Fail’s now offering fish dishes for gourmets

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33790, 12 March 1975, Page 21

Fail’s now offering fish dishes for gourmets

■ Fail’s has been a popular restaurant in Christchurch for many years, known for its fish meals. But it should become even more popular with a broader menu and a continued emphasis on quality food served swiftly. Fail’s has always had. a distinctive character. It was the first restaurant in New Zealand to be fully air conditioned and the unusual (but comfortable and convenient) swinging iron chairs have become one of its trademarks. The restaurant is now being run as a family business — with a family outlook and lots of friendly co-operation in the kitchen. Mr Geoff Twiss owns the restaurant — he took over .from Mr Fail about 18 months ago — and his sister, father and mother all help him to run it. Geoff Twiss is the chief cook while Mr Brian Twiss attends to the grills and does the dishes. Mrs Dawn Twiss is the cashier while Gael Twiss helps in the kitchen. Geoff Twiss is very keen on seafoods and intends to keep up the tradition of Fail’s while offering some more exotic and unusual dishes as well. Fresh fish, well cooked, is the hallmark of the restaurant, but although this includes fish and chips to take away (probably the tastiest in Christchurch) it certainly does not stop there. Spaghetti marinara, for example, is quite simple — just spaghetti and tomato sauce — but ip that sauce are scallops, oysters, and

crayfish, subtly flavoured with garlic and served with lemon and parsley. The result is delicious, tasty and tilling, the type of seafood speciality you would expect to find in traditional seafood centres such as San Francisco or on the Mediterranean.

Fail’s is open from Monday to Friday for lu-nch (11.30 a.m. to 2.30 p.m.) and dinner (4.30 to 8). Many tourists eat there, but according to Geoff Twiss there is a tradition in Christchurch of boarding school pupils eating at Fail’s with their parents at the beginning and end of term. Farmers make up about 60 per cent of customers. Desserts have not been served in the restaurant before, but trifles, apple shortcake and ice cream sundaes will now be offered. Milk shakes are another new addition to the menu.

Geoff Twiss says he aims to have a simple menu, but with plenty of variety and interest. He has just introduced crayfish, scallop and oyster mornay dishes, and these delicacies will also be offered with a curry sauce. The scallop mornay, fresh succulent scallops served on the shell with a creamy cheese sauce, grilled on top, are a gourmet’s delight. They are served very attractively on a bed of rice.

Whenever possible, the fish served at Fail’s is perfectly fresh. Amateur fishermen quite often sell their catch to the restaurant, but of course the bulk of the fish is bought from the local market.

Flounder is by far the biggest seller. It is available either whole or filleted, fried, grilled or steamed, and ranges in price from 51.75 for a small fish to $2.50 for an extra large specimen. The most spectacular dish offered at the moment is the whole crayfish salad — it costs $4 but is worth every cent. The Twiss family are enthusiastic about fish as a health food. The natural oils in fish are reputed to reduce the cholesterol level, so fish is recommended for heart patients. People who are watching their weight are also keen eaters of fish — especially steamed fish. All the meals can be cooked to order, for people on diets and so on.

Mr Fail was a man ahead of his time. He equipped the restaurant with all the laboursaving devices possible. Apart from the air conditioning — almost revolutionary when it was installed — there is a water softener which makes dish-washing easier and more hygienic.

The popularity of Fail’s as a place to eat good food has increased rapidly over the last 18 months — probably as a result of the more varied menu — and the Twisses expect to increase their turnover even more this year Good, fast service is something they trv to maintain. Someone in a hurry could eat a full meal in about 20 minutes. But the meals at Fail’s are worth spending a little more time than that over.