Blue Fish | Darling Harbour

I generally avoid all dining areas near the Darling Harbour strip – too touristy, too pricey, even if the views of Darling Harbour and Sydney CBD skyline are simply stunning. This time a friend suggested we catch up at Blue Fish at Darling Harbour. After reading all the reviews on Urbanspoon and Weekend Notes about service and food quality, I really would have suggested we go somewhere else quite frankly had it not been for an Entertainment Book voucher that gives you a buy one get one free main deal.

My experience surprisingly was very different from all those Urbanspoon diners and I am glad to have ignored their off the cuff reviews and dined there. I wonder now after visiting Blue Fish last Wednesday evening whether the grumpy reviews were fair. Fair enough if you were unlucky to be allocated a bad waitstaff who has bigger problems than not wanting to give you 100% good service but perhaps the establishment has taken on board all the feedback and have attempted to turn things around. Who knows but I can say the food we ordered for dinner was good and the service we had was pretty darn good, which do not reflect the negative reviews you see in Urbanspoon. A reformed establishment that has taken on customer feedback should be applauded with some credit and recognition. After all I hate to see people not support this local establishment and miss out on the one thing that is consistent and that’s the beautiful city skyline of Sydney.

Location & Ambience

You can sit indoors or out. On a Sydney summer day, you’d be foolish not to sit outside and admire how beautiful the views are of Darling Harbour and the city skyline. I’ve been to many places in the world and we really are lucky to be living in such a beautiful city.

Food

My friend and I shared two mains, the crab pasta and the seafood paella. They weren’t massive portions but were decent size that filled us up. Both dishes had food sitting on about a 25cm in diameter plate.

The crab pasta was delicious and a great summer dish. It wasn’t heavy with sauces – only fresh shell pasta and stringy crab meat.

The seafood paella was equally delicious with its rice mixed with chorizo, chicken, mussels, clams, BBQ king prawns, and calamari rings. There was no strong fishy smell which is usually a good sign the seafood is fresh.

Service

The service of the waitstaff for our table was exceptional, though he did underestimate the amount we could eat. He suggested the seafood paella was enough for two of us (interesting how people just assume). But as regular dancers and very active people with huge appetites we ordered two main dishes and shared. We finished all of it – no doggy bags.

He did regularly check in on us to see if everything was fine and whether we wanted anything else.

Cost

The paella was $37.50 and I can’t remember what the cost of the crab pasta was as we go that one for free (Entertainment Book voucher).

Looking at the prices of the mains on the menu, they do range from $28 to $45.

Overall

The prices set for each dish at Blue Fish means it is not really an everyday dine in dine out establishment. But if you haven’t seen someone for a while and want a place for easy speaking then Blue Fish is a great convenient location in the heart of Sydney.

I’m glad I went to Blue Fish and ignored Urbanspoon reviews.

When? Sun-Thurs 8am-10pm; Fri-Sat 8am-11pm
Where? Harbourside Shopping Centre/287 Darling Dr, Sydney NSW 2000
Phone: (02) 9211 0315
Website: www.bluefishsydney.com.au