the blue fish restaurant

fresh delicious seafood! polite staff, nice outdoor area, great location &goodwine selection. one of my favorite local dinner spots. chef specials daily and always amazing! great folks in that kitchen !

bluefish oysters - hit and miss. it was my first time nov. 21 for my birthday. i chose this restaurant specifically to try their oysters. i did the half &half oysters - rockefeller and bienville. price was okay and actually fresh but it wasn't prepared great at all. for me, it had an odd taste to it and basically masked the freshness of the oysters. the bienville is worst than the rockefeller. the best ones i had so far was in pappadauex restaurant in houston, tx and i am hoping we have something close to it here in jax., fl. blue fish was far from it. i hope the chef would go to houston, and actually try whatgoodrockefeller should be. however, i got lucky that the special of the day was the grilled oysters. excellent!!!!!!! that made up for all my disappointment. i hope that the chef will read this review and make the grilled oysters part of the regular menu. i will be there every friday if it is. my daughter had the eggplant with lump crabmeat. it was reallygoodbut didn't have sauce. need some kind of remoulade to complete the dish. the fired green tomatoes were perfect too but didn't have sauce. need remoulade to make it over the top excellent. my husband had the blackened grouper with red beans and rice and andouille sausage and it was excellent. the entire menu has great selection and we will be back to try more dishes. again, i hope the chef reads constructive reviews and make the grilled oyster part of regular menu.

verygoodbrunch. loved it! $5 unlimited mimosas, includes with your meal a cold bar with pasta salad, pot salad, baked brie and deserts. the fisherman's breakfast delicious

this place was amazing to say the least! i had the black and white tuna, it comes rare but boy does it taste good! the wasabi sauce make this dish pop, mixed with the seaweed salad, this was a homerun and a slam dunk!

my wife had the seared scallops and shrimp over mac and cheese. before her meal hit the table that heavenly smell of truffle hit my nose...let's just say her mac and cheese became a community plate lol! for dessert my wife chose the black and white chocolate bread pudding...i'm not much of a sweet eater but this was onegoodpudding. paired with their home made vanilla ice cream, it was a real treat!

our complaint was that the drinks were a little too strong, but that was a complaint we shared with each other during the car ride lol...all in all, we will be going back!

1st time. went to the blue fish for something new was my girlfriend and i's first time here. we had heardgoodand bad things so we wanted to find out for ourselves!! we live in the san marco area so it took us about 10 minutes to get there. when we walked in we were met by a friendly hostess who informed us about happy hour, the courtyard and the dinner menu. after deciding on the dinning room we were promptly meet with water and a friendly server. we order our cocktails ( ginger cucumber martini & spicy margarita) witch were both outstanding, we would go back just for these drinks! next we ordered apps (calamari & eggplant) both were excellent the calamari my favorite possibly the best i've ever had. for dinner we choose the greek style whole fish and the mediterranean mahi. both pieces of fish were cooked to perfection! the whole fish was moist, seasoned well and unique! we will without a doubt be back in the very near future! would recommend this place to the best of friends!!

customer review. my husband and i went to the blue fish this past thursday night. we had arrived about 4:30 so there were only a few customers in the restaurant. we have been a few times before (our friends know the owner). the first few times were delicious, however, this time, i cannot stress just how disappointed i was with the entire meal. i ordered the chicken picatta (which had been my favorite),, when it arrived i noticed it looked differently than usual... the chicken was not breaded nor the sauce as thick as it usually is. the taste was plain...no flavor.. the waiter offered to return one of the breasts to have it cooked longer (why it was not breaded... i have no idea)... did not help at all. he even brought out extra lemons for me to add to see if it added any flavor... nothing! my husband eats anything and everything so i gave him the chicken. the poatatoes, spinach and asparagus was too salty as well..... i was starving so i went a head and ate the vegitables. it was obvious that i was disappointed because the waiter had the manager discount my meal by 40%... i didn't care about that... if my husband and i were going to pay $60,00 to $100.00 for a meal, we expect the best.... this was not their best. the waiter even told us they had a new cook and he even knew the chicken picatta was not prepared the way it usually is... it would have been nice if the manager would have at least come out and apologized... the more i thought about it i decided to call the restaurant twice the day after to speak to the manager in which i was placed on hold by the first person that answered the phone.... after she told me the manager was too busy to take my call... was on hold for ten minutes and no one ever came back to the phone. i called once again and gave my name and phone number and to this day my call still has not been returned. needless to say, we will not be dining at the blue fish ever again after this experience. even if the food was horrible, it is stillgoodcustomer service to acknowledge a customer... if you truly want your business to succeed.....

seafood was very fresh. servings are small and overpriced. frozen-to-bake dinner rolls were served sparingly. service was good,goodwas mediocre. not going again.

a delight. new to the avondale area, i was thoroughly impressed with the ambiance of this restaurant as my friends and i entertained a guest from out of town. nice art on the walls, friendly, yet professional staff made it an overall delightful experience. we enjoyed their sunday brunch menu, which included access to an open cold bar with a wide array of desserts, salads, and finger foods to enjoy as appetizers. the only problem i encountered was making up my mind what to try on their menu for my first visit...i reasoned i couldn't go wrong with the new orleans frittata (sp?) and it was agoodchoice. my friends were pleased with their selections as well. the complimentary mimosas didn't hurt a bit either. :)

graduation dinner party. with a bridal party and high school graduation party under our belt at blue fish, it was time for yet another celebration meal.

this time we celebrated our daughter's master's degree accomplishment with a party of 9 in the upstairs loft.

the server was very attentive and extremelygoodfor serving a 9 top.

we started out with drinks and appetizers at the couches and lounge chairs and then moved to our private table for dinner and dessert.

all entrees were fantastic. from the blackened chicken to the chicken piccata to the grilled halibut and finally to the black & blue filets, everyone said the food was awesome.

we finished off our celebration with desserts, coffee and toasted the graduate for her well deserved accomplishment.

thank you evalee and the staff at blue fish restaurant for another successful event.


-----31 dec, 2009-----

a really nice lunch experience. the blue fish restaurant is a new entry into the crowded contemporary dining options in the avondale shopping center area.

it occupies the lower level of sterling's across from peterbrooke and biscotti's on st. johns avenue.

the large open sliding front window, eclectic blue interior and funky lighting drew us to view the menu. we decided to take a chance during lunch time and try the diverse menu.

from new orlean's po boys to fried chicken and waffles to fresh catch in a beurre blanc and lemon sauce, the menu is an interesting array and expansive.

the problem you will encounter is what to order. there are so many interesting choices, i suggest you go with friends and agree to nibble from your neighbor's plate. you won't be sorry.

our order consisted of tilapia in beurre blanc and lemon sauce, the 3 burger sliders, mango jerked chicken salad, and grilled seafood salad. in writing this review and re-looking at the menu, i realize that the grilled seafood salad did not come with grilled salmon as listed, but with a serving of tilapia. although the tilapia was cooked perfectly, the "grilled" salmon would have been a better pairing with the huge grilled u-10 scallop and grilled shrimp.

each entree was expertly presented and provided plenty of food, even as a lunch portion.

the server was very attentive to our needs and provided drink refills without having to ask.

at the end of our meal the server provided a long list of desserts options, but unfortunately we were filled to the gills from our lunch. next time we will try one of the desserts.

i would recommend this restaurant for lunch and look forward to trying their dinner menu on our next visit.

oysters rockefeller, oh yes!. i travel a lot on business, and i'm always looking for agoodplace to eat. a lot of places do the trick as 'good enough,' but few actually get the 'wow' factor that makes me want to return for another visit. the blue fish has a great thing going on for a monday night meal. the neighborhood is charming and the ambiance is welcoming, but the 50/50 appetizer platter of oysters rockefeller and bienville stole the show. i will be back for more. i opted to sit outdoors on a mild evening and the patio heaters made it a comfortable place to hold a conversation without rushing through the meal. the courses were timed well so that i could digest my meal a bit between courses which i prefer for a slower paced relaxing evening. i also had ev's arugula and pear sald which was uniquely dressed with orange miso, an interesting twist on a trendy salad with blue cheese and walnuts. for my main entree, i had the chicken piccata which was appropriately prepared and featured unusually large capers. the capers were again a nice twist for a common dish. overall the meal warrants a return visit to sample other potential winners on the menu. regarding others' remarks about slow service, i can see how anyone requiring fast service could be frustrated. but, it should be said that my glass never went empty nor did my finished plate sit long in front of me. i thought the service was just as it should be. can't wait to get the oysters again and to sample other small plates on the menu.

since we had agoodexperience with the lunch, i would definately return to sample the dinner menu as it will be agoodbenchmark of the quality and price point for the cuisine there

lunch at the blue fish left a little to be desired. my husband and i had an opportunity to eat lunch in jacksonville today and i was torn between trying 13 gypsies or the bluefish, we opted with bluefish after reading the urbanspoon reviews...unfortunately our experience was not great. the place is really attractive inside and cheerful. the server started out great, was super friendly, answered questions regarding dishes, and customized several dishes upon my request. all seemed great and then after specifying we wanted our salads directly following the appetizer, our salads were forgotten. this only started the downhill spiral. i ordered shrimp and grits but asked if i could have a small portion of the risotto in exchange for the veggie of the day( as i did not care for the choice). i was served shrimp over asian risotto(yuk) and no grits. my husband ordered fish and chips and was asked what condiments he wanted. ten minutes later, our pre dinner salads were served (only after we reminded her of this when our entrees were served), i pointed out the error with my shrimp and "no grits", and still no condiments for the fish and chips. another ten minutes passed and i was given a very small portion of grits with gravy(no shrimp) and my husband finally got his condiments for his now cold and half eaten meal. boo! also, the portions are very small for the price. fish and chips $15 for four small pieces of fish and a handful of fries, $12 for shrimp and grits that have four very small shrimp. the fried green tomatoes weregoodbut not great. maybe we will give it another try one day, but for now, we will seek out some new places.

pricey, but tasty for the most part. ate here last night with some friends. service staff was great, friendly and attentive. love the bold city brews on tap.

the good: most of the food we ordered was delicious, doz. raw oysters were good; herb crusted mahi mahi was melt in your mouth delicious, buttery and well seasoned, mashed potatoes and broccoli were good; scallop and shrimp white cheddar macaroni and cheese was delicious also - the shrimp and scallops were cooked to perfection, the mac and cheese was sinfully creamy, also topped with 4 asparagus that were a bit overdone.

the bad: the half plate portions on the fish were pretty small - 4 oz. of fish, smallish sides. ( however, the half portion of scallop and shrimp mac & cheese was plenty). and the real stinker of the night was the seafood gumbo. the flavor was pretty good, but the seafood inside was unpalatably mushy - as if the gumbo was made a week ago and left simmering. the shrimp in the gumbo were the consistency of a cooked potato - blech! our attentive waiter could tell we didn't like the gumbo and immediately apologized and removed it from our bill. again, the service was amazing.

all in all, blue fish is a decent restaurant. a little pricey for what you get, and the food quality varied - thegoodwas great, the bad was pretty terrible. the service (and the nice outdoor seating) will make us give it another chance.

i also eyed the bar and brunch menus - which looked very tempting. the bar menu offered what looked like more value friendly options - tappas style items like sliders, etc. and the brunch offered some unique items like lobster mac & cheese - and our server mentioned mimosas are included.

verygoodplace!. you can easily make an entire meal from the multitude of seafood appetizers. staff is usually quitegoodas well.

also, the bar upstairs is one of the better kept secrets in town!

brunch grub! i like it..... i love seafood but i hate going to restaurants that has dusty netting, fake fish and captians hooks hanging from wall to wall. it was quite refreshing walking into blue fish and not seeing overkill. the atmosphere was very relaxing. the wait staff was professional and the food was excellent. this is the perfect time of year to take advantage of their outdoor seating. i especially enjoy the brunch. the pan seared catch st. charles was delicious. it was a lightly dusted white fish(tilapia that day) on top of grits with a poached egg and hollandaise sauce. i have been craving this dish ever since. another dish i tried during brunch was the white cheddar mac and cheese with shrimp and scallops. once again, this was delicious. i suggest eating it from the bottom up. baked macaroni can be a bit to dry on top for a lot of people but for me i love breaking through that layer and exposing the creaminess of the cheese goodness the way it was meant to be. my suggestion to blue fish would be more champagne in the mimosas. this is a complimentary drink so really, who can complain? i reccomend the brunch for anyone who wantsgoodquality food in a relaxing atmosphere.