The Fish House Bar & Grill
| Address: | 972 Main St, Watsonville, CA 95076, USA |
| Phone: | +1 831-728-3333 |
| Site: | m.facebook.com |
| Rating: | 4.5 |
| Working: | 11AM–2PM 11AM–2PM 11AM–2PM 11AM–2PM 11AM–2PM 4–9:30PM 4–9PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 7
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Dre Buckreus
We decided to try this place out as it had such amazing reviews. When we ate there it was hugely disappointing and didnt live up to the 4.8 stars it currently has. Ill first review the service and go from there onto the food. The waiter was very good, Xavier was very articulate, knew the menu well and what was in each dish. He was very non intrusive and gave us our space (which I prefer), and made sure we had everything we needed. Constantly refilling our glasses of water. However, the kitchen was obviously slow or something because it took a very long time to receive our appetizers and main courses. I realize this has nothing to do with Xavier, so I wont blame that service on him. The food left something to be desired, especially with all the excellent reviews this place got. We ordered the oysters in half shell and the crab cakes. The oysters unfortunately had too much sand in them (more so than usual), were very chewy, and were very plain besides cocktail sauce and horseradish (not two things I usually have with my oysters either) they had no embellishments with them other than slices of lemon. I had actually gagged eating them as the texture was off (no exaggeration and I usually love raw oysters!). The crab cakes were fine but not great enough to ignore the oysters, as well as very expensive (12$ for one cake is pretty ridiculous when I ordered it I expected 2), and they werent more special than other restaurants who charge about the same price for more. For our main courses I ordered scallops scampi style, and my boyfriend ordered the chicken marsala. The scallops were perfectly cooked and scallops are very easily ruined but they were done perfectly, however the "scampi style" was a bit overdone and the scallops were basically drowned. For the sides I got veggies which were meh, and the pasta which was very good. The chicken marsala had alright flavor, however the chicken was heavily overdone leaving a very dry chewy chicken. Now the kicker, the real reason why I probably wont ever come back to this restaurant : the Creme Brulee. I dont know if it was because the waiter made our dessert (Im inferring this based off of him saying "I wanted to make sure it was hot when it got here"), or if they just simply dont know how to make a Creme Brulee but it was by far the worst creme brulee Ive ever had. Which is disappointing considering its my favorite dessert. When we received it the waiter had told us "sorry but I wanted to make it pretty with a berry or something but I couldnt find any"; so we just got a plain ol custard on a plate; this is pretty alarming in a restaurant, and the brulee part of our creme brulee had not set yet meaning when we put our spoon in it it was still gummy because it was just torched and it didnt have the signature creme brulee shell its supposed to have. As well as the creme part being very grainy (probably because when they mixed the custard the egg had started to curd because of too much heat). In conclusion, I think this is the most honest review on here, because I dont see how it has such a high rating considering such basic mistakes that the restaurant made. They need to get a better chef and perhaps not make their waiters do the cooking.There are other places in Watsonville to get a way better meal for the same price.
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Lawrence Callahan
Dont let the unassuming façade of this restaurant fool you. Behind the front door was one of the truly best dining experiences my wife and I have experienced in over 50 years of dining "on-the-road" from San Francisco to New York to London. We are so glad we didnt pass this one by. The Chicken Marsala my wife chose was presented with a tomato based topping that enhanced the flavor of the meat and gave this ordinary dish a special quality. The cioppino I had was incredible! The dish was loaded with seafood including clams, baby octopus and calamari and too many spices to describe. The wait staff were very friendly, non-intrusive, and very helpful with choosing the wine that best complimented our dinners. The no rush dining experience was greatly appreciated. I seldom write reviews of restaurants, but this one was so superior to most that I felt I should "shout-it-out" to let others KNOW.
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Rita Hoffman
Because we read the reviews, we decided this would be a good restaurant. However, It took them forever to even take our order and it was almost 1 hour before we got our food. There were at least 3 tables that were seated after us, and they were served their food before us. When my dinner finally came there were no mashed potatoes on my plate, I asked them for my mashed potatoes and didnt hear anything. I asked another waitress and she came back telling me they were out of mashed potatoes. It wasnt even 7:00 p.m. and they were already out of mashed potatoes. We also overheard them telling other customers that they were out of Sword fish and Beef Stroganoff, all before 7:00. Unbelievable. It was NOT a very good experience for us.
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Miggy
Been here 4 or 5 times and will continue to go back. I have only been here on Friday and Saturday nights. Im not sure if the service is faster other times of the day/ week but it seems like it can take a while to get your food, but it is well worth the wait. Every dish we have ordered has been really good and the staff have all been very friendly. Every time we have been there they have had live music. It has been the same band but not an issue because they are fun and play good music. Prices are very reasonable. I suggest you order an appetizer if you show up starving just in case it takes a little longer than expected to get your food, or get a drink and enjoy the music. Glad to have this place in Watsonville.
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Maximillian Laumeister
I had what turned out to be an incredible dinner here a few days ago. First they brought out freshly baked bread with oil, vinegar, and parmesan cheese. I ordered the special, which was a pasta with artichokes, mussels, clams, prawns, and scallops, all in a cream sauce. The seafood was cooked perfectly. Our waiter Xavier was upbeat, knowledgeable and attentive, and made us feel welcome in the restaurant. I can see this being our new go-to restaurant when we want to have a nice meal out!
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Anastasia Brand
The service system this place has is way off, as we were numerously approached my at least 4 different waiters. All of them were friendly and knowledgable yet still took too long to bring our food: appetizers, drinks, and even a check (which we waited for 20 minutes to receive) The food did not compensate for the lack of organization, and thereof left us disappointed. The only plus is live music on weekends, but its settled in the bar area, so we couldnt even see the band.
KI
Kierre Mazon-noble
Took the family out to eat and enjoy some good music on a Sat night. From the bread with vinegar and oil to the salads and main dishes of fish n chips for the kids and pasta dishes, nothing disappointing here. The chocolate dessert was amazingly delicious. We had a great dinner and love the family atmosphere!
