Best Seafood Restaurants in Wellington: Oysters, Crab and the Daily Catch

Wellington sits on a working harbour, and the best seafood restaurants in Wellington make the most of it, from freshly shucked oysters and Marlborough green-lipped mussels through to whatever the day boats land. Whether you want a dinner-only room with a private table, a casual crab feed or beer battered fish on a deck over the water, the seafood restaurants in Wellington that diners keep coming back to are clustered along Queens Wharf and out around Oriental Bay. Ortega Fish Shack and Shed 5 are two of the names that come up most often.

1Ortega Fish Shack

Ortega Fish Shack is a dinner-only restaurant on Majoribanks Street in Mount Victoria, a short walk up from the Courtenay Place end of town. The menu is rewritten daily around what is seasonal and available, running from Te Kouma Bay Pacific oysters and marinated green-lipped mussels through to snapper, steamed moki and yellowtail kingfish ceviche. Bookings are taken by phone rather than online, and the kitchen will work around dietary requirements when told in advance.

Services

• Daily a la carte dinner menu built around the seasonal catch
• Te Kouma Bay Pacific oysters, served natural with champagne vinegar or battered with tartare
• Four fixed price group set menus for parties of ten or more
• Private dining room seating up to 32 guests, available Tuesday to Saturday
• Lunch by prior arrangement for groups of ten or more

Highlights

• Menus change daily depending on what is seasonal and available
• Private room can be booked for exclusive use, with a stated minimum spend
• A vegetarian option is carried at starter, entree and main
• Cheese course drawn from Auvergne, Burgundy, Perigord and the Waikato, available as a board of four

Location & Contact

Name: Ortega Fish Shack
Address: 16 Majoribanks Street, Mount Victoria, Wellington
Phone: 04 382 9559
Website: ortega.co.nz

2Shed 5

Shed 5 occupies a heritage listed wooden wharf store on Queens Wharf that was built in 1887 and has served over the years as both a wool shed and a fish market. The restaurant has been in the building since 1992 and works with small day boats berthing at Island Bay and Paremata, fishing the water from the Kapiti Coast through Cook Strait and around to the Wairarapa. Fish is filleted by hand on site in a dedicated filleting room, and the menu is built around market fish rather than a fixed list.

Services

• Oysters from Te Matuku on Waiheke Island and the Marlborough Sounds, served natural or as nori tempura
• Market fish, seafood risotto and Shed 5 fish and chips, all changing with the daily catch
• Seafood chowder with market fish, prawns, mussels and a lemon sherry creme
• Two and three course set menus for groups
• Bar snack menu including Sichuan and chilli calamari and oysters by the piece

Highlights

• In-house fishmonger Richard Waru, with 30 years at the restaurant, fillets every piece by hand on site
• Housed in one of the last remaining wooden warehouses on Lambton Harbour, built in 1887
• Trading in the building since 1992
• Fish sourced from small day boats berthing at Island Bay and Paremata
• Function and event spaces run by a dedicated operations and functions manager

Location & Contact

Name: Shed 5
Address: Queens Wharf, Wellington Central, Wellington
Phone: 04 499 9069
Website: shed5.co.nz

3The Crab Shack

The Crab Shack is a casual, Cape Cod themed seafood restaurant on Queens Wharf, built around crab and plates designed to share. Madagascan mud crab, a seafood boil up for the table and 500g scoops of Marlborough green-lipped mussels sit alongside tacos, burgers and beer battered fish from the charcoal barrel. It is set up for families and groups, with its own kids menu and a different deal running most days it is open.

Services

• Madagascan mud crab served with chilli garlic butter, lemon and parsley
• Seafood boil up to share, with mud crab, king prawns, mussels, squid, spicy sausage and corn
• Scoops of 500g Marlborough green-lipped mussels in white wine and garlic cream or coconut curry laksa
• Charcoal barrel dishes including Cajun catch of the day
• Kids menu and a separate takeaway menu

Highlights

• Daily deals from Wednesday to Sunday, including half priced calamari and half priced mussels
• Kids dine free on Sundays before 6pm when accompanied by an adult ordering a main
• Online bookings for up to 14 people, with larger groups arranged by email
• Named local suppliers on the menu, including Zany Zeus halloumi, Makikihi fries and Aro milk buns

Location & Contact

Name: The Crab Shack
Address: Queens Wharf, Wellington
Phone: 04 916 4250
Website: crabshack.co.nz

4Dockside Restaurant & Bar

Dockside sits in Shed 3 on Queens Wharf, a wharf store converted into a restaurant as one of the first tasks of the waterfront redevelopment that began in 1989. The menu, created by executive chef Marie Penny, leans hard on seafood, with Te Kouma oysters, snapper ceviche, West Coast whitebait fritters and a seafood chowder finished with fino sherry and crayfish oil. Weekend brunch, a bar snack menu from mid afternoon and function spaces upstairs mean it covers casual lunches through to weddings.

Services

• Te Kouma oysters served natural or tempura, and mussels steamed in coconut milk with lemongrass, galangal and turmeric
• Seafood chowder, snapper ceviche and West Coast whitebait fritters by the 50g or 100g serve
• A la carte mains including sauteed line caught snapper, grilled Akaroa salmon and beer battered fish and chips
• Weddings and functions across an upstairs restaurant, a private room and the main deck

Highlights

• Set in Shed 3, converted into a restaurant during the waterfront redevelopment that began in 1989
• Menu created by executive chef Marie Penny
• Weekly specials including Mussels Monday, Chowder Tuesdays, Whitebait Wednesdays and Fish and Chips Fridays
• Brunch served Saturday and Sunday from 11am
• Plant based menu and allergen guide available from waitstaff on request

Location & Contact

Name: Dockside Restaurant & Bar
Address: Shed 3, Queens Wharf, Wellington
Phone: 04 499 9900
Website: dockside.co.nz

5Coene’s Bar & Eatery

Coene’s Bar & Eatery looks across the harbour from 103 Oriental Parade, with an open deck facing the water at Oriental Bay. The entree list is seafood led, taking in fresh oysters, ceviche, kaffir lime prawns, crispy calamari and mussels in coconut sauce, while the mains carry miso glazed market fish, seafood spaghetti alla vongole and battered market caught fish and chips. It is one of the Star Group venues, so bookings, gift cards and the rewards programme run through the group.

Services

• Fresh oysters with chardonnay and sherry mignonette, or beer battered with chipotle
• Seafood entrees including ceviche, kaffir lime prawns, crispy calamari and mussels in coconut sauce
• Seafood mains such as miso glazed market fish, spaghetti alla vongole and battered fish and chips
• Function spaces with tailored food and beverage packages and an event planning service

Highlights

• Open deck at 103 Oriental Parade looking out over Wellington harbour
• Menu items coded for gluten free, dairy free and vegetarian diets
• Brunch menu served on Saturdays and Sundays from 9am
• Star Social rewards programme applies across the group’s venues

Location & Contact

Name: Coene’s Bar & Eatery
Address: 103 Oriental Parade, Wellington
Phone: 04 385 7124
Website: coenes.co.nz

Seafood Restaurants in Wellington at a Glance

How to Choose the Right Seafood Restaurant in Wellington

• Ask what market fish means on the day. A kitchen writing its menu around the catch will tell you what landed, where it came from and how it is being cooked.
• Check whether the restaurant handles its own fish. An in-house fishmonger and an on-site filleting room point to whole fish being broken down rather than portions arriving pre-cut.
• Match the room to the occasion. A dinner-only restaurant with a private room suits a set piece meal, while a wharfside deck with a kids menu suits a family lunch.
• Look at how the oysters are listed. Named beds, such as Te Kouma Bay or Te Matuku, tell you more than a generic oyster line, and market price means you should ask before ordering.
• Book ahead, and raise dietary requirements when you do. Some Wellington kitchens take bookings by phone only, and group set menus usually have to be chosen in advance.

Frequently Asked Questions About Wellington Seafood Restaurants

How much does dinner at a seafood restaurant in Wellington cost?

It depends on the room. Mains at the more casual wharfside restaurants generally sit between the high twenties and the low forties, while the dinner focused rooms start in the mid forties. Oysters and crab are commonly priced at market rate rather than a fixed figure, so ask what the day’s price is before you order. Group set menus are quoted per head and are usually published in advance.

Which suburbs are Wellington’s seafood restaurants in?

Many sit on Queens Wharf in the central city, a few minutes’ walk from Lambton Quay and the railway station. Others are a short distance further round the harbour, in Mount Victoria just above Courtenay Place, and along Oriental Parade at Oriental Bay. If you are trying to find somewhere near you, start by deciding which side of the water you want to be on. The wharf venues are walkable from most of the central business district, and Oriental Parade is roughly a fifteen minute stroll around the bay from Te Papa.

What seafood is actually local to Wellington?

Boats fishing the water from the Kapiti Coast through Cook Strait and around to the Wairarapa land species including hapuku, tarakihi, blue warehou, moki, gurnard, blue cod, snapper and kingfish. Green-lipped mussels usually come from Marlborough, oysters from named beds elsewhere in the country, and whitebait is a seasonal West Coast product. If you want to understand how New Zealand fisheries are managed and which species are in season, Fisheries New Zealand publishes that information.

Do I need to book a table?

For dinner, yes, particularly on Friday and Saturday. Some restaurants take bookings by phone only and do not accept them online at all. Others use an online system with a cap on group size and ask you to email for anything larger. Lunch is easier to walk into, although the wharf decks fill quickly on a fine day.

Are Wellington seafood restaurants suitable for families?

Some are set up for it. The more casual wharfside restaurants run kids menus, midweek deals and Sunday offers aimed squarely at families, and the rooms are busy enough that children are not out of place. The dinner focused restaurants are quieter, take bookings for evening service only, and are generally better suited to adults.

Can a seafood restaurant cater for allergies and dietary requirements?

Most can, given notice. Menus are commonly coded for gluten free, dairy free and vegetarian dishes, and some kitchens keep a plant based menu and an allergen guide that waitstaff will bring on request. A shellfish allergy should be raised when you book rather than at the table, because shared fryers and stocks make cross contact difficult to rule out. Food businesses have to manage allergens under the rules set out by New Zealand Food Safety.

What is the difference between a seafood restaurant and a fish and chip shop?

A fish and chip shop is a takeaway counter selling battered fish by the piece. These are licensed sit-down restaurants with table service, a wine list and a kitchen that changes its menu as the catch changes. Plenty of Wellington seafood restaurants do serve fish and chips, usually with line caught market fish, triple cooked chips and house tartare, so you can order the familiar thing in a dining room if that is what you feel like.

When is whitebait on the menu?

Whitebait is seasonal and appears when the West Coast season allows, most often as a fritter or a souffle and priced by the 50 or 100 gram serve. Kitchens that carry it tend to run it as a special rather than a permanent line, so it is worth phoning ahead if that is what you are coming in for.