Monday, January 12, 2009

Fish 349 - North Hobart

With friends visiting, it was a good opportunity to try another restaurant on my list. Our friends S & G are both fish fans so this was the ideal choice. This restaurant has a number of eating areas as well as catering for take away. We were quickly seated- they don't take booking for tables under 6 - read the menu and ordered at the counter.
There are two menus; the regular and a chef's special. They are both printed so the specials don't change. They are just a bit more 'up market'

Soon to be an Aussie tradition? The boys didn't think so....


Thai Fish Cakes $6.90

Crumbed Calamari $6.50

Grilled Tiger Prawns on Zucchini Fritter & Yoghurt Dressing $15.90
More like prawns in a pancake - but enjoyable.


Fish 349 $19.50
fish, scallops, calamari, coconut prawns, chips
My husband can't go past traditional fish and chips and he was happy with his meal.


Salt and Pepper Squid $15.90
with watermelon, rocket and pickled ginger salad.
This was my choice and I must admit to being a little disappointed. To me, Salt and Pepper Squid is not served in rings. Although it was fresh and hand cut you can't help thinking of the processed rings from the takeaway shop. Still, a generous and tasty serve.

Pistachio Dukkah Crusted Blue Eye $27.90
on saffron mash, asparagus and roasted red pepper aioli.
S ordered this and it didn't live up to her expectations. It just seemed to be fish and mashed potato.

BBQ Baby Octopus on a Greek Salad $19.50
This dish didn't really live up to expectations either. The octopus was in rather large pieces and didn't have that crunchy, just tossed on the grill taste. They were a little tough and chewy.
Steamed Chocolate Pudding with hot fudge sauce and vanilla bean gelati
$10.50
For a seafood restaurant they certainly excelled at dessert.
Kaffir Lime Panna Cotta with fresh mango & mint -ginger syrup
$10.50
This has to be one of the most amazing desserts I have tasted and would recommend it to anyone and everyone. The panna cotta was so smooth and rich I would hazard a guess it had been cooked like a brulee. The mango was perfect ripeness. But the finishing touch, the basil syrup poured over both the panna cotta and the mango was sweet, but herby, in a deep and meaningful way. It cut through the richness of the custard and the muskyness of the mango and blended perfectly with both.

2 comments:

Rita said...

Hey Sami - I think you've got your menu pics a bit scrambled! I reckon the pic of the 2nd (chef's specials) menu at Fish is actually the one from your previous review of Bill Granger's? Apart from that, a very interesting review. I love how you have pictured every meal your table had, and even before I read your description, had decided to go there just for that gorgeous looking dessert!
The rest of the meal sounds as if it was very average and ho-hum.
I was at Raincheck (opposite) yesterday afternoon, sitting waiting for my friend to turn up and looking at Fish & thinking I should go there one day and review it, but then decided that the various things I'd heard about it didn't really put it as a priority for me! So I'm glad you've done it instead.
If only you could do more reviews like this, it would make the online food review scene way better!

Claire said...

Oh no Rita! Thanks for that. Too many photos and not enough blogging. I had every intention of blogging at least every second day, but it hasn't happened. I would like to do more restaurants as so many people, me included, like to see what they are eating. This year, as you know, we are going to set up the farm so my 'eating out budget' is now going towards fences and pigs. Oh well. A couple of birthday's and a wedding anniversary coming up soon.

We only went to Fish as we had friends with us. There are other restaurants that I wanted to try but thought the friends would prefer this one.