Fisherman's Wharf, Lyttelton

It seems only appropriate that Lyttelton, being a port town, should have its own dedicated seafood restaurant. Sadly, the latest attempt at providing this at 39 Norwich Quay falls far short of a boastable standard. I don’t like to be the castigator of small businesses but I’m firmly of the opinion that Fisherman’s Wharf Seafood Eatery & Bar has opened its doors too soon, certainly before ensuring staff are trained to a level above the bare minimum standard, a wine list with more than almost nothing on it has been established and a menu representative of fine southern waters is drawn up.
I was under no illusion that this eatery was anything other than a fish and chippery with casual dining options; notwithstanding this, the view across the port was quite splendid, the seating comfortable and roomy, the atmosphere heaving with activity as the staff scurried in and out of the open kitchen. The potential exists for this establishment to work well for the owners but someone needs to take charge of the operation and bring it together as a well-oiled, working machine. At the moment the staff seem to be charging about in all directions, each oblivious to what the other is doing. Guests are left wondering whether they will be offered another drink, whether cutlery will appear on the table, which of the handful of wines on the tiny wine list is still available – several were sold out on the night we visited.
The menu offers a choice of chowder, mussels (spelt muscles on the menu), scallops, seared fish(freshly caught), salmon, crayfish and prawns as well as a chicken and a beef option.
The seafood chowder was mediocre and was presented with what seemed to me to be a cheap Pak n Save type bread roll, sliced up; what’s wrong with that? Nothing in essence except it further dumbed down the experience for me.
My seared fish of the day, Groper, was a fine enough specimen, as fresh as the morning breeze, but the taste was dominated by the charcoal coating; the plate was adorned with a salad of tomato, lettuce, onion and capsicum and a sizeable handful of fried chips – to reinforce the casual nature of the place no doubt.
In defence of the owners of Fisherman’s Wharf it should be conceded that it is not easy to recruit wait staff in Christchurch at the moment and, in some instances, even harder to train those you do manage to get, but this cannot and must not be used as an excuse for poor service and fundamental operational mistakes, omissions and oversights. The difficulties in hiring staff should not in any way, shape or form become the restaurant diners’ problems. You have to roll out your red carpet for your guests at all times and without fail as the competition for the private discretionary dollar is fierce in this town and shortly to become more so as many more restaurants and cafes open their doors.
This restaurant, I’m told, is in partnership with Pegasus Bay Fishing Ltd, and so has the advantage of access to freshly caught fish on an almost daily basis. This, I would have thought, is an enormous opportunity to deliver something quite special to us all; giant platters of smoked, seared, fried and raw fish perhaps? Interspersed with prawns, scallops and crayfish, fresh salads, bright yellow lemon wedges and cold beer…..or champagne. Casual eatery or not, I’d pay handsomely for such a dish.