the blue fish restaurant

a nice change in avondale. in place of sterlings in avondale is blue fish, a new trendy restaurant that offers lunch and dinner where seafood is the main fare. however, they do offer non-seafood options (as my non-seafood eating foodie friend, cathy is most grateful). prices for dinner are a bit high so i went for lunch there on monday this week to recover from an extended trip to dallas, texas for a cousin's wedding.

first, the decor is very blue and green, and i loved it. upscale casual best describes the atmosphere; the same ladies-who-lunch crowd is ever present in avondale. a gorgeous breezy sunny day, we sat outside and took time perusing the menu as there is a plethora of choices. i settled on the crab, cheddar, and broccoli quiche and seafood gumbo for $10.00. i wanted the crab bisque, but the waiter suggested that would be possibly too much crab. (is there such a thing?) okay, i said, and while it was not the best quiche i've ever had, i enjoyed my meal. the gumbo was flavorful, rich, and chock full of seafood; the quiche was nicely brown on top, crispy crust, and buttery and loaded inside with crab, cheese, and broccoli, very satisfying.

cathy, ever the mac-n-cheese fanatic, ordered the blackened chicken and mac-n-cheese for $10. she thought the chicken was juicy and tasty; the mac-n-cheese was more of a corkscrew pasta with an alfredo type sauce, but she did not mind. a very rich and dense chocolate peanut butter pie rounded out themealfor $4.95 which was so rich, we could not finish it. overall, it was a pleasant experience, and it's worth a try!

pre-mother's day dinner. with reservations made via open table, we were set to enjoy anothermealat blue fish restaurant.

note to self: avondale is a very popular hangout now. take extra time to find a parking spot.

we arrived in avondale to find nearly every parking spot taken. luckily the old gas station provides a few places to park.

as we walked past the brick, which was very crowded and headed toward our destination, we were engulfed in the pungent smell of bar-b-que eminating from a new offering, mojo's. not sure how the residence of this snobby part of town allowed this to happen, but it will definitely not be a positive move.

upon entering the blue fish, we we greeted by avelee, the co-owner. the weather was perfect so we decided to sit outside in the courtyard. unfortunately, we didn't realize smoking was allowed so we asked to be moved inside. we were seated at a large table with a strategic view of the elclectic paintings and the front of the house.

our waiter was amazing, made suggestions for wine pairings and was well versed on the fresh fish of the day - 7 different fish selections. by the way, the fish is prepared fresh each day by avalee's husband.

one of the interesting menu features is the half portion option. for about half the price you can get a half portion of protein with a full portion of vegetable and starch. just enough if you order a side salad and consume several baskets of their unique and nicely warmed bread.

what i like about this restaurant is that the menu caters to all tastes. even picky eaters like my teenager who order blackened chicken over home made mac n' cheese. not the orange-yellow velvetta looking cheese. this was the real deal. i had to move the dish from my daughter or i think she would have eaten that as well!

they also cater to large parties with a full banquet room next to the courtyard and a smaller semi-private area upstairs with a bar nearby.

will definitely return again soon..

very good brunch. loved it! $5 unlimited mimosas, includes with yourmeala 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 hermealhit 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 one good pudding. 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!

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 mymealby 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 still good customer service to acknowledge a customer... if you truly want your business to succeed.....

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 extremely good for 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 ourmealthe 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.

blue fish review. friday, september 7, our table of six waited 1 hr and 27 minutes for food. granted it was a friday night, and the restaurant was busy. however, the table of 4 next to us came in after we did. they received their complete dinner and completed theirmealbefore we were even served (same waiter). while most of the food was delicioius, the chicken picatta was anything but good.. it was one chicken breast with a little sauce slapped on top, tough as leather. do not order this item. the chef may have been exhausted by the volume of business and chosen a shortcut. unfortunate.

a great place!. i dined at bluefish with some friends last week and had a great experience. i had the herb crusted sea bass with beurre blanc which was cooked to perfection. my friends and i shared an order of steamed mussels to start (outstanding) and finished themealwith an ice cold key lime pie.
the wait staff was very attentive and anticipated our every wish. i would give this place two thumbs up on service, quality and atmosphere. a must for food lovers.

i went with a friend to have dinner and listen to live music. i had never eaten here before. i love sea food, and thought it might be good. i ordered the coconut shrimp. i wanted themealand not the appetizer, and chose asparagus and mashed potatoes as my sides. the shrimp were plump and crisp. the mash potatoes were however cold, and the three tiny spears is asparagus were over cooked and chewy. this disappointingmealwas a whopping 24.00. my companion ordered the bisque and had to send it back because it arrived at the table cold. our waiter whisked it away without even telling her what he was doing with it. we assumed he would have it warmed or replaced, but since there was no explanation we weren't sure. the bread we were served was tasty, but small rolls and only a few were placed in the basket. when we asked for more, he brought two more rolls. at 24 bucks a plate, you would think that they wouldn't be stingy with the bread. this restaurant has an open front that spreads out to the sidewalk. this is fine for warmer months, but in january it is painfully cold. we were miserable the entire time. so the bottom line is that the food was overpriced, carelessly prepared, the waiter was thoughtless and a bit rude, and were were miserably cold the entire meal. i will not go back. nothing was worth a repeat performance.

oysters rockefeller, oh yes!. i travel a lot on business, and i'm always looking for a good place 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 mymeala 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 themealwarrants 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.

very good place!. you can easily make an entiremealfrom the multitude of seafood appetizers. staff is usually quite good as well.

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

quick bites so far. i dropped in late one afternoon. shared some mussels with a glass of wine and a cup of soup. waitstaff highly attentive and friendly. look forward to a fullmealhere.

truly excellent. finally got a chance to go here last night for dinner - we started at the bar since it was still happy hour, so we got drinks and a platter of exquisite lobster sliders - the real deal, loaded with tender, sweet, and briny chunks of lobster meat. taking advantage of the mild weather, we sat outside in the courtyard for dinner, a nice relaxing atmosphere and a good change of pace since the bar is very noisy. i ordered the special appetizer which was a generous portion of fried clam strips, very delicate and fresh and served with cocktail sauce and also tartar sauce. the selection of fish seems to rotate based on what can be obtained in the freshest and most sustainable way. two of us ordered the rarely seen monkfish which was perfectly prepared (mine was in a lemon-caper sauce) and another member of our trio ordered the walu, which we originally thought was a misprint for wahu but it was correct -- walu is just the hawaiian word for escolar. ourmealwas accompanied by a wine especially selected by the chef to match the rich flavors, a 'butter bomb' chardonnay from rombauer, tasting of lush caramel and clarified butter.

i'm glad that i loaded up on the sliders and the appetizer beforehand because none of the desserts on offer really caught my attention, they seemed rather ordinary after such a sumptuous meal. we ended up sharing a very nice piece of key lime pie.

i had dinner at blue fish last night. there is a very good chance i will never go back. the food is average at best and most definitely not worth the price. everyone in our party was disappointed. i ordered the fish taco's. the best part of that dish was the grilled soft taco shell. between the two taco's on my plate there was very, very little fish, maybe and ounce total. the shredded lettuce and little cubes of tomato were exactly the same as what is served at taco bell. the taco was just that, a small amount of fish some shredded lettuce and little squares of tomato, nothing more. everyone at the table ordered something different, and everyone thought it was "okay". we all ate our food, but we all agreed that the next time we want seafood we will go to jl trents. i had resigned to just be okay with mymealbut enjoy the night with friends .... then the bill came. price is not a big deal to me, as long as i feel pricing, quality and taste are done fairly. blue fish is not worth the sticker shock ...... seriously, don't bother. i never will again. if you want to know more check this link out.

http://eatjax.com/?p=4077