those memories. while the quality offoodis pretty much the same (those amazing prawn in garlic butter sauce - i am still drooling) the service is really really slow. despite ordering everything together it took 25mins to bring the main course after serving the starters. we had lost appetite by then and it was a complete disaster from there on.
having said all this - i would definitely recommend visiting this place at least once and i will probably go back next time i am in town.. but if they somehow improve their service, it will become the restaurant it is meant to be.

with such outstanding reviews we were pleased to land ourselves a reservation at this restaurant. loved the interior of this place and we were impressed with the service. we had the bluff oysters, salmon stew and gurnard. thefoodwas good but maybe our expectations were too high. we felt like it could be more flavoursome but perhaps the style of the restaurant is to keep the natural tastes of good quality seafood at bay? fish were both cooked to perfection though!

atmosphere, service andfoodare all top notch. the only place to eat great quality fresh seafood dishes that will make you love kaimoana. we will definitely come back to this place.

greatfoodwith almost too good service!. never thought i would say this about a restaurant, but the service here was almost too good! thefoodwas delicious and the wait staff were happy to accommodate our dietary restrictions to create a special dish. thefoodcame out so quickly, that our romantic dinner ended too soon!

ortega combines everything you would want in a good restaurant - great food, great staff, great ambiance, and a feeling of being looked after. in the evening, the decor and lighting give a warm, cosy and intimate feel. there are four dining areas, either by the entrance, at, or by the bar and an upstairs room. all are good but a table downstairs, is possibly best if you can get one. ortega has a loyal following and a quality that is well known in wellington. therefore if its a special evening you'll need to book a week or so out, especially on weekends. the staff do not change often, some seem to have been there for years and clearly that is a sign of a healthy restaurant and good management, as well as knowledgeable but relaxed service.

ortega's menu focuses on, but is not limited to seafood - while fish is generally perfectly cooked, so is a fillet of beef. the dishes are not fussy or overworked, but concentrate on presenting the ingredients honestly for maximum flavour and enjoyment. to my mind the sashimi entree is a national treasure, and the cafe de paris butter which tops the beef is incomparably good. personally i find the chocolate mousse with the sweet px sherry is gluttonously perfect to finish. a cheese course comes by the gram so don't overdo it.

the wine list is extraordinarily good. however if you can't think of what to have, ask the maitre'd - davy - one of the youngest looking institutions in town. let him offer a suggestion - he has never put me wrong so far. tapping into his knowledge and passion forfoodand wine is a must.

this is a remarkably good restaurant.

after reading several reviews and seeing how well this place was ranked i went and gave it a shot. thefoodwas amazingly well done. everything was cooked to perfection and the flavours of all the dishes went very well together. service was nice and friendly if you haven't tried this place i'd recommend it. went to whitebait a few days later and it was really disapointing in terms of value for money and taste i'd definately recommend ortega.

this is a very special restaurant with amazingfoodand drink. five star michelin qualityfoodwith friendly service and an atmosphere that’s not at all pretentious. try the squid, blue warehou, smoked blue moki rillettes - all superb. one of wellington’s best.

staff here is just amazing, gave me recommendations and very accommodating as the restaurant gets pretty booked out a day in advance. if you want a table call 2 days in advance. service was fast and thefoodwas delicious. i had the tuatua in tomato basil with sourdough. although it was great, i thought the portion was small for $40. it was ok for me but can be too tiny for a larger person. my cereal sized bowl was full of mostly shell as i had ordered clams with only a few pieces of sourdough. other than that i loved everything else.

so packed but so good. i saw many unfortunate people turned away from this place so a booking is 100% recommended.

the venue. gorgeous. the staff super friendly and well versed. the table wasn’t ready for 10mins so they threw champagne at us. nows thats hospitality.

this is in my top three. thefoodis out of this world the whole vibe of this place is amazing.

i will be back many many times. great job ortega

ortega is absolutely amazing! i came for my birthday this year and had some of the bestfoodi've eaten in wellington.

we had 3 starters: tuna ceviche, buffalo mozzarella, and prawn tails in garlic butter sauce. they were all very different, but everything a starter should be. light, with a fantastic combination of flavours - salty, sweet, tangy - as well as textures.

we got the flounder and beef fillet as mains. the flounder was stunning, again perfectly balanced flavours and textures.

the service was fantastic, our waitress, gemma, really took care of us for the whole meal and topped off the experience. they even brought out complimentary truffles when she found out it was my birthday!

i cant rate ortega highly enough, i cant wait to come back ☺️

greatfoodand service - read some of the other reviews which built my expectations and made me cautious. fish meals were great and the beef was delicious. staff are great. will be back.

greatfood- the king fish cerviche was exceptional!  plus - great recommendations from the bar man on both gin and wine - fantastic experience!

a friend and i visited ortega during august and had the woap fish meal and shared a king prawn pasta starter.

hands down thefoodwas delicious. they packed so much flavour into both meals and i was extremely impressed.

the staff were very friendly, checking on us at appropriate times and very polite. for the price we paid i felt like we got an amazing deal on the food. we left full and very satisfied and will definitely go again.

we each gave our waiter a $5 tip as well because the service was really top notch.

great evening out for my mother’s 80th birthday. complimentary sangria to celebrate on arrival. our waitress was amazing - so friendly and efficient. the atmosphere was buzzing and thefoodwas delicious. i took a birthday cake which they brought out surprising mum - this was totally hassle free. highly recommended.

ortega fish shack has stolen my heart, appetite and wallet. wonder if i should set up a direct debit??

ventured there on the last weekend of wow so we had to book but i understand bookings at anytime are probably the safest bet as this place was humming with people.

the decor is this well appointed kitsch that works in an odd way. the walls are heaving with random pictures but it works well and great for anyone with ocd.

the service is awesome. my water glass was never not full. the wait staff are super friendly and we had a couple of laughs with one of them. hope they got the tip i left!

thefoodis next level. if you don't like seafood, there are limited meat and vege options but, if i'm honest, i would pick somewhere else. i am a seafood fiend. the seafood was just out of this world. i would hate to try and pick anything wrong with it. the ceviche i had as an entree set the tone for thefood- it was just chilli infused heaven.

for any riesling fans, try a glass of number 29 on the list. it is a french riesling and by far the nicest i have ever tasted. can't remember the name of it.... something fancy and french!