big fish dockside

recently went to big fish for 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.oysterswere 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.

pricey, but quaint. $3oystersis a bit outrageous even in calgary. good selection of local trout, it's not often you see walleye on the menu -- at $30 a plate. the soft shell crab club is decadent -- at $17. as much as there is to be said for local ingredients you can't tell me the frogs legs aren't frozen, $14 later. but this is calgary and you kind of have to take the cookies when they're passed, even with seafood.

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 - big fish delivered big flavour. i loved my arctic char entree - the skin was crispy and so flavourful. the fish was 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. theoysterswere 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 big fish out for brunch.

where else in calgary can you get a bucket of peel and eat shrimp 🦐 for brunch?! $14! very affordable!
the food is high quality for sure. it’s a bit of a strange menu for brunch but can be quite delectable. i especially loved the grapefruit mimosas!! they do have a selection of rawoystersbut are quite pricey with very weak side sauces.
can’t wait to go back and try some more!

i went to big fish on 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, big fish was empty, probably getting ready for dinner time. we were seated near the window and ordered someoystersfor $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; fish tacos 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 of fish and 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. oystersat $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

update december 15

i finally made it to big fish for dinner ! and it was phenomenal. i loved it all. we started withoysters(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.

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 ofoystersand 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 fried fish from 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.

east coast flavour in the west. visited big fish for a feed ofoysterswith a friend from pei and was not disappointed. a great variety of freshoysterswere available. we started with an outstanding serving of duck and seafood chowder. andy's suggestion on the wine pairing was spot on. will visit again very soon!


-----27 sep, 2014-----

seafood chowder. full of fresh seafood, lots of flavour.


-----07 apr, 2011-----

great fish and chips. enjoyed a great business lunch at the big fish. outstanding fish and chips (only available at lunch)

service was fast and friendly. viewed the evening menu,will certainly return. there is an oyster special on monday nights

seafood lovers,suggest you you give it a try....

seafood!.oystersare always fresh. i loves their lobster poutine and i am in love with their blue crab claw butter lettuce salade with homemade butter milk dressing.

theoystersare amazingly fresh and the mussels are scrumptious. appetizers can be hit or miss. after the amazingoystersat downtownfood (see previous post here ), i got a craving foroystersthat would not subside. as i do not consider myself one to gorge on $3 oysters, i set out to find the best oyster deals in calgary! first on my list was big fish, a restaurant specializing in seafood. they have a 2 for 1 oyster monday special so that is whe

subpar ingredients. during my first visit, we had delicious east coast oysters. they were perfectly shucked (no shell!) and were extremely flavourful. i ate here again last night and decided to orderoystersas they were so good the first time. big mistake as they weren't shucked properly.... every single oyster had little pieces of shell in it! for my main course i ordered the halibut. halibut should be meaty, thick and juicy but i was served a thin, mealy and dry end piece of fish. to make matters worse, it was extremely overcooked. very disappointing considering the price. a restaurant that specializes in fish should not cheap out on the cut it serves! i'd rather pay a few dollars more for a nicer piece of fish.

disappointed.... big fish... big disappointment in some ways. the appetizers were great, (though we received double the order ofoysterswe wanted), but the entrees did not stand out at all. i ordered the pistachio crusted arctic char, which was dry and overdone. the mashed potatoes were extremely dry as though they had been left out in the open for a few hours - not much seasoning, and definitely no moisture had been added. my fiance ordered the lingcod, which was better (minus the soggy skin left on the fish!), but his side of wild rice pilaf was bland and dry. sad to say, we were not overly impressed with the entrees. i don't feel as though they were worth the $$. they could also use some a/c, as the one ceiling fan does nothing to help cool down the restaurant.

on a good note, the server was especially nice, and service from start to finish was very efficient. overall, i don't think i would return for the dinner service, but would be willing to try brunch.

had been looking forward to trying big fish for awhile, so thought we'd try brunch. the food was ok. momhad fhe egga benny, which was pretty good, but had about a tablespoon of hollandaise on it. the bison burger was decent. the duck in my hash was super salty. all in all, pretty good but won't go back any time soon. what killed it though, was the terrible service. waited for quite awhile for our waiterto even take the drink order. ordered someoystersfor an appy, whichs were forgotten until mentioned, the brought after my main. asked for a refill on coffee, finally had to ask someone else. asked for the bill, waited, and finally had to ask someone else for that too. for the price of eating out at a nice restaurant, i expect quality service or i probably won't go back. better luck next time..

love it. i've been here a few times now and have never been disappointed. you may need a reservation as it is a smaller restaurant and busy in the later evening hours. parking is a bit hit and miss as there is only a very small area to park for the two restaurants, but you can park on the west side of edmonton trail. east side seems to be by permit only.
anyway, back to the restaurant. we've had the same server twice, and shame on me for not getting his name. he is very nice man who makes great recommendations and is always in his happy place. the food itself is amazing. theoysterschange regularly and i enjoy trying the different kinds. the menu is small; however, everything i have tried is very good so no worries there.

awkward service is how i would sum up my recent experience at big fish. i felt the awkwardness when i entered the restaurant.. really did not enjoy the vibe in there at all. as for food...decent. our appys were really good-frog legs, small freshoystersand muscles. the mains were disappointing - paella & the salmon on wild mushroom risotto. our server was just sooo awkward. older lady with dark hair; not helpful, not friendly and she scolded my friend when she put the wrong plate in front of her. never going back