The Fish Shack

The We went to the fish shack before going to the symphony tonight. When we got there it was still fairly quiet. I've ordered take out from here before, but haven't had a dinner yet. This is my first time sitting down and taking a good look at the place. The decor is pretty cool and minimalistic, in a way. It's pretty much a warehouse, but with pallets on the wall providing some texture.

We ordered the Spot Crab Jalepeno poppers and two beers to start while we wait for our friends. They looked really dark, like they were fried in really old oil. I barely tasted any crab in there, it was like they threw a 1 inch cube of crab into two cups of cream cheese and somehow that qualifies as a "crab" dish. Not impressed.

Our friends ordered the small fisherman's catch. It was neat that it came with a cutting board and bibs.

Unfortunately, the bussers (not our server) who brought the dish out was not very well trained. After she took the "net" off the catch, she had to mix the butter and seasoning in. She was very clumsy and splatter butter sauce all over B and I. Luckily we had dark clothes on, but if B wore his white shirt instead of his checkered shirt, it would have been VERY obvious and not good for the night at the symphony. The mixing busser said sorry, but this other guy bringing out our dishes laughed. Very unprofessional. Otherwise, the sauce was buttery and rich.

I ordered the 1 piece snapper fish and chips- I had forgotten how big that one piece was, so it was good I just ordered one. The fish batter was really rich and made me a bit nauseous, good thing it came with a creamy horseradish coleslaw, which helped cut the fat. When Crave was still around, I found the beer batter light and crispy, not overly rich at all. Although this was light and fluffy, it just seemed that the batter absorbed a lot of oil.

B orders the blackened tuna tacos, and though it tasted alright, he was not impressed. The bottom of the tacos were soggy from the heat contacting the bottom of the dish. They should put them on some prongs like at earls.

Both dishes came with kennebec fries, but they were overfried and hard. Though I liked the seasoning, I know it's not tasty when I leave more than half my fries on the plate.

Near the end of the meal, some of the patio diners started smoking right beside the patio. That was surpremely annoying because our table was right at the entrance between the patio and the restaurant. We thought our server would tell them they had to stand at least 6 meters from the patio, but we ended up having to tell her it was bothering us before she enforced that bylaw. At least she responded to our request, I guess.

All in all, food was not that impressive and I was quite disappointed at the unprofessional actions of some of the staff. Will not recommend or return.