Fisherman's Wharf — Restaurant in Banks Peninsula Community

Came into this restaurant with my partner after a long time. I used to come regularly and the food was lovely, if I had of know that the ownership had changed I would of NEVER COME HERE. There was one kiwi lady working who was nice but the new owners even tho it was busy made her do all the work while they sat down at a table drinking wine while they are at work and ordering food that got made sooner than my partners and mine even tho we had been waiting for a longer time. When the food finally came which was a seafood chowder and a fish dish both were cold and the chowder had minimal fish pieces and was overly sweet. When we finally were able to talk to the management they dismissed any bad doing on there part and claimed that the reason the food was cold was because we were sitting on the side even tho the window was shut. They refused initially to give any refund and when we were were giving feedback about the food they weren't listening. The man seemed more listening and the lady just kept interrupting and denying. When we said that we don't feel like paying(even tho obviously we were going to) they threatened to call the police. I AGREE WITH ALL THE NEGATIVE REVIEWS, WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND NEVER COMING BACK. I feel sorry for that nice kiw lady working.

EDITING THIS REVIEW AFTER OWNERS REPLY: Thankyou for your reply,but I disagree with what was said. Firstly this review was not an attempt to defame your business or out of envy it was a review of what we experienced while at your establishment. From what I have seen in other reviews of similar nature other customers experiences were similar to ours. Secondly,we didn't consume the meals fully especially the seafood chowder,and a couple of times throughout the meal we expressed out concerns to the staff and management. The reason why we ate is because we had already been waiting a long time and was hungry and didn't didn't know if you guys would of remade or just put it in the microwave which was offered by you to reheat which isn't exactly safe with fish.

Additionally, throughout our experience, we weren't rude or unprofessional we were simply explaining to you what the issues were with our food. We found your behaviour to be rude. None of what we did was unprofessional but the management/ownerships attitude towards customer was and especially drinking alcohol at work is unprofessional. My partner didn't outright refuse to pay, he said he didn't feel like paying which is a figure of speech. We never said we were not going to pay. Yes there was a discount offered but that was only after you arguing and disagreeing about that with us first. It seems the management needs to be better organised as the lady kept interrupting when the male owner was trying to explain things. I would recommend NOT to go here as the management/ownership DON'T listen to genuine feedback.

This review is a fair and honest one. If you read the other negative comments they are pretty similar to...

To the owners/ management - Please don't visit the tables and ask how the experience is if you are not mature enough to accept genuine feedback or to have a proper conversation because people are not going to tell you what you wanna hear but the reality. So good luck with continuing the business with that attitude!! 👏🏻👏🏻 To the customers - This place used to be an icon of Lyttelton and it's absolutely heartbreaking to see what's it becoming under new management or ownership. We have been dining here for nearly 4 years and really enjoyed the food and service until our last visit on 28th Feb 2024 which turned into a nightmare. I ordered my usual seafood chowder as the main and my partner got a fried chicken burger. Once the food arrived we were shocked because the main-size chowder came in a very small plate along with 2 thinly sliced bread and the burger bun was rock hard. My partner went to the counter and asked if the chowder was the main or entree because it was a super small soup compared to what we had last time and I had the photos of my previous visit too. But it is the main and we were settled to it but we had the conversation something is wrong. Suddenly another lady came to us and claimed she was the new manager or owner of the place and asked us how is the food. We told her we were not happy with the meals because this was not how it used to be and I showed the photos as well. She got offended and said it was in my mind (Well it is in the photo lady!!😂) and the food is still the same and people are accusing them because they are Asians. So the dining has completely turned into an argument because she is accusing us of not accepting the food the way they are. We left the place after paying and decided to share with the community if you have ever been a fan of this place so it's worth knowing what's going on just in case you ever...

Extremely Disappointed – Not the Place It Used to Be

I hadn’t visited in a while, and it’s clear that a lot has changed — sadly, not for the better. The place is under new management, and after reading the recent reviews, I have to say I completely agree with the negative ones.

I visited with my husband. I ordered the Rib Eye Steak with Garlic Sauce and a side of chips. My husband went for a Chocolate Milkshake and Onion Rings.

Chocolate Milkshake: Absolutely terrible. It was just a lump of ice cream floating in watery milk. Completely tasteless and thrown together with no care.

Garlic Sauce: This wasn’t a sauce at all — just a cold lump of garlic butter that tasted like it had been sitting open in the fridge for days.

Misleading Menu & Poor Service: The menu was misleading. The server confirmed that onion rings came with the steak, which wasn’t mentioned anywhere on the menu. Since we wanted chips, we ordered them as a side. When the food finally arrived (after quite a wait despite the restaurant being mostly empty), the steak came with chips anyway. No onion rings. When I raised this, the staff apologized and blamed the menu, but then had the audacity to ask me to pay half price for the extra chips — even though the confusion was their fault.

I paid just to avoid further embarrassment, but the entire experience left a bad taste. This isn’t just about food — it’s about how customers are treated. The response I received was unprofessional and dismissive.

To the owners: please stop brushing off genuine criticism as “envy.” If one or two people complain, maybe it's a one-off — but when 20+ customers say the same thing, maybe it’s...