fish market

good standby restaurant. it's been years since i'd ventured to the fishmarket- it has grown rather large over the years which isn't always a good thing. in the case of the fish market, growth seems to have served them well.

we arrived on mother's day without reservations but it seemed that most of the other restaurants weren't that busy either - apparently everyone went out for mother's day brunch instead of dinner. we waited less than a minute to be seated in an upstairs dining room that was busy but neither packed with patrons nor packed with tables. this was nice - having room to sit down without being jammed in like sardines which was part of the old fishmarket"charm". our table was largish but the location was a bit dark - we requested relocation to a window table which was intended for 4 - the wait staff was very accommodating and moved the 5 of us without an issue.

we started with appetizers of calamari and hot crab dip. the calamari was very good - well cooked with a softer breading so that it was crisp but not crunchy. the crab dip arrived with several ciabatta rolls for dipping - these were an excellent compliment to the dip which was filled with crab meat.

i opted for the fried fish ponchatrain which sounded good via the description. upon arrival, the presentation was very nice - the crab and shrimp atop the fish was "as promised". the crab was large lumps which was impressive - so often crab toppings turn out to be crab "flavored" with little crab meat. overall the dish was a bit bland for my tastes but seafood is easily overpowered by spices so this was neither unexpected nor unforgivable.

my dining companions ordered seafood pasta, crab cakes and the port city po'boy - all of which were well received. the oysters in the po'boy were enormous - dwarfing the other seafood on the platter.

the prices are a bit high - $22 for my entree but given the area, it's not unexpected. service was good although occasionally slow. i'll be back as this is a good restaurant for guests who are visiting the area.

great atmosphere...big 32oz beers and some of the best crab cakes i've ever had!marketprice for the lump crab cakes was a little pricy ($32) but totally worth it. i have lived in charelston sc and florida...still best crab cakes ever!

go to virtue feed & grain instead! for real. went to fishmarketfor the first time based on a recommendation from a co-worker. he's obviously not the go-to guy for dinner suggestions...although the oysters were awesome, the place is wayyyyy to loud and cramped. the first bartender we had was rude...so we moved across the bar and got a new one...he was good to go. i would not recommend this place considering all the alternatives in alexandria and elsewhere.

the seafood at fishmarketwas reasonably priced and really fresh.

blah and disappointing. i've been to the fishmarkettwice now and both times i left unsatisfied. you'd like to think they would have great seafood, but i wasn't too impressed with the menu options or the food itself.
the ambiance is okay and the service was decent.
there aren't a lot of dairy-free options on the menu. the salad's are gigantic, but not the freshest lettuce. mostly iceberg and not a lot of flavor varieties.
perhaps i'm biased as a new englander, but their shrimp roll and other options just aren't all that great.
i'd skip this one over - no matter how affordable my dad thinks it is.

we ventured across the potomac to old town alexandria to show my parents the quaint, historic king street area. we paid a visit to the fishmarketfor dinner. like most old town restaurants, the fishmarketis housed in a really old building with a colorf

i have worked in old town for 30 years and know most of the restarunts. i've seen some stay and others go. on a good day, the fishmarketis ok. nothing speacil in terms of great seafood and preparation. i even had fish that was not so fresh too often. they owe their success in large part to their location on the busiest corner in town.