Restaurant review: Fishsteria – fantastic seafood beautifully cooked
This light and charming space in Wan Chai looks to have finally got its offering right, after two false starts
It’s three times lucky for the space that is now Fishsteria; it was in quick succession Roast Pot (which moved), then the short-lived Opera House (which closed shortly after having red paint thrown on the door).
The upstairs dining area (the bar is downstairs) is light and charming, with seafood-related knick-knacks such as a metal octopus sculpture and a puffer fish under glass.
The menu, as you’d expect, is seafood focused, including a good selection of oysters and some sustainable caviar for those on expense accounts.
Our only complaint about the food concerned the first dish: we loved the smoky flavour and very tender texture of the octopus gallega with mashed potato (HK$168) but it was served too cold. Oozing, soft burrata cheese came with roasted bell pepper dressing, grilled vegetables and thick balsamic vinegar (HK$178).
Mussels and clams with white wine sauce (HK$188 for 500 grams) were delicious; the mussels were small and tender, the clams were chewier, but had great flavour.
The mains were even better than the starters. Tagliatelle with sea urchin, scallops and seaweed (HK$288) was rich and delicious, with plenty of uni and small pieces of scallop.
Whole Dover sole (HK$368 per kilo) was perfectly cooked so the moist flesh came off the bone easily. Fritto misto (HK$298) was fantastic: a great selection of seafood including softshell crab, whitebait, squid tentacles, tiny sweet shrimp, sardine fillets and scallops, along with fried vegetables and onions, and a bowl of aioli on the side. Sgroppino al limoncello (HK$108) was a tart, refreshing, light end to the meal.
Fishsteria, 111 Queen’s Road East, Wan Chai, tel: 2343 8111. About HK$435 without drinks or the service charge
