FISH SHOP — Restaurant in Sydney

(3.5 stars) Set under contemporary concrete curves of a medium density residential development on an intersection in the back streets of Bondi, Fish Shop is all about delivering market-fresh seafood in a smart-casual format. Our visit got off to a bad start. We had booked for an inside table (their system lets you choose between bar stools, indoor and outdoor tables) but staff didn’t keep us one, so we were relegated outside in the rain. At the table next to us, a middle-aged white dude was drunk and holding court about his adventures on the dating scene: “You’ve just got to realise this: women are crazy.” The wet martini ($18) I ordered to cope with feminism not having reached the Eastern Suburbs was in a tiny glass with so much precious real estate taken up with ice it was a two-gulp throw down, and the following Architects of Wine ‘pinot grigio’ ($16) was so orange in colour it probably would have been better listed as a rosé (or at least accompanied by a warning that it was non-characteristic from floor staff). Even the Moda sparkling water was delivered flat, though this was acknowledged by staff (which did make me wonder why they didn’t just change the cylinder instead)?

So by the time we got to Appellation Sydney rock oysters ($30/6) from Merimbula, which were not quite shucked to order, I wasn’t feeling particularly charitable. Things perked up with a tiny tostada ($9/each) of coral trout accompanied by lime and wasabi root mayonnaise. Calamari ($24) in a lake of fermented chilli, parsley and garlic oil was enjoyable to eat, and a clever reimagining of the usual battered and fried version. Crumbed King George whiting ($38) produced three crunchy golden brown fillets with a punchy, caper-spiked tartare and a neutral ‘slaw. Mooloolaba swordfish ($26) ordered rare came overcooked with rocket, lemon and extra virgin olive oil. Feedback about this was met with acknowledgement that it had been ordered rare and a comment that it was hard to deliver it that way.

The best thing I put in my mouth was a side of charred cabbage ($14) dressed with white soy, puffed black rice and nori. This exemplar was a definite level-up on the almost ubiquitous charred cabbage side, and it totally eclipsed the fish. Maybe they were...

I’ll preface this by saying that I loved going to fish shop, I would count myself as a regular there as my friend and I have gone there more than once a fortnight since they opened. I love the food - it’s fresh, healthy, delicious and nicely presented. I went there last week and things started well - the oysters, betel leaf, prawn cigar were all delicious as usual. After we had some cold starters, we moved onto one of our all time favourites, the calamari - it’s fresh, super-garlicky and generous in size for $24. Except for last week. Last week for our $24, we got 5 small strips of calamari (roughly 5cm long) to share btw 2 of us. On all of our previous occasions, we’ve had around 12-15 pieces. If it was always 5 small pieces, we would never order it, so we decided to query it (with one of the experienced waitresses) and asked if it now came in an entree and main size and were we served the smaller size? The response was, “I know, I know, we have a new chef and that’s how he is now serving the dish - there’s only one size”. There was no apology or offer to take it off the bill or even a, I’ll go and speak with the manager. We felt it was not the first time this question had been raised from her response. Now this is not me being tight or stingy - each time we go there, we spend $350-400 for food and drinks between 2 people. However, I don’t think it’s right when a dish is reduced in size so much but the price is not altered, and we weren’t that happy with the response that we received. As a result, we have decided not to go back to Fish shop for a while. We have shown loyalty despite all the options in and around Bondi, as we genuinely love the food, but but it’s also important to provide value for money and acknowledge customer concerns when they arise. As an aside, the young waiter we had on the night (not the same person we spw about the calamari), we couldn’t fault - he seemed to be new as we hadn’t seen him before - but he was personable and happy and really positive - everything was “fantastic, beautiful, brilliant” - he was a lovely guy - hopefully they keep him on as his can-do attitude was...

I got a Zinger burger with fries today (take-away because of lockdown) and I was very disappointed. I expected a restaurant-quality burger or at least elevated (healthy-ish) fast food but it was a very average burger. The bun was the biggest disappointment as it was like those very small, cheap burger buns. Also, these sweet burger buns were not well balanced with acidity, which was lacking. The fish piece was an okay size for the small burger, but in general it was a small portion and not very filling, as it did not feel nutritionally dense. The fish batter was very fatty and not very refined. Then there was some sad, soggy iceberg, a ton of Kewpie mayo and one slice of pickle. The fries were quite good. This burger felt very uninspired and unhealthy. It is a very standard fish burger combo but not delivered in high quality. I might try something else once the restaurant reopens, but I do not think serving this compromised food during lockdown is doing the restaurant a favour. What I would have liked is: a better bun (healthier, more nutritious options, less sweet), a lighter batter + fry combination, something tasty and interesting other than soggy iceberg: other lettuce, mandolined cabbage or fennel in a lemon & olive oil vinaigrette are good as they don't go soggy so quickly, some fresh herbs, veggies or e.g. potato slices would be cool too, a more interesting, balanced sauce, some homemade vegetable pickle would have also been appreciated. Just something a bit more creative that McDonalds would not serve. Maybe I have just ordered the wrong thing. The staff were very friendly however. There were some issues with the phone line and the auto-message was also not updated since the start of lockdown. Cheers and I hope my burger was...