Anyone that follows my blog with any interest would know that I’m an avid seafood lover. I guess you could say that it’s in my blood seeing as my parents owned a wholesale seafood business for the first 28 years of my life so when 2 Fish Restaurant in Port Douglas invited me to try their new menu, of course I jumped at the chance. For a modern seafood restaurant on the main street in Port Douglas 2 Fish sure has quite a list of accolades. In 2016 2 Fish won Best Seafood Restaurant in Australia at the Savour National Restaurant and Catering Awards while more recently it won the 2017 AGFG Readers Choice Award for Best Seafood Restaurant in the Region.

Having never been and after hearing about the fanfare I was pretty excited for my first visit to 2 Fish. My +1 for the affair could be no other than one of my parents and since my dad is arms deep in a home reno project at the moment I took mum with me. My mum has been a pescatarian (only eats seafood) for coming up to three years now so I knew that she would be smitten with a seafood feast at 2 Fish.

Our drive up to Port Douglas was one of those seriously magical days that make you really grateful for living in Tropical North Queensland. On the way up we stopped for the obligatory photo at the now famous ‘Rock Piles’ and of course Rex Lookout.

Arriving at 2 Fish on Macrossan St we were greeted by our waiter and Restaurant Manager Chris who showed us to our table – we chose outside rather than the air-conditioned inside since we are Far Northerner’s through and through. Glasses of ice cold rose ensued and Chris bought us some menus to peruse. 2 Fish has a 2 Course Set Lunch menu between 12 and 2pm for $35 or you can order off the a la carte menu. Since there were a few dishes that tickled our fancy on the a la carte menu we decided to order from that.

Starters on the menu are all $12 each. We shared the:

• Tuna Tartar with Caper and Crostini
• Coral Trout Ceviche with Mint and Grapefruit

And for the mains we shared the:

• Sashimi with Charred Garlic Aioli, Tempura Oyster, Grilled Baby Sweetcorn and Sweet Soy Drizzle ($22)
• Large Mouth Nannygai with Pickled Watermelon and Cucumber Salad, Asian Herbs and Green Chilli Nahm Jim (market price depending on the fish)

Our starters arrived and our table for two erupted in photos. Mum and I have similar palates and the fact that we had both chosen the only raw dishes on the starter menu is testament to our love of raw seafood. First to taste was the Coral Trout Ceviche with Mint and Grapefruit. Served on a ceramic spoon the delicately diced Coral Trout mixed with the sweet flavour of the mint and the tart flavour of the grapefruit was a delectable mouthful.

Coral Trout Ceviche with Mint and Grapefruit

Second up was my favourite starter for the day, the Tuna Tartar with Caper and a crunchy Crostini. Beautiful, fresh tuna like this doesn’t need much added to it to make it sing but the subtle salty flavour of the capers was the perfect accompaniment.

Tuna Tartar with Caper and Crostini

Moving onto our mains we started on the Sashimi first up. The Black Kingfish (also known as Cobia) was the fish used in this particular dish. Kingfish, along with Spanish Mackerel, is one of my absolute favourite fish to eat. It’s exquisite when raw and this sashimi dish we were sharing was no exception. Again, fish this fresh doesn’t need too much done to it because it fabulous all on its own however the extra elements of Charred Garlic Aioli, Grill Baby Sweetcorn and Sweet Soy Drizzle didn’t just beautify the dish but also bought out the flavour and texture of the kingfish.

Sashimi with Char Grilled Aioli, Tempura Oyster, Grilled Baby Sweet Corn and Sweet Soy Drizzle

The Nannygai with Pickled Watermelon and Cucumber Salad had mum gushing about just how delicious it was. The skin on the nannygai was impressively crispy while the soft white flesh underneath literally melted in your mouth. That coupled with the sweet and sour flavours of the accompanying salad and Nahm Jim made mum adamant she was going to try to recreate this dish at home. No protest from me as long as I’m invited.

Large Mouth Nannygai with Pickled Watermelon and Cucumber Salad, Asian Herbs and Green Chilli Nahm Jim

We thoroughly enjoyed our lunch at 2 Fish Seafood Restaurant in Port Douglas. The new menu focuses on Far North Queensland does best and that’s incredible seafood with an emphasis on fresh and local ingredients. And while the menu is predominantly seafood based there is still the odd non seafood dish such as the Pork Belly with Granny Smith Apple Puree, Red Onion Chutney and Pipsqueak Cider Reduction to keep the non-seafood lover like my fiancée happy but most importantly plenty of tasty options to keep the seafood lovers like me and mum very happy indeed.

*Mum and I were guests of 2 Fish Seafood Restaurant.

2 Fish Restaurant

11/56-64 Macrossan St, Port Douglas QLD 4877

Phone: (07) 40996350

Opening Hours: 7 days 12-2pm, 5.30-9pm