big fish dockside

recently went to bigfishfor my birthday. love fresh oysters, so went on a monday for oyster night. i was impressed with the prices on the cocktail menu (lots were $6). i only tried one drink, the "storm at sea" - was supposed to be a bunch of things, but disappointed in that it just tasted like a vodka pineapple juice. oysters were fantastic, i really liked the 4 chili sauce. i had the ling cod, which was one of their fresh specialties, and it was delicious. cooked perfectly and served with lots of asparagus and a delicious chutney. my boyfriend had the pot a feu, and honestly neither of us were impressed. broth was bland. lots of salmon, but the shrimp were very small, almost like they came out of a can. that was the one "fail" of the night. had the gluten free cake from open range - delicious! as well as the dark and stormy float with cinnamon ice cream - also delicious! server was pleasant and informative always around when we needed her but not overly intrusive. will definitely be back.

interesting dishes... some delights. my boyfriend and i decided to try this restaurant on a date night. we were seated immediately as we had made a reservation, and initial observations were impressive. its a smaller restaurant, with really intersting decor and several separate dining areas. and how can you go wrong with southern blues?

the table was already set up, which gave us the chance to peruse the unique menu right off the bat. we brought a bottle of wine and paid the uncorking fee. we decided to just do appies, because we couldn't decide between them! we had the mussels, which came out first, and are to die for. make sure you get extra bread, we ate every last drop of sauce! it didn't say in the menu that the scallops were served cold, so it was a bit of a shock. not my favorite, the texture of the scallops didn't seem to fit with the tempurature. we also ordered the swordfish skewers, which were delicious but could have used more emphasis onfishinstead of vegetables.

for dessert, we tried the key lime pie with berry compote. the meringue was very sweet, and the berry compote flavour very strong, so you lost the element of the lime. there also wasn't an abundance of lime filling. not quite a balanced dish.

all in all, it was an enjoyable experience. the staff was very friendly and extremely attentive. there were some dishes i wouldn't order again, but i'd like to try more of the appies and some of the mains.

bigfishis a great catch!. awesome. service: 10 out 10.
menu: unique and innovative selection.fishtacos - in a soft shell delicately spiced.
main course: the smoked haddock. beautifully plated: superb taste.
my friend and i enjoyed the white wine sangria; lovely blend of booze and fruit.
dessert: amazing pecan pie.
bigfishis a surprise in land- locked calgary - really a great place for casual dining with a a high end quality menu.
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impressed. last night a group of us went to celebrate a birthday. to tell you the truth, i wasn't expecting much. just like i wouldn't expect great steak from vancouver - it's just harder to get product that isn't native/close to the land. anyway - bigfishdelivered big flavour. i loved my arctic char entree - the skin was crispy and so flavourful. thefishwas a nice piece and not overcooked. i enjoyed the lentils and wild rice pilaf. everyone raved about their food - from seafood pot, lamb and lobster burger (which looked fantastic - tower of decadence), special halibut of the day and organic butter chicken with lobster. the oysters were a hit at our table - on monday it's buy a dozen get the other free. it's a small venue, so make reservations. service was great too. can't wait to try bigfishout for brunch.

not very good food. i heard that bigfishis suppose to be good and i thought i'd give it a go by taking my family there. i left sorely disappointed with the food.

i had thefishchowder and a salad. the chowder is just ok. however, the major disappointment is the quality of the main courses. we had the pork chop, sablefishhot pot, alaskan char, and the seafood pot au feu. my pork chop was a nice one inch thick chop in bone and was ok but nothing spectacular. the soup broth of the seafood pot and the sablefishthat my wife and my son had was terrible. thefishbroth of both dishes had next to no flavour and tasted very sour. my daughter had the alaskan char and thefishwas a bit dry as any juice that thefishhad was absorbed by the mash potato that thefishrested on. the bill came to $160 for four people. i don't mind the cost as i normally go to more expensive restaurants but the food just don't cut it. i won't be going back.

i heard lots about this place, went and tried it out. i ordered their special entrée for that day. it was lobster and a chicken breast in butter chicken sauce. guess what? there was no lobster in the dish!!!!! i paid $32 for a chicken breast and a scoop of white rice. this place 💩 the 🛏!! i'm not giving it a good review!! don't go!! there's more seafood in a mcfish @ mcdonalds! trust me take your money anywhere else but this place. my family all ordered something different,fishtacos, the swordfish & fries and their lasagna!! you would think the prices would reflect the fact that you're eating seafood! ...this place is a big ripoff! take your money to red lobster! trust me, if you choose to eat here after reading this and you have a 💩ty experience, i forewarned you! the service was good!...the food had flavor, but when paying to eat seafood, there should actually be seafood on the plate! sorry big fish, but you're a big fail!

not worth your money or time. congratulations to bigfish- they managed to not only offer mediocre food, but also poor service.

my salmon was overcooked and clearly showing signs it was previously frozen. this is what i would have expected from denny's, but, alas, i was not paying denny's prices. funnily, i've had better salmon at olive garden.

the server, in my opinion, was insolent - confirming what a previous reviewers comments about the serving staff.

it behooves me to write this review and ensure others' money and time is not wasted on this restaurant.

bigfishdeserves a big compliment. it was our first time here last night and we were not disappointed. thefishtacos were awesome: just the right amount of heat and mostly fish. the saffron flavoured seafood soup is filling. with the price i was expecting a much bigger bowl. i'm not a burger person but the lamb burger with lobster and guacamole was messy and oh so good. i was so full that i had only a bite of the flourless chocolate torte. my son would lick the plate if we were at home. last but definitely not the least, our male server was very nice and attentive to our table. will come back and try open range which is the sister/adjacent restaurant with same owner/staff. bigfishis a big hit to my family, definitely one of the best seafood restaurant in calgary and will recommend to friends and family for sure.

we visited for sunday brunch and tried a few dishes.

our favorite was clam chowder. the soup tasted like very flavorful with no fake flavoring added, it was delicious! it came with chard bread and the bread was amazing. i’d like a little more clam orfishin the soup since it is seafood restaurant, it was mostly soup and not much of clam or even veggies in it in my opinion.

we tried a couple brunch menu, i can’t remember the name of the dish. one was like omelet with prawn with pesto on top. it was ok but the prawn was like very small shrimp. even though it came with hash and a couple piece of bread, the potion wasn’t very big compare to other brunch places.

another one was hash with poached egg on top comes on skillet. my husband did not enjoy the dish, it had a lots of liquid and the overall texture wasn’t very pleasing.

the food was good but not my favorite brunch place. we will try to visit at dinner time next time.

our threesome dinner club is ending, since l is moving to fort mcmurray for work. we had one last meal together, choosing bigfishso we could have seafood with a bottle of white wine that l had saved for a special occasion. the bottle of wine was from 1999, and it travelled all the way from australia with l when he moved here. the semillon from tyrrell’s wines in hunter valley was buttery and complex – way better than i expected for an old bottle of white!

i went to bigfishon an early saturday evening. with the amount of positive reviews, i wanted to check the place out. when we arrived, the neighborhood looked pretty sh*tty, but we didn't let that deter us from checking out the restaurant. they have a free private parking lot in the back which was nice.

when we walked in, bigfishwas empty, probably getting ready for dinner time. we were seated near the window and ordered some oysters for $2.95 each. they were served with house ponzu, caper anchovy mignonette, four-chili cocktail, and tabasco sauce. they were good, but definitely not worth that price.

we then ordered two items from their dockside plates menu;fishtacos with roasted chilies, guacamole, and oven dried tomato mango salsa for $15 and the ginger sweet soy glazed swordfish and prawn skewer on smoked sea salt fries for $21. again, although the food was good, it was overpriced. the swordfish and prawn skewer only had 3 small pieces offishand 2 shrimps total. the tacos just came with 3 flour tortilla tacos, no sides like beans and rice.

overall, the food was good and we had friendly service. however, it was definitely too much money for what it was. the small skewer didn't have enough meat on it and the tacos didn't warrant a $15 charge when it came with no sides. oysters at $2.95 each was pretty ridiculous as well, so i wished they gave a deal when ordering a dozen or more. i would come back if i wanted quality seafood, but that price would definitely have me second-guessing my decision.

pros:
-private parking lot in the back
-food quality
-friendly service

cons:
-too pricey

hands down the best mussels in the city. we came with a group of ten of us and we couldn't get enough of the mussels we must have had 5 orders between the 10 of us and my husband and i even mimicked the recipe later at home. it's simply devine. we would visit for the mussels alone not to mention all the rest of the great things they serve. monitors are amazing at bigfishas well.

update december 15

i finally made it to bigfishfor dinner ! and it was phenomenal. i loved it all. we started with oysters (some east and west coast), followed by he feature appetizer (tuna) and the crab cakes. we enjoyed all of it !!! for mains we tried walleye and trout. highly recommend the trout ! and a delicious bottle of valpocella wine. service was great. we will return.

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very delicious brunch. i can't believe i haven't been here before, the restaurant is really nice inside (lots of room) and the staff are very friendly. i ordered the crab eggs benedict and my cousin ordered the bison short rib eggs benedict -we split them so we could try both of them. the crab eggs benedict was good, the crab was really light tasting- however the bison short rib eggs benedict was amazing !!! so mouthwatering, full of bold flavours ! i would highly recommend that one. we ordered it with a side of fruit instead of hashbrowns and the assortment was great (orange, grapefruit, apple and dried fruit). everyone at the table ordered something different and we did not hear any complaints. the sweet scone (from sidewalk bakery) was also a hit ! we will all be returning again.

i enjoy lunch here from time to time and keep meaning to get back for one the oyster night specials. my tour of the menu is not extensive - i always go for thefishtacos. bigfishwas killing those back when most restaurants hadn't heard of them. now they're everywhere on every menu so competition may lead you to think bigfishwould imitate? no, they are still leaders in the calgary seafood restaurant scene. not the cheapest mind you but well worth it.

very fine seafood restaurant in - of all places! - beef-centric calgary.

the monday oyster special (buy a dozen, get a dozen free) was good value for money.  would have liked more choice of oysters and grated horseradish as a garnish, but otherwise an excellent appetizer for 4 people.  we then had very nice main dishes.  everything was fresh and tasty.  does the kitchen get a shipment flown in every day from both coasts? 

nice craft beer selection and wines by the glass.

pleasant ambiance and service.  a rather overwhelming odour of friedfishfrom the open kitchen, so choose where you sit if this aroma bothers you.

there's a byow without corkage fee (!) on wednesdays, a sunday family-style paella, and a monthly featured national menu.  check their website for dates and details.

all in all, a superior seafood restaurant.