Fish
Ex-Clooney chef Des Harris and Aussie Josh Seeds have reinvented the look and feel of this city stalwart, with a new focus on sustainability and an ethically-responsible supply chain.
Overview
Sure, a restaurant named FISH doesn't leave a lot of unanswered questions over the type of food it serves.
The Hilton's signature restaurant, perched on the end of Princess Wharf with arguably Tāmaki Makaurau's best views of Waitematā Harbour, has garnered a reputation for many things during its 11-year run: stand-out service, an exceptional wine list and of course, that million dollar view out from the Northern tip of Princes Wharf to the Hauraki Gulf and back to the city skyline.
But most of all, it's got a rep for serving up some of the city's finest kaimoana ever since it first was opened by celeb-chef Simon Gault back in 2011.
Now, after months of closures throughout level 3 and beyond, the waterfront eatery has reopened with a refreshed menu and two internationally acclaimed chefs at the helm.
Multi-award-winning, Al Brown-trained chef Des Harris (ex-Hunting Lodge, Clooney, Logan Brown) has taken over as the hotel's new Culinary Director, putting his particularly inventive cooking style front and centre of the reinvention. The new Executive Chef is Aussie Josh Seeds, who has spent the last couple of years working in hotel kitchens from London to Japan. Together the pair promise they've come up with a menu that focuses on locally sourced, seasonal produce and ethically caught seafood from local farms, growers and suppliers. Their ethos "tomorrow's fish is still in the sea" is clear about two things: the ecosystem they've vowed to try to protect and the freshness of the seafood on your plate.
The pāua, for example, is sourced from South Wairarapa-based Tora Collective, who dive and source for the specific quantity requested each week after an order is placed on Sunday.
There are, of course, plenty of non-seafood options for those eaters who can't think of anything worse than an oyster straight out of the ocean. The new menu boasts pork belly, cheeses, cauliflower and lamb rack. But it's the deceptively simple, straight-from-the-water flavours of the seafood that are set to make this spot shine again. Go soon, while the weather is still turning it on.
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