In recent decades, there has been a global push to restore depleted shellfish reefs and the array of ecosystem services they provide. Extensive green-lipped mussel (Perna canaliculus) reefs were decimated throughout Aotearoa New Zealand by commercial harvesting in the last century. However, efforts to restore these reefs are impeded by a lack of natural recruitment to adult mussels transplanted to the seafloor. Macroalgae, coralline red species in particular, have been identified as key settlement substrata for juvenile mussels on remnant intertidal mussel reefs and are lacking at restoration sites. To determine if restoration sites are substrate limited and test a novel method for substrate enhancement, coralline macroalgae were transplanted from from a remnant reef into a restored mussel population in the intertidal on the South Island, New Zealand. Mussel settlement directly onto and surrounding the macroalgae was measured over three months to assess the effect of this substrate's presence on recruitment facilitation. Additionally, the condition of the macroalgae was monitored to determine the extent that macroalgae sourced from healthy, wild reefs will survive in the degraded environments often targeted for mussel reef restoration. The results provide insights to whether this technique presents a viable option for restoration efforts going forward.