Disappointing experience.
We've been dining at Love Fish for years and have celebrated several special occasions here. It has always been one of our favourite seafood restaurants in Sydney, which is why this review is so disappointing to write. Unfortunately, it feels like the restaurant has gone downhill recently.
We dined here for what was meant to be another special evening, spending approximately **$250** for dinner, so it was disappointing that the experience fell well short of expectations.
The main reason we chose Love Fish was because I specifically wanted to try the **lobster pot pie or chowder**. Before ordering, I asked the restaurant manager **twice** whether the filling was a creamy white sauce rather than a stew-style filling. The menu described the pie as containing a **velouté**, and from my understanding, a seafood velouté is a smooth, velvety sauce. I explained that I was specifically looking for a creamy filling and did not want a stew. The manager confirmed it was creamy and even suggested the chowder, saying it was "the same but tastier with prawns and more ingredients."
Unfortunately, when the pie arrived, it was exactly what I had tried to avoid, a stew-style filling rather than the creamy velouté that had been described. Had it been explained accurately, I simply would not have ordered the **$62** dish and would have chosen something else. This was particularly disappointing because it was the sole reason we chose this restaurant that evening.
The fish and chips were also disappointing. The chips were extremely overcooked, hard and almost inedible. They were eventually replaced with the seafood pasta, which was okay, but it wasn't what I had originally wanted. By then, the evening had already lost its shine.
There were also several service issues throughout the night. A drink and a piccolo coffee that we ordered never arrived, despite reminding staff, and we observed staff coughing and sneezing into their hands while serving guests, which wasn't particularly reassuring from a hygiene perspective.
To the restaurant's credit, the staff did apologise, replaced the meal and kindly provided complimentary dessert and coffee, which we appreciated. They made an effort to recover the situation, and I do acknowledge that.
However, when you're spending around **$250** on what is meant to be a memorable dinner, you expect the food and service to match the price. Unfortunately, the combination of inaccurate advice about the signature dish, disappointing food quality and multiple service oversights meant the evening simply didn't live up to expectations.
As returning customers, that's the part that disappoints us the most. We've always happily recommended Love Fish to family and friends, but after this experience, we left feeling that the quality and attention to detail that once made it a favourite just isn't there anymore.
Sadly, while I appreciate the staff's attempts to make things right, it's not somewhere we'll be returning.