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 of food is 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 therestaurantit 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. the food was good but maybe our expectations were too high. we felt like it could be more flavoursome but perhaps the style of therestaurantis to keep the natural tastes of good quality seafood at bay? fish were both cooked to perfection though!

ortega combines everything you would want in a goodrestaurant- 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 healthyrestaurantand 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 for food and wine is a must.

this is a remarkably good restaurant.

this is a very specialrestaurantwith amazing food and drink. five star michelin quality food with 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 therestaurantgets pretty booked out a day in advance. if you want a table call 2 days in advance. service was fast and the food was 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.

fabulous seafood, wine and service
. should be 4.5 star really but i can only choose either a 4-star or a perfect score 5-star.  a charming littlerestaurantthat provides fabulous fish dishes, plush mussels, oysters. we also ordered a really good value-for-money-great-tasting local white wine (whitehaven) which i so wish i can get in australia. great service. a lot of care is given to their customers when serving and talking to the client. booking was easy and straight forward and i would recommend booking as it can get really busy. i totally recommend anyone who's visiting the oriental bay area to drop pass to have a try. definitely worth our trip from australia and we will visit therestaurantagain if we come back to windy welly again(most probably as the city is lovely😘😊👍).

dinner date with hubby tonight and our first time at ortega.
a nicerestauranttucked away from courtenay place, we were seated at the front by the window.
we both enjoyed our starter - natural oysters which were so fresh & delicious. our entree - garlic prawns....we absolutely enjoyed, the creamy garlic sauce was amazing. mine was a little salty but still edible.
for our mains, we ordered the flounder and the blue moki.
my partner enjoyed his flounder, my blue moki looked amazing on the plate, the downfall was the saltiness from the beautiful cooked skin of the moki. i was pretty gutted at this point because i couldn't enjoy the rest of the fish.
ordered a cocktail - the patient lady....so yummy that i ordered another 🤭
our waitress for the evening was very friendly, polite & provided such a great service along with the rest of the staff who greeted us when we arrived and bid us farewell when we left.
overall, we will definitely return to ortega to try more dishes from the menu which may differ from time to time as their main cuisine is seafood that is caught daily.

one of my best dining experiences, ever, so good in fact, we went back to wellington largely on account of the anticipation of coming here again, and it was worth it, again.

before even the food, i just love therestaurantitself, feels like you walked into someone's house in a cosy neighbourhood and the owners just happen to be world class chefs, who are also super friendly, and know how to run a successfulrestaurantbusiness. basically everything i want to be good at.

and oh my god the food, i'm still thinking about it now, everything we ordered was flawless, that's without a doubt, the the prawn pasta, is, just, next, level. i don't know if this seasonal but if you ever see this on the menu make sure you get it. it is mind blowing. something in that sauce, it's addicting like taking cocaine except, it's delicious, and doesn't f you up afterwards.

honestly can't say enough good things about this place, has my money any day of the week.

i wanted to see for myself what the hype was all about for this restaurant. it has been #1 in wellington on tripadvisor for quite some time now. i must say it definitely didn't disappoint. from the first bite i could tell why this is the highest ratedrestaurantin wellington. had the grouper, was very fresh, and all the elements of the dish all came together, the brandade, the artichoke, the citrus essence, really complemented the flavor of the meal. excellent selection of beers from dark to light, and wines too. great service.

there is a reason this is wellington’s number 1 ratedrestauranton tripadvisor. one of the great dining experiences i’ve ever have when you combine friendly service and to die for food. when we arrived they promptly bought out a glass of sparkling wine each with compliments... such s welcoming start. bread and butter was next level, kingfish unbelievable as was the crayfish risotto. i didn’t really feel like a main size of the prawn tails in garlic butter sauce so the waitress said she will do an in between size... amazing, probably the best meal i’ve had in months. if you have one meal in wellington let it be this but book in early it’s popular... i understand why now. georgia was one of the great waitresses we’ve ever had... credit to the business

if i could give thisrestauranta 6 out of 5 i would! that's how much my wife and i enjoyed our evening there. the wine list is one of the best i've seen in terms of range and price (i.e. german rieslings, chablis, coleraine etc) with many offered by the glass. the service was informal but very friendly and the staff are very knowledgeable about what's on offer. cant recommend this place high enough!

therestaurantwas relaxed and inviting, and the service was friendly. although i didn't order dishes that showcased ortega's skill with seafood, my steak was beautifully cooked. my kawahai tartare was nice but paled in comparison to my partner's scampi ceviche. looking around the table there were some beautiful dishes, the prawn fettucine smelled beautiful, the dory and monkfish dishes looked very inviting. boasting an extensive wine list therestaurantwas very worth the visit and i would go back. 4.5 stars

we had been recommended thisrestaurantby a friend and as were a girls group down for a few days for the world of wearable arts we decided to give it a try. we were not disappointed.

this is a smaller bistro style restaurant. it has a small but well thought out menu beautifully cooked. it is primarily known for its fish dishes but there were also other gems to eat -the pate was particularly good if the expressions of delight on our faces were anything to go by. everything we had was fabulous and amongst the 4 of us not a single complaint was to be had. plus girls - do try their ladies of leisure cocktail ..oh yeah..

we were so impressed we rebooked immediately to come back two days later - each of us trying something different second time around and once again left well pleased.

i would like to also compliment the staff -in particular kim the manager and tamsin our waitress -who went above and beyond. but all the staff were friendly and efficient and when we returned for a second time two days later treated us like we were frequent visitors- even down to remembering our names and what out beverage preferences were - that blew us away. and if i lived in wellington i would definitely be a regular!

we've been wanting to eat here for ages, but always struggled to get a table. tonight we managed to score a table for 2 at really short notice. the food was good(ish). hubby loved his steak and chips, my prawns in garlic sauce were over-rich, even as a starter, the wine was good though! but the big issue with ortega is the lack of space. our table for 2 was tiny and tipped up every time we leaned on it. the neighbouring tables were so close you got nudged every few minutes and the waiting staff had to lean over you to serve the table behind. thisrestaurantneeds to understand that more often equates to less, experience wise. we won't be returning.

for someone who isn't a big fan of seafood, i found this place amazing. the moment you walk in you can feel the family vibe in the room, the staff are very friendly and give exceptional suggestions. fantastic service, absolutely amazing food and a wide range of vegetarian options as well. if you are planning on visiting then make a booking first, thisrestaurantis crazy popular!