Fish Bar

GO BACK TO YOUR OLD MENU. What happened? Was the original menu not sufficient or did we just feel bored when the new year rolled around?
We came in for a fun date night (before our movie) to the place I’ve been bragging about for the last year and left for a competitor. No hush puppies, bluefish sliders, lobster roll, codfish sandwich, tater tots, etc. very sad night for your regulars. .and no, a Throwback Thursday won’t do the trick.

It was a Saturday night in Chicago. My parents were in town for the weekend and wanted to take me to a nice dinner. Although there isn’t a shortage of great restaurants around the DePaul area, getting a nice meal every once in a while is pretty much a godsend as a college student.
One of my parents’ favorite restaurants in Chicago is Shaw’s. Between the sophisticated, laid back ambience their delicious seafood, Shaw’s has always been their go-​to. Needless to say, I couldn’t wait to enjoy another meal there with them that Saturday night. We always order the seafood tower accompanied by a few appetizers and entrees. It’s delicious every time. This night was different, though.
You probably think I’m going to go on some dramatic tangent about how their food wasn’t up to par, but that was not the case at all. It was the wait. Naturally, restaurants like Shaw’s are always busy on a Saturday, especially in Chicago, but we had made reservations a few days beforehand. We arrived at Shaw’s a few minutes before 8, the time of our reservation, only to be handed a buzzer while we waited nearly a half hour to be seated. While this didn’t come as a huge shock, I thought to myself, «There has to be a better way».
Waiting in a crowded room is anything but entertaining. The food was still great, of course, but a long wait even after making a reservation always dilutes the dining experience a bit. That’s when I remembered my waiting experience at Fish Bar. Like Shaw’s, their seafood delicious (I always get the crispy shrimp tacos!), but the reservation process is much more efficient. Fish Bar has this great app called NextME. All I had to do was give my name, phone number, and number people in my reservation. I didn’t even have to download anything on my phone.
As soon as I gave the host my information, I immediately got a text confirming my reservation with a witty greeting and URL telling me some places my friends and I could go around the area instead of standing in a crowded lobby. It even said exactly which place in line we were so we could leave the bar we stopped at on time to get seated. Super convenient! I’d recommend NextME to any restaurant in the downtown Chicago area.
Although it’s hard to find a bad meal in the city, the waits to get into these restaurants are always a pretty frustrating (first world) problem. I can only hope to see NextME in more restaurants in the near future. It’s sure better than a pager!

I liked the red fish sliders. it was tasty. Also, there was a lot of couples there, so probably will bring a date next time? Good soup too, btw.

This place is incredible. It has a great casual ambiance and the food is extraordinary. I tried the raw oyster with lemon crème fraîche, and it was the best oyster I have ever tried. I also had the creole oyster stew and the blackened redfish dish, which were both delicious.

Great service, really solid food, and nice little drink selection. Nice work.

A great spot for delicious seafood and great drinks, a little on the pricey side, but the menu changes weekly and the service is always really good.
My wife and I come here at least a couple of times a year to enjoy a big lunch.
The Satchmo’ is highly recommended as well as whatever ceviche they have going that day.

This place is not cheap so I passed by several times.
I finally tried last Sunday with my family and absolutely loved it!
I love food and love cooking. So I don’t like restaurants that serves average usual food that you can easily cook by yourself.
My fav is ceviche. It has nice twist.
Fish slider was also really yummy and good quality (bun, coleslaw, fish etc).
I’d definitely come back!
PS: Kayleigh was very friendly and cute :-)

Great place for drinks. Bartenders are very knowledgeable and friendly — great conversationalists. Drink prices were on the expensive side but typical for downtown Chicago. However, drinks were very good, I almost didn’t mind the prices! Exceptional service and great vibes at the Fish Bar.

I paid 26 dollars for a lobster roll half the size of my hand, salt&vinegar chips, and slaw. It was A-​OK.
Staff was friendly and service was attentive.
Also tried the shrimp po boy and cod which were both fine.
Solid three stars. I like the place and go back I just don’t think its more than three stars.

On a Saturday night, we decided to come here. My coworker always talk about how good this place is so we decided to give it a try.
Upon walk in, we were greeted immediately and there were a 20 mins wait. Which was not bad on a Saturday night. There were only bar seating and maybe there was one table in the restaurant. Well the name is called fish bar so don’t expect tables available.
We ordered two half arce beers and two seats were available right after we order the drinks. My stool was really high and it was quite uncomfortable.
We order the hush puppies and then I had the shrimp and crayfish roll. My bf had the crappie patties roll.
They were both average and the portion was a little bit in the small side and it doesn’t comes with sides.
I’m not sure if it was good enough for us to come back here. There are definitely better fish/​seafood places better than this joint.

Fish Bar is seriously awesome. DMK group has it going on. The best Cod Fish Sandwich in the city! Great Oyster special on Sundays, $ 1.50 an oyster. The rest of the menu is awesome and they usually have different specials each day.
Space can get tight in the winter. The outdoor space is great during the summer. There is only 3 booths so make sure you get one if you bring kiddies. The rest of the restaurant is bar stools. Service is usually very good.
The special drinks are great!

Lobster rolls are better than I had anywhere in U.S.
Also the sachamo poboy forgetaboutit just the best
Sunday $ 1.50 oyste what? And fresh really good !
One of my favorite places in the world.

Rosa J.‘s verdict on this trendy joint next to the gloomy hospital: 4.5 stars!
Daddy wanted to try out different restaurants in town because he has been following me on Unilocal.I will be using him as my «Yelp buddy» for the time being so that I can clear as many ever-​accumulating bookmarks as possible.
Once getting from the CTA Wellington Brown/​Purple Line station, we walked one (1) block west to Sheffield. «Fish Bar» was the sky-​blue building across the road from the Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center.
The special menu items were quickly explained by a sunny-​smile young man. Daddy spotted the beer menu and immediately showed his interest in trying one (1) of the local and Midwestern-​region specialties. The young man suggested the «Founder,» brewed in Grand Rapid, MI. His recommendation was right on the money. The «Founder» had a very prominent barley aroma. It had a «bitter» initial kick, yet the «sweet» after-​note was soon released to complete the experience. That probably was one my favorites I’ve ever tasted so far in my foodie life!
We eventually made our decisions: gumbo, fluke sashimi, and six (6) east-​coast (from Virginia) and west-​coast (from Washington) kinds. The gumbo came in first. While it didn’t skimp on seafood, the flavor wasn’t as extraordinary as I anticipated. I felt that was missing a wow factor and it wasn’t that memorable.
However, the sashimi was delightful and refreshing. The touch of «yuzu» sauce with scallions was nice. The portion was on a smaller side, but it served as a «transitional» dish to the protagonist: the raw oysters.
Their oysters were very fresh (perhaps off the boat)! I preferred the east-​coast oysters, for they were larger in size and accompanied more harmoniously with the garlicky cocktail sauce that came with.
Reiterating on the beer one (1) more time, the «Founder» was delicious! Dad and I shared two (2) mason jars worth of beer and were very satisfied. By the way, the total came to $ 64 and some change (pre-​tip).
Dad said he wanted to come back for lobster and other menu items next time, and I said I would certainly concur with him.

This was our last restaurant visit during our trip to Chicago and it was such an awesome end to an awesome trip. We ordered fish tacos, lobster roll, hush puppies, artichoke fritters, and a couple of beers. Everything was delicious, but I think the fish tacos were THE BEST FISH TACOS I HAVE EVER HAD. If we hadn’t ordered so much food, I would have eaten at least another order, if not 8 more.

This place is pretty good, we came here on Saturday night for dinner and had a good meal at a reasonable price, and the service was great.
Walked in at about 6 pm on Saturday and we were seated immediately. The crowds have definitely died down since when they first opened, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Last time my family and I came here two years ago, we were squished inside at the bar on tiny bar stools. This time we sat outside at a spacious wooden picnic table. I’ll take more space and outside dining any day.
Ordered the hush puppies, tuna tartare, chicken sandwich, a beer and one of the «sea sipper drinks» (what they call their cocktails) called the «capture the flag».
1. Tuna tartare– amazing. Definitely the highlight of the meal. Crispy chili dusted tortilla chips to scoop up ginger and Serrano chili infused ahi tuna, with a mango purée on the side. The mango was the perfect balance of sweetness to the salty and spicy tortilla chips and tuna.
2. Chicken sandwich– no clue why my boyfriend decided to order meat at a place called fish bar, but he did. The crispy chicken sandwich does not disappoint however, with a delicious red pepper aioli. The batter they used to fry the chicken was excellent, I’m sure it’s great on their other sandwiches too.
3. Hush puppies– so so, not bad but not good, kind of bland. The menu said it came with a side of roasted garlic aioli but it just tasted like tartar sauce. Nothing in the hush puppies besides cornmeal, I was expecting maybe herbs or some kind of meat or even corn.
4. The «capture the flag» sea sipper– It was good but at first I almost returned it because it was THAT spicy! Jalapeño infused Lunazul tequila, passion fruit and lime– the jalapeño infused tequila at first sip tasted like straight jalapeño juice, my boyfriend couldn’t stomach it. The more I drank it, the more passion fruit I got, but I don’t think I could handle this drink again!
All in all great food, great service, and no lines, I’ll be back but steering clear of the spicy tequila!

Overall: Great tasting fish and a great casual atmosphere. Just not cheap and not incredibly hearty.
The good: The food is delicious and fresh. The service was very good, friendly and knowledgeable. They had a good selection of craft brews and even some wine.
The bad: The music was too loud inside. The prices are kind of expensive, especially for the portion sizes that you get. There’s limited seating, especially if the outdoor area is closed.
Atmosphere: ⁸⁄₁₀
Service: ¹⁰⁄₁₀
Food: 8.5÷10

How have I not written a review about Fish Bar? This is my boyfriends favorite restaurant in Chicago (that’s saying a lot). But that is my boyfriend, I’m writing my review. We have dined here many times, Winter, Summer, Fall, Valentines Day (that isn’t a season?). There have been good and bad. Why I am giving them three stars? Well, their reservations, or lack therefore, for anything during the summer. Small patio and closing the patio at a moments notice, and not seating the party until all have arrived. This is a small restaurant, I get i, but if one or more people are there, do not leave them hanging, seat them, make them happy. Do not punish them for an always-​tardy friend. (the end of my rant).
We LOVE the patio and changing seafood options. Their rotating seasonal beer options are usually spot on and a little off the cuff, though small, there is usually something we can enjoy. These points are what bring us back time and time again. Also, the main stays on the menu, such as my boyfriend’s favorites, the Crabby Patty or, on a splurge day, the Lobster Roll. I always get the Clam Chowder (no matter how hot it is.) We have tried almost everything on the menu, I will not bore you with all that. But, my favorites:
Clam Chowder. Recently learned to love it, a few years back. Now do not trust it anywhere but a seafood joint. Enjoy it at Fish Bar.
I then usually go with either one of their special tartar options or tacos, or both. I think I am moving away from the tacos, I find myself disappointed with the the dry taco shells and slaw. I need a sauce with my tacos. The tartar portion is small, I am usually excited by it. If they have Scallops, I’ll go for it. I also enjoy the Ala Plancha. And next time I am set on getting the Satchmo Po Boy to fill me up.
For sides, if you like spice, go for the Spicy Slaw. The Tater Tots with the garlic aioli are amazing. (Tip, ask for the garlic aioli). Also, you cannot go wrong with the Brussels Sprouts, they are halfed and backed, but do not let that fool you out of the flavor. With the added onions, pretty tasty.

The service was attentive and nice. Our drinks were served promptly and only took a few minutes to order. The food also came out in speed.
With knowing its a bar, wasn’t expecting anything fancy. The smatcho poboy was decent with a ok amount of shrimps and or crawfish??? The baby octopus was the bomb. Should’ve got grilled salmon or red fish… The redfish tacos were killer good. Very nicely prepared rare style. The octopus was grill served with a lemon butter and caper sauce. It was quite good. Total was 40 $ for the tacos, octopus, poboy n ice tea plus tip. I however spent 10 $ later at portillos to get finally full… So Idk if it’s worth the value at all.
Let me go into the food– the redfish tacos were like a sushi kind of meat. If we had ordered two of everything, it’d have been the price of a pappadouex dinner… At 9 $ a pair. The satchmo po boy was a ton of bun. Not nearly enough shrimp not crawfish. Too many scallions and onions ugh. Overpowered it all.
The baby octopus was worth the 10 $. Perhaps I would order the grilled salmon or red fish… Nothing else on the menu was worth half the cost.
Overall I’d not come back due to having so many restaurants to choose… Dmk burger bar appears good but idk anywhere haha

I used to love this place and rave about it, but coming in tonight has changed it… 5 stars = 100%… 3 stars = 60%. Last time I checked, 60% is a F.
The food is still at least slightly above average, but a few things were lacking — the artichoke fritters literally had no identifiable artichoke in them, the variety was missing from the menu, the charred redfish tacos weren’t great, and the soups were a bit thin for being bisque.
The old cocktails have been replaced with less creative new cocktails and prices have increased $ 3+ for each.
The crux of my problem is really the service. I have never seen so many staff standing around talking to each other rather than helping customers.
This is a generous 3-​stars.

It’s like half the staff is on holiday and got Robyn to cover all the shifts despite her no longer working here.
I like chowdah.