passionfish

an absolute gem!. nice location, friendly and attentive waitstaff, spare yet inviting interior design. the wine list was impressive and sensibly priced, and they even had a nice selection of beers. their menu is just the right size - enough options without being overwhelming. we had an appetizer of mussels, and those were really nicely done. both of thefishentrees were absolutely fantastic - the kind of creatively designed and perfectly cooked dishes i would expect to pay more than $18-25 for. we couldn't resist dessert.

in the tourist-trappy monterey area, restaurants offering a quality experience like this are few and far between. don't miss this.

excellent food and service. 4 of us. 4 differentfishdishes. all excellent. best were the tilapia and the sturgeon; halibut and scallops also good. desserts were outstanding. i liked the lemon creme brûlée. all dishes showed creativity and thought; full of flavor.

service was excellent. by the glass wine list was sparse. spoonable lamb was about the best thing i have ever had, as was the bee pollen gnocchi. the sturgeon was tough and dirty tasting, as that kind offishwill taste - my mistake in ordering it in the first place. overall great experience.

living up to the hype. we visited passionfish as the second stop of a 9-day trip to california. we were told passionfishwas one of the best restaurants in pacific grove and we agree with that assessment. first of all it’s trendy, a bit pretentious and there were a lot of hipsters dining that evening. in addition it was a bit loud with conversation hard to hear across the table without a raised voice. think new york city style tables in a row with a bench on one side and chairs on the other.

with all that said we loved our meal and their wine list is both impressive, extensive and really tasty too. we chose a pinot noir off their “legendary locals” list, a 2009 caraccoli, santa lucia highlands. we paid $56 for the bottle which retails at $47...yeah they have a practice of not gouging you on any of their more than 250 selections.

for appetizers we chose two items, a pair of grilled sea scallops on a bed of julienne vegetables with a sauce. the scallops were cooked perfectly but the sauce was a bit much for my girlfriend. the second choice was a smoked salmon dish with the salmon and flavored cream cheese rolled up in two 3-4 inch pastry. the plate was garnished with several different colors offishroe. we both loved it.

dinner was fantastic for both of us. i ordered the duck confit with honey reduction and served with a smoked chile-potato cake and broccolini. the skin on the duck was crispy but so moist inside it fell off the bone. the potato cake was a great pairing. she ordered rockfish with a black pepper rum sauce served with coconut rice and ponzu cucumbers.fishwas cooked perfectly and the rum sauce gave it a really unique and quite yummy taste. we finished the meal with crème brulee which was perfect and a great way to finish a perfect meal.

ellissa was our server and did a great job of not only describing our wine to us, but she was extremely knowledgeable on every menu item including how it was prepared, ingredients and how it tasted. my props to the chef and manager for level of preparation for the front-of-house. love it when a restaurant delivers on the hype!

a truly excellent modernfishrestaurant who deserve full marks for the quality of food, service and fantastic wine list.
the crab and avocado salad and scallops as a main were simply exquisite. waiting staff were also fast and attentive. broadside californian chardonay at $26.00 per bottle was superb value. i just wish there could be good restaurants like this in capitola!

tasty. passionfishis obviously seafood, but they have a unique flavor to almost everything. it is always delicious. the halibut is outstanding, and i highly recommend it. so too is the gnocchi appetizer.

i thought i'd try something other thanfishand had duck confit. it was absolutely delicious. from the fabulous wine we had right down to the tasty san fran sourdough, i enjoyed every mouthful. service excellent too. highly recommend!

great food. late arrival and no reservations but warmly welcomed never the less. great server who knew her script well and sharp attentive service, brisk but not brusque. my wife and did our version of a tasting menu and tried two nibbles, one starter, one salad and we tried twofishdishes and one dessert. all were very eell done with great flavor and accompanyments with the only weak dish being the mussels ( just not great, good sauce but less than average mussels). recommended.