Scarborough Fare

A four and a half hour return walk from Sumner to Boulder Bay via the surfers’ paradise of Taylors Mistake is, if nothing else, a huge appetite inducing exercise. It was, of course, much more than this and the spectacular photographs in my camera are proof of what a uniquely beautiful part of Canterbury this area is. The rugged, steep coastline, the pristine, people-free bays and coves and the incredible old Kiwi baches clinging desperately to their tiny, surfside patches of land made the strenuous, fast-paced trek ever so worthwhile.
My point of return, Scarborough Beach, has long been the home of Scarborough Fare Restaurant, an eatery of mixed fortunes it would be fair to suggest. In the past fourteen months it has been reviewed on DineOut only twice and both reviews came in under 4.0. Both reviewers with a mere one review to their names and nothing since so perhaps not of much consequence.....
The setting is very agreeable, in the shadow of a stone clocktower, with the Pacific Ocean one side and an excellent family park the other, plenty of al fresco seating and more than ample accommodation inside, with a view.
The lunch menu runs to three pages including desserts, coffees and teas with the usual cross-section of tastes catered for and everything from snacks to full meals on offer. It is my understanding that they don’t open for dinner.
The Moroccan Fish Fillet dish, which came with salad and a couple of lemon wedges, was disappointing I’m afraid to say, as the fish pieces did not appear to be in abundance and the salad was a frustrated looking jumble scattered about the plate. Admittedly, the salad was a comprehensive array of fresh items and was the star of the dish so some consolation was had. Nonetheless, I am reluctant to write this place off as some of the meals being delivered to other tables looked far more professionally presented and, in watching others eat, (a bad habit of mine!) I noticed no signs of displeasure.
Staff are all in uniforms, service is prompt and adequate and they offer all ten wines on the wine list by the glass as well as by the bottle. A possible downside for some might be the irritating ordering procedure whereby one has to queue at the counter and pay up before sitting down; however, this may well be due to the historic frequency of runners....