Fish Face

9 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  9     

One of the best fish places I have been to anywhere! The fish is amazing, always simply and beautifully cooked, and fresh, fresh, fresh! The service is professional but friendly and approachable and they have a great selection of wine to compliment their dishes. A must try if you are the vicinity.

Mar 15, 2012 

5.3 Average

Food  8      Ambience  2      Service  6      Value  5     

This place tries very hard to be "casual" but it only makes for an uncomfortable dining experience. While the food is excellent (and so it should be considering the price) it is hard to relax when you are sitting on a high stool trying to eat from a tiny table with waiters brushing past you every minute. Not to mention the noise from the kitchen.

Oh and corkage is $7 pp... which is ridiculous if you ask me.

Dec 22, 2011 

6 Average

Food  8      Ambience  6      Service  4      Value  6     

I'm an on and off customer of this little restaurant - Today will most certainly be the last visit. Kitchen staff/senior staff was incredibly unprofessional as he conducted a loud and personal conversation with a friend at the front of the restaurant, in the meantime our meal was being prepared in a second rate manner. Fish was served cold and chips arrived upon completion of the meal. A short comment to the waitress about the late arrived chips was met with a contemptuous comment 'you can have them at no charge'.

I'm sorry as someone who can afford a nice meal I really don't care about a "free" bowl of chips, what I expect instead for a $200+ lunch is simple professionalism and respect for the customer, chips and fish should arrive at the same time. The two earler visits to this restaurant met this criterium but very definitely not on this occasion.

For the record we have been visiting this restaurant for 6+ years on and off - and to be frank have been unhappy before. We won't give it another chance.

Oct 30, 2011 

9.5 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  10     

I don't think people realize that this is indeed Value for money. The freshness and high quality of this food as well as the cooking flare of Stephen Hodges makes this one of the best fish restaurants in Sydney. With some of the best seafood products around for a reasonable price. I think he should increase his prices on some menu items, I know sound crazy but I like to think everyone benefits including the chef.

May 20, 2011 

6.8 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  7      Service  6      Value  5     

Bloody nice piece of fish though... With flashes of Ramsey on and off the plate, this fiery chef is sometimes as entertaining as his food. I have visited fish face a number of times over the past four years, and with every visit I have walked away remembering the food and the $$$. The quality of the food has always been worth the money, as the chef is quite skilled at balancing simple, but elegant flavours, while never boring.

The Service has been a hit or miss affair though, at times the hostess has been welcoming and friendly, while on other visits we've been left feeling like the puppy, caught with the manolo's still in mouth. The staff as a whole, are of the vintage where the knowledge of their product, and their craft is second nature. With the only real disappointments being caused by the attitude rather than the available skill.

After all this is said the truth is; I will be back time, and time again, for the attitude, the food, and the floor show.

May 20, 2011 

6.5 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  7      Service  5      Value  5     

There is absolutely no doubt the food is phenomenal. The only issue is value for money, if cash is not a problem then come here now and order plenty, if you're on a bit of a budget and have a decent appetite then look elsewhere, get the omelette for sure, big serving relative the rest of the menu.

May 09, 2011 

2.8 Not Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  1      Service  2      Value  1     

I haven't been to Fishface for a couple of years mainly because I thought it was too expensive for what you were getting. I went back because the place keeps getting good press, honestly, it really is a scam! Mini portions, almost non-existent service and nonsense prices. $35 for so-so, small fish and chips! $42 for tiny piece of snapper with one carrot and one potato.

There are so many restaurants, and even pubs, around that provide much better ambience and value. It is definitely "the king with no clothes" story playing out here with people who rate this place so highly. Sorry Fishface, it'll be many years before I bother again.

Mar 07, 2011 

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  8     

I had dinner here friday just been and was blown away by the fresh fabulous food. Where do I start, I started off with oysters with some sort of vinegar salsa which were beautiful, fresh and tasty. I would have thought they were alive until the chefs are ready to shuck. Then I went to heaven with the special of prawn ravioli. It was once again fresh and cooked to perfection with crispy prawns atop for texture. Simply delicious.

Then for mains I decided to try something out of my comfort zone which was pan roasted kingfish with olives and berry purree. Sounds strange right? Well it worked perfectly where I even dreamt about it that night. If I had to critizise anything it would be the side of chips we ordered with our mains.

When the waiter cleared our table she'd noticed that we'd barely eaten any so then she was quick to explain that the potatoes are rubbish at the moment due to the weird weather this countries been having. All and all, well worth the visit. I can't wait to return.

Jan 10, 2011 

5.5 Average

Food  6      Ambience  6      Service  8      Value  2     

Mum and I stumbled across this place Tuesday evening. She said she “heard it was good”. I was hungry and in the mood for sashimi, so I said “sure”. Usually I check eatability before dining somewhere new, and I wish I had this time, mainly because I (and my maltese mother) appreciate value for money, which this place did not deliver.

For entree we had beets and beans, coated in butter and sea salt. I quite liked this, the beans were just right, a little crunch, not too soggy. I thought maybe a little too much butter, but if I had have anticipated what was to come, I would have spooned as much of the oily excess as I could from the bottom of the dish, stocking up on precious calories (explained below).

Next came a well-presented but disconcertingly sparse sushi platter. Only one (quite small in my opinion) portion of each type (salmon, tuna, eel, king fish, prawn.... I think that was it). Discarding all notions of etiquette, Mum and I attempted to share each of these (resulting in mess), but when I bit into one, there was scarcely enough left to bother. The rice seemed crumbly, perhaps, a little dry, and non-cohesive, falling everywhere as I attempted to pick up the morsels (maybe a testimony to my poor chopstick skillz but I really would have preferred the rice to be not so crumbly).

And then a sashimi platter, beautifully presented, the highlight of which for me was the little love-heart shaped sliver of carrot on the plate, which I savoured at the end, still hungry. Finally, coffee, which was great.

The bill came to a little over $80 for 1 glass of wine, beets n beans, sushi, sashimi, 2 coffees, and we were both still hungry. Some might think this Ok but my advice would be do not come here if you are hungry or on a budget.

Of course it wasn’t all bad. Pleasant enough surroundings, I didn’t find myself choking on car fumes like someone else mentioned, although all the seats looking out onto the street were reserved, unfortunately. Our waitress (a slender brunette lady) was lovely, attentive, and friendly, refilled my water when it was more than half empty (I guess this could be mistaken for a metaphor..) although we had her all to herself because we ate early and were the only ones there.

Despite some redeeming factors, my experience was tainted as I kept finding myself comparing the prices, quality, and quantity of the food to other places in the area. Fresh fish is fresh fish, after all. I wish I had have tried something else from the menu, rather than sushi which I can pick up for a dollar on the street late at night. And I agree, the stools are kind of uncomfortable!

Dec 01, 2010 

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  8     

We came here for lunch one weekend and it was fantastic. We ordered the specials for the day and were not disappointed. While it is on the slightly expensive side, the quality of the food and the attentiveness of the waitstaff made it worthwhile. One tip is to always ask for the special of the day. Will definitely come back here.

Nov 23, 2010