Fresh fish market is a seafood restaurant in Te Puke, in the Western Bay of Plenty, and its 4.7 rating from 110 Google reviews is the sort of score diners rarely hand out.
The test of any fish market restaurant is freshness, and it shows in small ways: whole fish with clear eyes, firm flesh, a clean sea smell rather than a fishy one, and a display kept honestly on ice. Around the Bay of Plenty, good catches can come straight off local boats, so it pays to ask what arrived that morning before ordering from habit. Regulars at places like this tend to come early and order what is freshest rather than working down the menu, because the pick of a small catch rarely sees the afternoon.
In a town better known for kiwifruit, a seafood spot this well reviewed is a handy find in Te Puke.