The front of Fishermans Table. Photo / Rosalie Willis
The front of Fishermans Table. Photo / Rosalie Willis
The origins of arguably Kāpiti's most well-known restaurant started with a chat between a tearoom owner and a senior government minister, as editor David Haxton discovers.
In between serving food and drinks in the Kaka Tearooms, near the summit of the Paekākariki Hill Rd, Presh D'Ath was a bit concerned.
A long way below, between Pukerua Bay and Paekākāriki, the government was building a motorway.
While the tearoom was doing well, with lots of customers, the numbers would likely drop a lot when the new coast road opened.
Presh, sensing a possible opportunity for a new eatery, decided to take action. In time, that venture would become the well-known Fishermans Table.
"After the grand opening [of the new road] on November 4, 1939, by the Minister of Public Works Bob Semple and his wife, Presh decided to go and see him and present her case for a rescue of some kind," Presh's son Michael D'th wrote in his boyhood memoirs.
"In this, she was most successful.
"She obviously impressed Semple to the extent that he liked the idea of a tearoom/restaurant gracing the northern end of his road — the Centennial Highway.
"Consequently he authorised its construction and this was done using parts of the old tearoom and an in-the-way cottage from Pukerua Bay.
"The new tearoom was named Centennial Inn, coinciding with New Zealand's centenary in 1940."
Some Fishermans Table meals ready to serve. Photo / Murray Lloyd
Business was steady at the inn as customers, including passengers on Newmans coaches, found the new restaurant easy to get to, enjoyed the extraordinary sea views, and loved the food produced by Presh, who had many culinary strings to her bow.
She was also a very good piano player, which saw the inn become very popular especially with the US Marines who were camped in and around Queen Elizabeth Park as they prepared for battles in the Pacific.
The lease from the Ministry of Works changed a few times until the ministry freed itself of its landlord duties which led to proprietors Mr and Mrs P J McGowan, who had taken over in 1952, granted a lease in perpetuity.
By 1977 Peter Andrews changed the inn's name to Fishermans Table.
Murray Goodman and some others trademarked the name in 1981 because there were many Fishermans Table eateries around the country and they weren't working together.
In 1993 Bernard Parker, Jim Petrie, and Steve Mulholland introduced the 'all you can eat from the salad boat' which was a marketing masterstroke that continues today and is a magnet for customers.
The very popular salad boat. Photo / Murray Lloyd
Mauricio and Karym Torrealba have owned the restaurant since 2016 but had worked there earlier so knew what made it tick.
"Its ongoing success is the consistency of what we offer," Mauricio said.
The restaurant has also offered employment for many people including a number who have worked there for many years such as Dawn Melrose who retired after 43 and a half years. Chef Vern Lancaster started in 1982, with a few stints elsewhere, and Vince Takiwa has been cooking for customers since 1997.
With Mauricio and Karym at the helm, and a passionate and hardworking crew, this dining institution has a bright future.
"We, as the current owners, feel blessed to be part of history and what it means to the village and the Wellington region," Mauricio said.
"We are committed to improving all areas of the business as well as the property so that it can be enjoyed for many more years to come."
- this article features in the Celebrating Kāpiti magazine spring/summer 2022 edition
