Tonight we had a delicious dinner at Fluers Place, a NZ seafood institution and spot on the world food stage. Overlooking the beach in Moeraki, Fleurs came highly recommended by several of our Kiwi friends. We tried to go when we were in Moeraki back at the end of May but they hadn't reopened at that point from covid19 closures.
We had a 4.5 hour drive from our Banks Peninsula pad to Moeraki. I wasn't sure if we'd need to book a table for dinner, but I set a calendar reminder and rang just a few minutes after they opened in the morning. Thank goodness we called . . . The only table left was for 5:00pm. We took it!
To NYCers, Fleurs felt like a Danny Meyer restaurant, in the ilk of Union Square Cafe. High-end dining in a casual and inviting aura/space.
We arrived to Moeraki around 3:30pm. After unloading the car we explored our darling bach (Kiwi term for a modest holiday/beach home, pronounced "batch"), played a few rounds of charades (the girls), wrote some postcards (me) and took a short walk (Doug). The owner had a lovely hand-written chalk board sign waiting for us, which we all loved. We got a chance to meet the jolly owner, Hugh, when we popped over later in the evening to say hello. We learned that he's traveled to 83 countries (wow!) and that he's spent most of his life traveling for nine months each year. Needless to say, we enjoyed our chats with him. We told him that if he & his wife make it down to Queenstown to let us know so we can chat more travel stories over a beer or cuppa (tea)!
Our bach was super well located; we were able to make the 5-10 minutes windy walk over to Fluers restaurant by way of the beach. Not a bad commute to dinner :)
The moment we walked into Fleurs we were smitten. The inviting, cozy, eclectic space - and killer views - put a smile on your soul. We were greeted by Fleur herself! At 72 years old, Fleur is one of NZ's pioneering restaurateurs. We enjoyed chatting with her for a bit before our server came over to explain the fresh catches of the day.
We were seated at a lovely table on the second floor, with the early evening lights and fresh air streaming in.
We ended up over-ordering (intentionally) because we were keen to try several things:
Paige got the kids portion elephant fish (daily catch) & grilled potatoes
Sadie got the seafood chowder (with tomato base)
Then we got three entrees to share: fish & mussel seafood pie, seafood stew and freshly caught Moki fish with steamed veggies
All was deliciously fresh and so satisfying to enjoy seafood caught locally that same day! Everything about the meal - the ambiance, the food, the views, the light, the company - was pure bliss. Paige's "octopus" hair (as Sadie coined it) was a fun addition to the meal, as well :)
Bonus that we all got to add our signatures/messages to the walls of Fluers, like so many patrons before us. Multiple messages of "The Global Subway was here" and "great food". Hope we'll be back to Fleurs one day in the future to find them and add another!
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