the fish house and cafe beignet

southern hospitality and down home food. first, i've got to give kudos to the owner, dave, for making 2 nashville natives and 2 kentuckians feel welcome from the moment we came inside until we left after dinner. the experience was great, the food tasty, and the service outstanding. my brother-in-law has been eating there for lunch off & on for several years, and treated us to dinner when we came to town.

all four of us had the scrod with assorted types of bread and sides. scrod is usually either cod, haddock, or other meaty, northern ocean, white fish. so, take your pick. i don't know which it was, but i would have been satisfied with any of them since the taste was wonderful. the fish seemed to be coated with a corn meal breading, and it added some good flavor to the dish. i had 3 really large pieces of scrod in my dinner plate, and all were properly prepared. all were in agreement that the fish was very tasty. in addition, i had french fries, their mayonnaise based slaw (mad mary's), seafood chowder, some hush puppies, and iced tea. my spouse had the silver dollar sized potato cakes for a side rather than fries.

the seafood chowder was in reality clam chowder. if there were other types of seafood in it, i could not determine or recognize it. this version was a little thin for me, but the taste was very good. i prefer a much thicker version, but this was still a good choice. the slaw was a typical mayonnaise version, but frankly a much better version that others than i've had. a vinegar based slaw was also available. the frenchfrieswere properly fried, not real greasy with just the right amount of salt. i tasted my spouse's potato cakes, and they were as good or better than the fries. i would probably order the potato cakes next time in lieu of the fries.

finally, all of us ordered the beignet for dessert. this new orleans treat was delicious, loaded with powdered sugar, and a real treat. just wish i had ordered some coffee to go with it. when you go there, do your self an indulgent favor, and order at least one of the beignets.

i can't comment specifically on the price, since the tab was picked up by my brother in law. however, after having reviewed the menu, it would appear that the tab excluding any tax & tip was between 55 and 60 dollars for the 4 of us.

next time you are in the highlands in louisville, stop at this local "hole-in-the wall" restaurant. you will be pleased. thanks again to david for the wonderful dinner.

5/21/2011 i took my family to the fish house because of the rave reviews on this site. there were no cars in the parking lot , bad sign. four people were eating in the back. we ordered the fish sandwich plater, beignet, potato pan cakes,fries, mac and cheese. after about 10 mins, the food came out. the fish was over cooked to a dark brown. a nice grease taste came with it. the potato pan cakes were about the size of a silver dollar. looked like smashed tater tot, and came with the grease taste. i've been to the cafe dumont in new orleans , and had beignet , wonderful . these were like fried biscuits with so much powdered sugar they liked like small icebergs, tasted like pure old grease. nasty. $33.00 for a very nasty meal . save your money....... what a sad experence.

the parking lot is kind of small, but as long as you reserve a table you'll definitely get in, and trust me you're going to want to. the environment was very "mom and pops" style. the owner of the restaurant was the one who took our order, and was extremely polite; he definitely created a rapport with us. being a military veteran himself we were able to exchange stories and talk about our history and the background of fort knox. we ordered our meals, sat in the indoor area and the food arrived about 10 minutes later. my catfish sandwich, although it came out on to regularize slices of rye bread, was phenomenal. the fried fillet was just crispy on the outside but still moist on the inside, not typical of most fried food. it didn't lose any of the flavor; and my friends haddock was just as good. the frenchfriesare also amazing, just crispy on the outside, as most frenchfriesshould be but, extremely fluffy on the inside and not overdone. they hardly had any seasoning which helped increase the overall flavor of the french fry; it didn't overwhelm it. tartar sauce is made in house, both original and jalapeno, and the jalapeno that we tried was delicious. you could tell that he used just enough dill to create the flavor without overwhelming it, and the only use the shell of the jalapeno with no seeds so it wasn't extremely spicy. to finish up the meal we ordered a three-count of beignets, which arrived after about 5 minutes. although they were a little crunchier than i had remembered, the inside was impeccable and the amount of powdered sugar was perfect proportion. definitely deserving of the 4.5 out of 5 stars and we will definitely be visiting again even though it was about a 30 minute drive to get here.

we asked a lot of questions at the fish house like “do you bread the onion rings in house?” “are thefriesfresh cut”, and “what’s the difference between scrod and haddock?” the gentleman at the counter (who i’m betting was the owner) was super friendly. he answered all our questions and gave us additional information without rushing us.

awesome fish sandwich!. being a lover of fried fish and, after reading how well the reviewers on this site like this place, i just had to try it. many is the time i have heard talk of a fish sammidge that is just off the chain delicious at a particular restaurant, only to find out upon visiting that it is just mediocre or worse. my wife and i went to the fish house for dinner last night and, i must say, it is one of the few places in the area serving fish that delivers as promised, and then some. it was crazy good!

the hunks of fish on the sammy were thick, moist, piping hot and perfectly seasoned. that is one of my pet peeves: places that serve you little thin, squimpy pieces of fish that are mostly breading. it's almost like they pound them out thin to more efficiently vacuum the frog skins from your wallet. but you won't find that here. speaking of breading, my wife and i both loved the peppery breading they use on the fish. we also shared an order of fries, a small handful of shrimp and a rolled oyster, all of which were also very good. i don't think i have ever had frenchfriesthat were seasoned just like the ones they serve here. they are scrumptious!

you can taste the love that goes into the preparation of the food here. as guy fieri says, it is just "out of bounds." the fish house is easily in the top two or three best places in kentuckiana if you are on a quest for some thick, delicious filets of fried fish. i'll have another to go please, on rye.

and their jalapeno tartar sauce? all i can say is you better make sure you are near a chair, because your knees will buckle the moment it touches your lips. it is really that good. while on the subject of good, good luck finding a parking place at this germantown gem.

best fish sandwich in town!. this is a seriously good place for fresh fish sandwiches and seafood! i haven't tried the other items yet, but i will soon! they have daily specials and soups as well. their fish is breaded just right with a cornmeal breading and cooked to perfection, and the frenchfrieshave a nice seasoning on them as well. imo, this is the only place to go for a good quality, fresh fish sandwich at a good price!

favorite fried fish joint. the fish house has great fried scrod. the onion rings,friesand slaw are pretty good too.

dave (owner) makes his own tartar sauces which are excellent, one is a jalapeno style tartar sauce that's tangy..

imo, this place is much, much better than the fishery, mike linnings or kingfish.

delicious breakfast. i ate sunday breakfast and it was great. the service was good and very friendly. the food came out fast. the egg in the hole was good, although the white bread used was a little underwhelming. the homefrieswere spot on and the beignets were quite tasty. i would love to go back for additional breakfast dishes or dinner at another time.