Fishbone, Queenstown

Fishbone is located in the heart of Queenstown, close to many of the other restaurants and shops in town. They offer fresh seafood with a menu that changes daily, so it’s quite exciting to see what will be on offer today!

The interiors are all fish themed from blue tones to fish ornaments on the wall, enhancing the seafood experience. The menu consists of 90% seafood with a small section devoted to other dishes such as beef, lamb and desserts. There’s a huge selection so our table opts for quite a few dishes tonight.

New Season Coromandel Scallops – NZD$22

We start off first with some entrees. The scallops are served with a bacon risotto and corn chow chow (relish). It’s sweet, salty and juicy and is a unique yet tasty balance of flavours. If only bacon risotto were more common I’d eat it all the time!

Salt & Chilli Calamari – NZD$18.5

The other entree we get is the calamari which is served with squid ink mayonnaise, witlof and pink grapefruit. It looks small and the presentation isn’t particularly appealing, but the flavours speak for themselves. The witlof is crunchy and has been drizzled with a sweet vinaigrette, the calamari is crispy going well with the mayonnaise and the grapefruit adds juiciness. On top of this, there’s a lingering spiciness in the dish (not sure where it’s hidden) and despite the small portion, it is a very well executed dish.

Orange Roughy – NZD$25

Onto mains, my friend opts for the battered fish and chips with a pickled onion tartare. It’s presented in a chip-filled cone with fish piled on top, tasty and awesome presentation!

Seafood Gumbo – NZD$36

My other friends go for the gumbo which contains paddle crab, prawns, shellfish, fish, chorizo and rice and is served with a grilled garlic toast. There’s a lot of seafood in here and all the shells are a bit fiddly, taking my friends ages to work their way through the dish. I’m not a fan of the taste as it’s very fishy and I’m used to eating gumbos with tomato flavours instead, however my friends both thoroughly enjoy the flavours. Their only criticism is the chorizo which seems a bit out of place here and adds a lot of saltiness towards the end, but otherwise thumbs up to the seafood.

Oven Roasted Groper Fillet – NZD$36.5

I decide for the Groper fish which has been freshly caught earlier that day off the South Island. It’s served with a beef rib ravioli, cauliflower puree, roasted winter vegetables and pickled golden beets. The fish is well cooked and is soft and succulent, paired with a beefy type sauce which goes well. The vegetables add extra textures and flavours as well. I quite enjoy the single ravioli on top of the fish which is stuffed with heaps of beef but I wish there were more! I don’t find the dish that filling and one of my other friends who also got this dish wasn’t a huge fan of the flavours, but I quite enjoyed it.

Overall, Fishbone has some pretty interesting seafood dishes. Some dishes are a hit and miss with our table but the overall feeling is positive. Highlights were definitely the entrees which had interesting flavour combinations which all worked perfectly!

Fishbone Bar & Grill
7 Beach St, Queenstown Town Centre 9300, New Zealand
Ph:+64 3-442 6768