Chocolate Fish Cafe — Restaurant in Wellington

The only things going for this cafe are it's quaint setting, the amazingly patient wait staff and the fact that it's terribly kid friendly(dangerously so). They have a reasonable sized patch dedicated to drift trikes/bikes/scooters and all manner of wheeled choas. They also have a springfree tramp. The only trouble is that this kids area is in the middle of the place(parents get ringside seats to watch other parents...interesting... parenting skills) and where the wait staff have to either circumnavigate the works or run the gauntlet of young children hyped up on soda, juice, cocktail sausages and chocolate fish armed with the aforementioned kit. Meals look good/read well on the menu but fail to deliver in real life in both size and quality, especially when considering the not insubstantial premium you are paying. Staff were very good and as attentive as they could be considering the crowd on the stunning day we visited. Meal wait times were okay considering demand. But we won't be going back for a while, not till they've had a chance to improve.

First aid box in plain site to cater for the many bumps and scrapes. ICE, DETOL, SPRAY ON BANDAID. (put a donation box on top of it to fund it and it'll prolly make enough to fund a defib machine over time) The rock numbers are quaint(cute) and wont blow away but a nightmare for staff on a busy day as they get lost on the tables amid the glasses and plates. Make sure the food quality matches the description and is big enough that you don't leave hungry after paying $80 for lunch for 2 and a kid with 4 drinks. Clean and restock the loos a bit more often, ....kids.... esp boys...

I happened to see this place recommended on a reddit thread- and we started driving out to Shelley bay and thinking “umm this doesn’t look right, we must’ve gone wrong” but no! It’s so worth the tiny drive!

They have lovely outdoor seating which has umbrellas, they also have sunscreen available to use, and spare sun hats if you need. As well as picnic rugs and towels to pop out on the grass!

There’s so many fun things for the kids to hoon around on/in and a lovely big trampoline in the middle of the “racetrack”, my daughter had a total blast.

Menu wise: The kids selection is very well priced and has kid favourites, like Cheerio sausages and even coco pops.

I’m a fussy Eater so I struggle at most places, but they’re doing a cinnamon and fruit bagel with cinnamon butter right now that is to die for.

For the non fussy people: there’s epic burgers and seafood meals, and fancy truffle things. However sadly lacking a classic eggs bene :(

They have a license and serve alcoholic drinks as well as a cute selection of non alcoholic drinks including a Moore Wilson’s fresh orange juice.

They have multiple highchairs for the littles but some are not made for the very littles so pays to choose carefully.

Service is great: super friendly and helpful, food arrives quickly and hot!

Will definitely return again, happy to give them my money and the kids are so happy to...

The only time when I didn't have to plan anything or to go anywhere was in Wellington. After 5 hours driving all the way down from Taupo, the last thing that I wanted was to think on what to eat. Lucky for me, a dear friend of mine, Sean, was being a good host. Not only he extended his hospitality by inviting me to stay at his place, he also took good care of me all the time while I was in the capital of New Zealand.

So instead of bringing me to nearby place, he drove all the way to Shelly Bay which was located on the Miramar Peninsula. It is a very nice cafe with an equally nice sea view. Bummer that it was drizzling when we reached (also the fact that it was winter so the weather was very cold).

The kids took an instant liking to the cafe right away - spacious & cosy! This cafe is famous for sammies - seriously I only understood what sammies are when the food was served in front of me.. sandwiches!!

Some of the sammies that we had - fresh fish of the day, bacon & egg, streaky bacon, and also Angus beef burger! Needless to say, everything was prepared from scratch and served hot. We had a tummy warming sandwiches for breakfast and left the cafe happily.

Apart from sammies, they also serve bagels and burgers too. Normally the cafe will be packed on weekends and when...