Fish Head Cantina

Best food in Arbutus! I’ve eaten at Fish Head Cantina many many times. The food & the service there are always great. You wouldn’t expect this hidden restaurant to be so good. They even have Sushi that is always fresh, delicious, and reasonably priced. Their lunch menus are catered to us Arbutus businessmen. I love eating there!

Love it love it found me a new place for sushi, wings, fun ‚& a good time … Best sushi in Baltimore

Fish head cantina has by far the best burgers in Baltimore! It’s a has a full kitchen open during the day and is appropriate for all ages. The staff is awesome and the drinks are great. I would definitely recommend to anyone looking to have a good time.

Excellent food and a mini– vacation when you can’t get away. So it is a bar with great food– full of surprises. I heard the sushi was great but went there with a meat eater. Next time, I am heading for the sushi. This is the first time that I ate inside.
During the warm weather, I just love sitting in the beach-​like outdoors. Burger, wings, nachos, beer. Music.
Whether you are indoors or outside, the staff really try to please.

I mayhave rated higher but for some reason when we were there for a show Saturday ¹⁰⁄₁₀ and it was only at best 50 degrees out they didn’t have the plastic down to enclose the patio and they only had 2 of the space heaters on where the tables are. The first band was complaining on stage about how cold it was, not sure about the rest of the bands because myself and most of the other people that were there ended up going into the bar area and staying there. Whenever we would venture back outside the band currently on stage had maybe 10 – 20 people watching them. Said something to the woman checking wristbands and all I got was «aren’t the heaters on?»
Not sure I plan on going back after that experience.

Fish Head Cantina is not my typical venue, seeing as it’s TWO long hours away from home, but they were hosting a «battle of the bands» that a friend of mine was playing in, so i of course was in attendance. We went through a number of different neighborhoods to get to it, so im not sure if it’s technically Baltimore as stated. Most everything on the way to it said Arbutus, but when leaving it was all violetville. Perhaps that makes it convenient for all surrounding suburbs?
The parking did not seem to be great, when i got there, their parking lot was full, but there was a sign pointing behind the next building for extra parking. I repeat, across the street there is another building in which you may park it it’s back alleyway… in Baltimore. Please bring an escort.
The place was pretty cool once you get inside! There are like two or three entrances with security, which i like, because i never feel safe in the city no matter what. Once inside there’s a bar area – which literally played only the Ravens game on every single television – then there was the dining area, the sushi bar, a kinda long hallway that lead out to the «cantina». I was unaware the event would be outdoors, so i was ill prepared and did not take a zyrtec, which i know I’ll regret tomorrow smh.
There is a pavilion area complete with stage for bands to perform, in this case, up a couple steps there’s patio seating, off to the side there’s a little pond area and just opposite, an outside bar. The entire staff seemed to be very nice, from the security guys, to the guy who took the tickets and stamped our hands, to the servers and bartenders.
I don’t drink, but my friend ordered herself a flying dog, which was $ 4.75 per can, i thought that was a bit steep, but it was an IPA and we were in MD, not VA so it’s probably normal pricing. We ordered a steak and cheese to split and asked if we could get the peppers and onions on only half, but the fellow said no, but he could put them on the side. So we did. Then added lettuce and tomato and asked for some mayo on the side. He asked if we wanted Cole slaw or chips and i asked if we could do a steak fry with no salt instead. By the time we finished ordering we could tell he didn’t have time for our shit by the look on his face. He remained completely professional and gave us everything we wanted, but walked away quickly, probably so he could remain professional.
Worried, i asked the other bartender how they’d know where to find us to bring us our food and she just smiled and said not to worry, they have been able to find everyone else so far today. Then my friend reminded me i was the only black girl outside and probably the only one with blonde hair on the premises. Duh. No wonder the guy at the door told me not to worry if i washed off my hand stamp because he wouldn’t forget me! Hahaha
Our steak and cheese came out exactly the way we wanted it, directly to us, with extra napkins, two sets of silverware and it only took about ten to twelve minutes! It was delicious! But the wind was strong so it kinda made it cold more quickly than I’d have liked. Mother nature can be a jerk. All in all i had a wonderful time for the battle of the bands, and if i lived closer, i would come back! Also if i would have realized they have free wifi in the tiki bar i would have read reviews and probably tried some sushi. Normally i only get it at Japanese restaurants, so my first thought walking in was «not getting sushi here». Some of the reviews were very positive about the sushi, so I definitely would have wanted to give it a try! If there’s ever a next time, i will.

Where are we? Is this Arbutus or Halethorpe or Baltimore? What is this place? A bar or a sushi joint or a concert venue? Fish head is all that and more. The food is good and fresh. The staff does a fantastic job and they get challenged every weekend. The menu was changed recently, there is something for everyone. They also upgraded to draft beer offerings.
It’s my personal belief that the cantina is located in Violetville, the charming suburb of downtown Arbutus.

This place is a little off the beaten path and a good find. It’s something unique that I haven’t seen before as well. At first glance it does not seem like much from the outside. Inside there is a fun for pool and other games, and it is pretty spacious. I have never seen or been to a bar that offers standard bar/​American food AND sushi! And the sushi quality is pretty darn delicious at that. They have a professional sushi chef behind the bar making everything and have a nice selection. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of food here. The inside décor could use some updating and maybe a little cleaning up, but it is a local bar and that doesn’t deter people from coming. Why should it when you get great service and great food, which is the most important. I don’t go up to Baltimore too often, but i am glad I came here at the suggestion of my boyfriend. Very good spot and I will be coming back if I am in the area!

It surprises me every time I go how good the food is. It doesn’t feel like the food should be fantastic, but over and over again it really is. They have great happy hour specials too.

Who would have ever thought the sushi at Fish would be amazing. So good. And the staff is friendly as well.

I have held two parties here in the private area and attended a show in the tiki bar. The staff is professional and friendly and the catering prices are so reasonable! I’ve run into zero problems or hassles and everyone always has a good time. Great food, great prices and great staff… what more could you ask for?

I ordered a taco salad, carry out and it was pretty horrible.

Their sushi is pretty legit, probably some of the best you’ll find in the area. An awesome lunch spot with a great deck out back to relax. They have a sushi special every Wednesday– buy one roll get the other free, which I’ll definitely be back for. Good service, would recommend!

This is my go-​to lunch place with a certain customer due to the location in relation to their office. I never really push the limits of their culinary expertise since I always get a salad, but I’m always satisfied. I’m pretty sure they have some live music at nights, but I’ve only been during the day. Note: it always smells like it just got the floors mopped, so that’s good, right?

I’ve been hard on Fish Head in the past but it’s starting to grow on me. It’s a very convenient bar in Arbutus, parking can be hard but the lot across the street has plenty of parking. The inside is clean and tropical feeling. The bar is huge and offers a wide selection of beer and liquor. The food is decent only have had a few appetizers, the tots rock! They also offer pool tables, darts, and other bar games. This place is huge and has an venue on the back end. The venue is actually pretty great and the live music acts they get is impressive. Overall I like all the space in and out doors you can really move around and experience different environments.
I will say security can be very rude and almost bull doggish, although I understand they need to be tough. At one point the people in my party got excited to go eat after the show at like 1am and a guard got in our face. I told him, sorry they are exited to eat. He rolled his eyes stepped aside and started talking about us to another guard. Maybe I won’t stay so late next time!

Went there with groupon, I thought it was an Asian restaurant, turn out to be a sports bar.
They have lots of see food, sushi is surprisingly good, I say even better than some asian restaurants, and the whole place is decorated with ocean style.

Came here to see a friends son play and decided to have dinner before the show. I was a little hesitant because of the ambience of the place (a little bar tucked back in the middle of a neighborhood) but much to my surprise was I pleased with the food. I had sushi, wings and a crab pretzel for starters (there was a group of us) everything was beyond incredible. I ordered the crab cake sandwich for my entrée and it was just ok, nothing to brag about as I am used to some of the best crab cakes baltimore has to offer. Over all I was pretty pleased with my experience. I will probably return for the sushi and appetizers!

Awesome sports bar/​lunch stop by day, turns into a metal/​biker/​«local color» music bar by night. Re the former, I have family in Arbutus and lived there for about 20 years and have seen the local businesses come and go. This place reminds me of a bigger, fancier version of the lunch bars that my manufacturing buddies who had grown up in the area used to visit, featuring lots of crab cake this and seafood salad that and Old Bay on everything and all of it very good. The Pub Fish sandwich is very good here. If you’re not into fish, seafood salad, or crabby stuff, the burgers here are also excellent. They have a reasonable selection of beers on draught and lots of TVs for watching the ball games. During the games they have activities like raffles, and whenever the Ravens win a game, everybody in the joint gets a free purple shot.
The place is surprisingly spacious inside — there’s a bar, a dining area, a separate section with pool tables, and a big outdoor courtyard (not always open), plus a concert area for the band shows. The bar and food service staff are all extremely good at their jobs and nice. Although there is a college (UMBC) in the area, the vibe in this place is very much «neighborhood pub» and not «college bar» which to me is a relief.
On concert nights they put on a lot of extra security, who are not always the friendliest guys, but if you know anything about this area and some of the past incidents that have affected not only Fish Head Cantina but other bars and halls in the immediate area, you will understand why security’s gotta be tough. I don’t expect out-​of-​towners to get it, just accept it. That said, if you feel OK going to say, the Ottobar, then you should feel equally OK here. The band bookings seem to be part cover bands and part original hard rock/​metal these days, a reasonably decent selection.
Parking gets a little full up on game days and concert nights, but since you’re allowed to also park in the lot next door, you shouldn’t have to resort to the street (which is down a hill and a rather long walk away from the entrance).
Tl; dr: Fish Head Cantina is cool, long may it prosper. Stop in for an excellent taste of the Real Baltimore County.

I have been going to this bar for years. The drink specials on Friday and Saturday nights are unbeatable ($ 1 a beer). Make sure you ask for a bucket!
The food is amazing which seems weird for a dive bar. The sushi they just added is out of this world and BOGO on Wednesdays. Make sure you order the spicy tuna poppers you won’t regret it. The burgers are good as well. You seriously can’t go wrong with anything on this menu. The old bay chips are soooo good it’s a tough choice between those and the brew city fries.
They have an inside and an outside bar. Both are equally fun and they have live bands most nights outside. This bar has so much to offer give it a try!

We decided to visit this place for open mic night and we were a bit worried at first. Finding the place is difficult and the décor, the people, etc. might not be the best for those looking for a classy (or even average) establishment. However, once the open mic started and our server arrived, I can tell you our experience was definitely good.
First, let’s warn people about finding the place. You have to drive the back roads of Arbutus, a Baltimore suburb I’d never even heard of before. Then you come across a random sign for the place… but no bar. Yes, the sign let’s you know you’re in the right area, but unless you know to turn up this side road (between unkempt yards and a commercial warehouse), you’d never see the place.
Second, the demeanor of the place is part biker bar, part tiki bar, and all working class. Now, I have no problem with that as I spent much of my 20’s as part of that demographic. However, if you’re looking for a night out at a dance club or prefer up-​to-​date establishments… this place is not for you. T-​shirt and jeans is the dress code, much of the building is well-​worn (and the tiki bar looks haphazardly put together), and there’s a feel this place never left the Grunge/​Hard Rock period of the 90’s.
Now, those are just warnings… still interested? Good. Because the service was good and the food was excellent. Unlike a lot of bars, this place has a kick-​ass kitchen with a great menu. We ate a couple of their signature burgers and they were great. Plus, you have your choice of sides, from Old Bay chips to fries to tater tots. They serve salads, other sandwiches, steak, shrimp, etc. If you go on specific nights, they even have specials (Wed — 1 lb. of steamed shrimp for $ 10!!) and I could definitely see myself eating here more if I lived closer.
So, right now I’m saying this place is A-​OK and a good choice to visit; I would honestly give it 3.5 stars if I could. If I come here some more and the service and food continue to be good, I might just up it to 4. For all of it’s back yard, rough demeanor, this seems like it might be a diamond in the rough.