Jimmy The Fish

Ponsonby Central is a pretty cool little spot. The thing is that people seem to be aware of this so when we arrived on Thursday night it was heaving with people.
We settled on Jimmy the Fish for dinner and were not disappointed. We ordered battered fish with chunky fries and a fish burger. The fish was tarakihi.
The batter on the fish is light and not too greasy and the fish was super fresh. The chunky fries were delicious. You get free tomato sauce but you need to pay for aioli I think. The fish burger was served with lettuce. The bun was lightly toasted and also very fresh.
We left feeling satisfied. The staff are very friendly and you get to see your meal being prepared right in front of you!

Man oh MAN! I’ve really gotta tell you about this place called Jimmy The Fish!
While walking through Ponsonby Central (PC), you’ll find yourself searching for something savory good. Well, if you can’t decide between the meatiness of Burger Burger, El Sizzling Chorizo, and Dante’s, etc… Then I recommend starting off with Jimmy’s fresh seafood! It’s probably the smallest of the food stands and has a few benches and stools, but located in the heart of PC. Easy to find.
Here’s what I’ve tried, and I’ll be back for more:
~ The Special of the Day: Kingfish Ceviche ($ 14 nzd) with ginger, peppers, and a hint of chili. Although the saltiness made the first impression. The lime-​lemon made the second impression. But starting with this dish, overall was just heavenly! I didn’t wanna share. It didn’t even need tortilla. All it needed was a fork. Different style of ceviche, but near perfect in the way it was presented. As for the chips, loved it! Kinda like steak fries only better!
~ Beer Battered Fish and Chips ($ 9.50 Snapper /​$ 5 nzd for a small bowl of chips): Ho’man! That fish was freakin’ amazing! Since coming from the U.S., I didn’t know New Zealand was all about their kingfish and snapper. Now I do! The batter was nice and crispy, and I’d honestly say it rivals all the tasty ones in Dublin/​London. They tend to love cod. Different fish, so slightly different texture, but just as good!
Service from the boys in the kitchen:
~ Excellent! They gave great suggestions and descriptions, and were cordial in every way.
~ And seeing them cook it up was just like, «man they work their tails off».
I’ll no doubt be back!

If its fresh fish you’re after or a cooked fish lunch/​dinner then Jimmy is your man! A couple of counter seats make a perfect spot to tuck into a delicious meal and have a yarn. It’s really easy for me to pop in here on my way home from work to pick up a few fillets. Usually has 3 or 4 different types of fish to choose from and apparently the potato fish cakes are the best but I am yet to try. Perhaps on the more expensive side for fish but what else would you expect in Ponsonby Central.

Best fish and chips I’ve had for years. They made the beer batter in front of us, prepared the gurnard and cooked it perfectly. The chunky hand cut French fries were perfect too. You’d have to go a long way to find a better fish and chips meal.

This Jimmy the Fish place was in a corner of Ponsonby central and it is a bit hard to find without a big sign. All the fish are displayed raw so I couldn’t tell if this restaurant is going to be okay or not but me and my friend saw this pasta dish and said «We have to have that!!!»
The pasta was turned out to be called «Vongole» — with Clams, chilli, garlic and Spaghetti. A simple dish which was fantastic, especially at $ 12. My friend had a battered snapper ($ 9.50) and handcut chips ($ 6) which was a bit average for me.
Everything was perfect except for the wait. Maybe it was because of the Ponsonby Market but we waiting for about 20 minutes just staring at the counter along with several other people… I shall visit again and see if this wait is the norm…

I went to Ponsonby Central for a late lunch last Thursday. I bee-​lined for Jimmy the Fish based on a review I’d read in the newspaper and the fact that this fancy girl who went to Dio (private school) said that it was really good. Who better to trust than a young trust-​funder?
Jimmy the Fish sells fresh fish as well as cooking it up. You can get your standard fish and chips (you choose the variety) or choose from the ever-​changing blackboard specials. I went for the special. Pan-​fried fish on mushroom risotto with a lemon butter ($ 15). I originally chose terakihi but the guy behind the counter sold me on some kind of fish I can’t remember the name of it was so obscure to me. It was still good though, I’d get it again. My only issue would’ve been the wait. The orders were backed up and I was starving: Terrible combination. That aside, it was a pleasant experience.
(On my way out I walked past some women who had ordered the calamari. I’m not going to lie, I got order envy.)