Seafood Bounty in Queenstown
The Mirror Newspaper, November 2011, by Sue Fea
Fishbone Bar & Grill is a Queenstown institution of 20 years, one of the resort's first specialist seafood restaurants, and in spite the change of ownership, still one of the finest. The menu was a delight- everything from prawn tacos, scallops and whitebait to groper, salmon steak, blue cod and amazing seafood curry. But oh, the calamari!
Flash fried and served with chilli salt and lime mayonnaise, it was the best wee had ever tasted - melt in your mouth delicious. The chef had three flour options so could easily meet my request for gluten free.
My seafood curry was authentic, hot and filled with delicious clams, mussels, fish and scallops.
The starters were generously sized, mostly priced from $16-$18 and a vegetarian salad option thrown in. My teenage daughter raved about the Nelson scallops pan seared with salad leaves, orange and toasted hazelnuts. Her side order of large pan-roasted field mushrooms with garlic cost just $8.
Seafood mains ranged from clam pasta at $25.90 - $34 for pan roasted groper fillets with rocket sauce, barbequed calamari and blue cod for $35. Clams and Crayfish were available live from the tank and the seafood platter for two was priced at $135, complete with salad and garlic bread. Free range chicken, lamb and eye fillet steak with prawns - the dearest main at $38 - will keep the non seafood lovers happy, while asparagus, broad beans and pea gnocchi should satisfy the vegetarians.
My daughter managed to finish her pavlova, generously smeared with raspberries, raspberry couli and lemon curd - for $13.50.
The restaurant was very busy on Friday evening, but we could not fault the service. Our food arrived promptly and was presented immaculately with every attention to detail. It was refreshing to have gluten free and dairy-free dietary needs easily accommodated by restaurant staff, who went out of their way to make this a memorable experience.
There's plenty of family friendly booth seating and a good kid's menu featuring squid rings or chicken nuggets and chips, or a healthier grilled fish and rice option, all for $10 a meal, with a Jelly tip ice-cream thrown in for $3 extra. The fresh, marine-style decor was bright and light and the background music appropriate and not too loud.
we had a thoroughly enjoyable time, food service and atmosphere- we couldn't fault it. Fishbone's original founders will be proud to know that their legacy lives on.
A Foodie Adventure in Queenstown
Gold Coast Magazine, August 2011
No longer reserved for the adventure-bound, thrill-seeking folk, Queenstown is also a popular destination for travellers of the foodie kind. GCM sent Narelle Bouveng to New Zealand’s fertile south island to see what was on offer.
Queenstown is part of the rich region of Central Otago. Rivers that once yielded gold now provide pristine irrigation for the vineyards, orchards, market gardens, farms and grazing lands producing a diverse array of fresh, local and often awarded produce.
Local restaurateurs pride themselves on their ability to access this veritable fruit, salad, fish, meat and dairy pantry that is unrivalled in terms of quality, taste and freshness thereby ensuring the cuisine served to customers is just as much a part of the Queenstown tourist experience as the snow.
For Australian Darren Lovell, co-owner and chef of Fishbone Bar & Grill, Queenstown’s only speciality seafood restaurant; a learn to ski holiday turned into a life changing experience when he jumped the ditch to make Queenstown home. The saying “there are plenty of fish in the sea” certainly underpins the menu and philosophy at Fishbone, with a bounty of South Island fish and seafood varieties caught and cooked mostly; the very same day.
Some of the local delicacies to try include New Zealand West Coast White Bait. Made into delicious, crisp fritters, these small, white sweet fish that look like they are smiling are a favourite with locals along with famous NZ green lipped mussels, sweet, steamed, tank live clams, oysters and crayfish. All sorts of fish varieties are available according to season and are served complemented by Darren’s own market garden grown organic salads and vegetables in inventive, yet simply delicious styles.
Cuisine Issue 144, January 2011
"A Queenstown institution since 1991, Fishbone has recently been refurbished with pristine white banquettes and a new kitchen. In 2005 Fishbone's head chef Darren Lovell and front-of-house Mark Godden bought the business which has evolved from a sit-down fish and chip shop to a very good bistro. Eighty percent of their fish arrives from Bluff the same day it has been ordered, from fishers Fishbone has been dealing with for 20 years. Fishbone was the first South Island restaurant to offer Southern clams which it keeps live in a tank, along with crayfish and oysters."
Cuisine Wine Country 2011
"This gloriously cluttered seafood bistro spills out onto the pavement in summer, serving hand-battered fish with hand-cut chips, plus a range of other seafood, including clams and crayfish live from their tanks."
Cuisine Wine Country 2009
“A place where lots of locals can be spotted, this centrally located casual restaurant is a fun place to eat with a good selection of fresh fish and shellfish. Recently under new management and as popular as ever.”
Frommers
“If I could have a restaurant in my backyard, it would be this one. It's wacky and colorful, the decorative fish-filled interior is a joy, and the seafood meals rate among the best I've had. South Island salmon smoked over Canadian sycamore wood chips and served with aioli was mouthwatering; the blue cod dishes are reliably good; and for a well-priced fill-up, you can't pass up a Fishbone burger bulging with fish fillet. Service is filled with humor and desserts are to die for.”
Rough Guides
“Excellent value spot that’s obviously doing something right. It’s been around for a while, operating as a high class, quirky and fun fish-restaurant while doubling a workaday fish-and-chip takeaway.”