fishale taphouse and grill

not a good experience. we wanted to like this place. good concept, close to home. prices a little high, but worth it if the food and drinks are good. after several tries in which we had a couple of bad experiences, we decided it isn't worth the time or the money. as a local, we have so many guests come into town that want a goodplaceto eat. we won't recommend this one. don't expect to see if there next year either.

they are a greatplaceall around. my husband and i got multiple times a week for good food, good people and good atmosphere! we are moving soon and going to miss regularly going to fish ale for wednesday pint nights and our other random days of the week!

love thisplacenot only do they have great beer but there food has become great. been coming since they opened they had some hiccups at first but now i think they got it. very knowledgable staff and did we say beer. love it

love this place. thisplaceis wonderful has like 60 taps anything from budlite to rogue chocolae stout. the bestplacein the panhandle to get beer and great food. of course had some issues at the begining but it has turned out to be wonderful. love it.

great beer selection and a good sized menu with something for everyone. the staff was friendly and he food done well. greatplaceto visit when in pcb

best fried shrimp i've ever tasted! awesome beer selection and amazing daily drink specials. we went on sunday, and they had 1/2 price pints. not sure what kind of fancy schmancy places these negative reviewers have been to, but please do not listen to them. the decor is neat, not confusing. waitstaff was helpful and prompt. definitely will be back, and i will recommend thisplaceto all my friends.

overall my new favorite hangout. friendly atmosphere. i was impressed with our server's extensive beer knowledge. love the beer selection...always something new. had the chichen tuna...phenomenal. the brisket burger was right on point. will definitely be a regular aiming to acquire my shark mug!


-----23 feb, 2014-----

bestplaceever!. calling all beer snobs...or wannabe beer snobs: if you want a laid-back, friendly atmosphere packed full of knowledgeable staff and biggest craft beer selection on the beach, go to fishale. seriously, the staff can talk beer all day, and even have a couple of avid brewers behind the bar. the food is quick and excellent. everything you'd ever want in a gastropub. family friendly...reminds me of a modern day cheers!! love the place...a must visit for tourists! panama city beaches' very own local haven. i guarantee you will be "hooked" on fishale after your first visit!

pint night. alright, i gave fishale another try. my friends and coworkers love their pint night and, being a homebrewer and beer snob, i wanted to get in on the fun! and that's what i had, fun? the owner was very attentive as well as my super server emily. the beer was very good (swamp ape ipa, founders breakfast stout, double. bastard ale) and the pretzel app was good. i would recommend putting a third person behind the bar at 6:00pm to meet the demand of the happy hour... took 15 minutes to get a pint, but the chill vibe and friendly wait staff made it ok:) i'd still like to see a more robust menu, and get away from the sports bar feel, because i want thisplaceto be a east side must have!


-----06 aug, 2013-----

great idea... poor delivery. ok, so let me preface that i am not tony bourdain; however, i have cooked professionally, i have lived in and traveled to 30+ countries, and have been a home brewer for 20 years, and am now a pcb local.... so here goes:

i have heard from friends and coworkers about fishale, this wonderful oasis that a hopheaded quaffer can find refuge in, and partake of its 60+ beers, but then the mystique wears off when you actually walk in the door.

sure it looks like a converted steakhouse chain (who cares), but i am here for the beer and the grub. once seated, we're given menus and quickly asked "can i take your drink orders?" i'm thinking, "i was just handed the beer menu with 60+ beers to peruse, and i'm being hovered over for an order." come on, hand out the menus, tell us about the nightly specials (too bad, i had to prompt our waitress for it) and give my eyes a chance to take in the selection.

i ordered a pint of dogfish head 60 minute ipa and waited with my family for the apps and drinks to arrive. when my beer arrives, low and behold, i am the proud owner of a short poured pint... with its sad 2" head. gee, thanks.
(that's the reason they have those white lines on bar ware in the uk, it's against the law to 'short pour', the barman can lose his job.)

to the food... my wife and oldest boy ordered sandwiches, which they said they were pretty good, and my youngest ordered a flatbread pizza that he also enjoyed. my middle boy and i had the wing special-- being monday and its wing night at fishale. their sauces were the standard, not bad but nothing to write home about, but the dang chicken! if you are going to run a promotion, ie wing night monday, please do not either overfry your wings, or store them in the salamander waiting for a customer to order. i've snapped into a slim jim that was juicer than those wings. our waitress is fairly attentive on he drinks, although she took away the beer menu when she took our order. when i finish my beer, she asks me if i'd like another beer. it's a shame i'm not a savant and had memorized the menu. i then have to ask her for a beer menu which fishale should keep on the tables all the time. thisplaceis about the beer, right?

the restaurant in general has a great idea but the execution is horrible. the food is mediocre; i can get better at flipping applebee's. the beer was good, but the selection could be better. dogfish head, abita, pensacola, new belgium... ok, good for a start, but the rest of the lineup is what i would find in the bottle in a decent grocery store.

if theplaceis selling itself on the beer, then the chef/km/head cook should design the menu to focus on the beer as an ingredient. and not in a batter. that's a cop out. try sauces, dressings, braising, etc. and how about a suggested beer pairing? dude, it's beer-- use it!

lastly the interior. we couldn't tell if fishale is going for fine dining (a la g. foley's) or beach dive bar/ sports bar (like a j. michaels.) pick one. or neither. focus on the beer. use it to focus on the food. and finally, fix the service. bad pours and crummy table work will push away the locals after the florabama crowds punch out for the summer, and i can guarantee the canadians will avoid fishale if bad word gets around. they know food and beer.

i want thisplaceto do well. i just moved from where we had a micro brewery 4 miles from my house... so i have a selfish interest for fishale to succeed.

please do.

positives and negatives. the beer list is good and the prices are appropriate. we had calamari, crab cake tacos, and drunken grouper. the food was really good. with good food and drinks i can overlook almsot anything.... and you have to. first, theplaceis kind of like an old sizzler or something. it was really bright inside, the tables had no individual lights, and the music was really low. all together that made it feel kind of like cafeteria dining. we sat pretty much in the middle of everyone elses' consersations. also, there were kind of strange furniture arrangements under the bright lights and the wholeplacefelt awkward. service left a lot to be desired. with some ambiance improvements and more attentive service thisplacecould be pretty awesome.

bestplacewe ate the entire vacation. i really wish we would have tried thisplaceon the first day.

looking for a goodplaceto eat while on vacation in pcb and found this one on urban spoon . the outside looks like it used to be a ponderosa steakhouse or a denny's but don't let that fool you . i had the blackened mahi-mahi and my wife had the drunken grouper . it was great! nice ambiance and good service .

my newlywed husband and i went to this restaurant for our rehearsal dinner. we could not have had a more pleasant experience, the two managers/owners taking care of us treated us as family from day one of working with them. they accommodated our every wish and went above and beyond with their service as well. the ambience of the private room was well suited for a special night with our family and friends the food is presented just as beautifully as it tastes. our guests loved the variety of beers as well. i definitely recommend fishale whether it's a night out for dinner or aplaceto hold a special event.

great beer selection. the beer selection is pretty awesome, and the staff is very knowledgeable. the only downside to thisplaceis the food- not very impressive.

still though, thisplaceis definitely worth checking out!

fish ales is great. fish ales is agreatplaceto eat the food is great and the beer is awesome!

best seafood in town. my wife and i ate there on saturday i had the grouper and it was good and fresh and she had a steak that was good ..... now we can say we have a favoriteplaceto go to every saturday nite for date nite ;-)