Fish, Epsom

By EWAN MCDONALD for viva

Does anyone else think that it's ridiculous that it's impossible to find decent fish'n'chips in this town? This town which has two harbours, a fishing fleet that ties up smack in the middle of the city, that has seafood markets and restaurants up the wazoo?

And by fish'n'chips we don't mean the thirtysomething-dollars dish at Sails or Judith Tabron offering to cook fish five ways at Soul, right beside the aforementioned fishing fleet.

We mean fish, deep-fried in batter, with chips, maybe a splash of tartare or even good ol' Wattie's, white bread and butter.

Clearly we are not the only folk who lament this. Tony Adcock shares our grief and, having been in the seafood-restaurant business for a goodly number of years at Harbourside, has decided to do something about it. The something is called (wait for it) Fish, and it is on Greenwoods Corner in Epsom.

It is a fish'n'chip cafe, a place where the snapper, gurnard or blue nose comes on plates, with knives and forks, a choice of salads and/or vegetables, rice or potato gratin or chips, and wine. It's an upmarket corner chippie, but not so upmarket that you can't get a chip butty: two doorsteps of white bread, buttered, chips piled inside.

More good news: we're told that if this idea takes off in Epsom, you can expect to see a whole school of Fish around the city.

Fish is in a tidily converted shop next to the renowned One Tree Grill. One side is a fresh, clean, stainless steel chip shop where you can bowl up to the counter and order your fillet'n'taties to take home (in a nice little cardboard box, not newspaper).

The fun - what you might call the piscatorial-take - starts on the other side, where Adcock has installed sleek, modern decor, booths with dark wooden panelling, tables with paper tablecloths, a miniature bar and servery. Patrick Steel collaborated with Adcock on the interior, just as he did with Harbourside's makeover a year or so back. It's funky and hip: with the waiters decked out in head-to-toe black, you'd think you were in Grey Lynn.

The patron is in the kitchen, in his full chef's whites, offering starters, perhaps Clevedon rock oysters or the classic prawn cocktail and dressing. We recommend smoked salmon with cucumber salad. The salt and pepper squid isn't quite up to the standard of the French Cafe version, though it's only $9.50 and you get what you pay for.

Three fish are on the menu, with sauces such as romescu, tartare, tomato (I lied about the Wattie's, it came out of a Heinz bottle), tomato chilli or wasabi, green or Greek salads, roast vegetables. Fish boasts that its fries are made from Agria potatoes, though it's the fag-end of their season and we'll part company with Adcock here because we like real chips, not shoestrings.

The shortish wine list is almost exclusively Kiwi and predominantly white. Riesling or the sharp edges of a sauvignon blanc are the cleanest match. Generous glasses, too: I certainly got a fair suck of the sauv, which was Alan Scott's 2003 reserve.

You can finish with dessert, three choices from Harbourside's kitchen (mango baked cheesecake, chocolate tarte, fruit salad), though you might feel you're paying for the courier, and there was no espresso.

Fish, the cafe, is so fresh - when this is published the place won't have been open two weeks - that the staff haven't quite settled into their rhythm. It's a little self-conscious but with the assurance of a maitre d' from Harbourside and enthusiastic staff like young Reuben, who waited on our table, that will quickly shake down.

Please, Mr Adcock, open a place on the other side of town because it's a hassle to unravel the tangled long-line of Khyber Pass for fish'n'chips ... and we're hooked.

Open: 7 days from 5.30pm

Owner: Tony Adcock

Chef: Peter Nguyen

Food: Fish'n'chips

On the menu: Marinated fish with wasabi cream $9.50; Grilled or deep-fried snapper with Agria chips $17; Garlic and chilli prawn kebabs, Greek salad, lemon $22; Cheesecake, chocolate tarte or fresh fruit salad $9

Vegetarian: If you eat fish

Wine: Smallish list, mostly New Zealand whites, many by the glass

Smoking: No

Parking: Lots in the street

Noise: No

Disabled access/toilet: Small step, narrow door to restaurant; inside, no problems

Bottom line: Tony Adcock, of Harbourside, opens a fun'n'funky fish'n'chips cafe, designed by Patrick Steel, where the snapper, gurnard or blue nose comes on plates, with knives and forks and tablecloths, choice of salads and/or vegetables, rice, potato gratin or chips, and wine. Or you can take them home in a nice little cardboard box.

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