Taking over the two-storey space which formerly belonged to the short-lived Opera House on Queen’s Road East, Fishsteria has quietly opened its doors without too much hysteria. With spherical light fixtures and light olive-grey tones, the design is contemporary and in line with most seafood restaurants these days.
The seafood, of course, takes centre stage here, but there are also chacuterie and meat items on the menu. We start with the yellowtail king fish tartare ($178). Served alongside oranges and an assortment of shaved vegetables (including some fresh asparagus), the flavours are pretty basic and would benefit from a little seasoning. For mains we tuck into the giant macaroni lobster ($558, serves two) in spicy vodka sauce. The lobster is superbly tender, but unfortunately the giant macaroni – which is actually rigatoni – was a minute shy of al dente. There is a lot of contention over the meaning of al dente, but we draw the line when the pasta sticks to our teeth.
We end the meal with a chocolate fantasie, ($118) which is a fancy name for chocolate molten cake. It’s well executed and satisfies our sweet tooth, but nothing special. The seafood is solid at Fishsteria, but we’re not hooked on anything. During the soft opening period we get a 20 percent discount on certain items on our bill, which is nice touch, so with a little refining they should be able to reel us back in soon.