Big Fish Grill

Ate the shrimp louie yesterday… first bite was a shrimp with a very sticky texture and an oder of the worst rot EVER! Unfortunately, no going back, it was in my system! The shrimp on my salad smelled of DANGER! My friend had the same salad with the same shrimp. Of course we told our server, who then sent it back to the kitchen and told the manager. The manager came to the table and explained to us that the cooks checked the shrimp, and in fact we were right, it was rotten. .“sorry” His excuse was that the kitchen bought an extra large box of shrimp this time and it just wasn’t moving fast with sales… or something like that. And that’s why they served it?! I then ordered a cup of soup and my friend, the fish tacos.
TEN TO FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER, IN THE RESTAURANT BATHROOM!!! Yes, exactly! (later that afternoon, my friend too!) Told the server about it, and of coarse, she was so sweet and apologetic beyond what she should have been. Not her fault, but she felt embarrassed and responsible for it all, like most servers do… so very sad and not right! She was so WONDERFUL! The manager made her bring us a check for our second round of lunch… ugh! That’s when I said, ‘you’re kidding me?’ Again, she felt bad, but did go back to manager with our response. Yes, lunch was on them and manager apologized again for everything.
*Wonderful server.
*Awesome pan fried oysters.
*Great bread.
*Great Happy Hour food.
*Very nice staff.
*Misinformed manager that didn’t try and make things right from the beginning of ordeal… like covering our check. (still, not his fault for kitchen neglect)
*Poor kitchen judgement and neglect.
IT’S A SEAFOOD RESTAURANT, PEOPLE IN THE KITCHEN! THINGS CAN GO BAD QUICKLY! GET IT RIGHT, MAN!
*Great patio seating.

We’ve been here three times and three stars is a bit generous. The last visit was brunch on Mother’s Day. They had a fruit and pastry table with unlimited visits which was fine. Hard to mess up fruit and pastries. The cooked food not as good. The potatoes that came with the egg plates were both undercooked and burned at the same time. The eggs were good, the meats average in quality. Our drinks, including coffee were never refilled. It’s never that busy when we visit, even on Mother’s Day, people weren’t having to wait. On other visits, the fish and chips were really good. The crab cakes came with a sauce that we did not like. I also had a nut crusted halibut that was good, but the menu changes of course. A convenient location.

***My original review was removed because it did not have sufficient content. I doubt Unilocal took it upon themselves to do this, I suspect someone else requested it to be removed. As a result, here is a detailed explanation***
All I have to say is the short and polarizing man with brown hair who appears to be one of the managers. He has been there since the restaurant’s opening, as have I as a customer.
Reading the reviews about the restaurant, we all complain about the same manager described above.
These are some of the things that I do not appreciate about this establishment:
1) Management, specifically, the polarizing figure I described above who speaks to customers in a condescending tone. I am the type of person who does not take kindly to such behavior from a manger. I have had multiple encounters with him, the memorable ones are from 2014 and the other in 2016.
2) We were there for brunch this past Sunday, we are not big eaters, and I think it’s tacky to charge $ 5 to split a plate of sub-​par food not to mention the fact biting into the breakfast potatoes was like eating an apple. They have been doing Sunday brunch for years, how do you mess up breakfast potatoes?! They were under cooked. They were sliced to thick which is why they were under cooked. Maybe nobody cared.
Then the server states «We’re sorry, we’re having difficulty with the fryer for the beignet’s» is what we were told. It was more likely somebody forgot to turn on the deep fryer.
3) The restaurant is within walking distance to two wonderful coffee shops and they should expect that people on Sunday morning would rather have their preferred coffee choices and not pay for theirs regardless of policy. They’re known for seafood and not coffee. The liquor control board excuse was brought in to play and we were like it’s coffee. We were abruptly informed that «I can take those from you and leave them up front» in a tone that I thought was a little curt for a Sunday morning. We were then forced to pour our coffee into one of their coffee cups and told this is a one time deal. He was correct, that it was a one time deal as we will not go to their restaurant again.
The owner Carrie reached out to me and asked to have the manager call me to discuss policy and offer a gift card. I do not find it accommodating to be lectured about policy by someone from Big Fish Grill and then have a gift card shoved in my face. I politely declined. If you have to work 12 – 14 hours a day defending all the poor ratings for all three of your restaurants and we all complain about the same issues… Don’t waste your time focusing and thanking 5 Star Reviews and focus on the crappy reviews, but it’s your business. Good luck!
What’s the definition of insanity? Giving Big Fish Grill multiple tries and expecting a different outcome. It’s too bad because I really enjoyed their Happy Hour, Wagyu Tillamook Cheedar Cheese Burger, Pear, Pecan & Blue Cheese Salad and Cajun Chicken Tenderloins.

Pretty good food for the price. I’ve definitely had worse.
To start we had the calamari (very good. Light, not at all oily), crab cakes (meh. too soft, very bready, not crispy enough on the outside.).
She had the paella for the main course, I had halibut cheeks in a bacon-​tomato cream sauce. Hers I didn’t like so much, but I don’t like clams much and It had a heavy clam flavor. She seemed to enjoy it. Mine was really, really good… but at $ 30 for the plate I am not shocked. It needed to be top quality for how pricey it was.
The ambiance was good but the staff was… off putting. Needy maybe. It’s hard to really quantify it. A busboy eyeballed my wife as we came in, I think he was trying to figure out if she was pregnant (she’s a tiny woman), and it made her uncomfortable. They didn’t put us at ease at all. The restaurant was nearly empty, maybe they were trying too hard but… I don’t know. We might come back but with cheaper and more comfortable venues, I don’t see that happening soon or often.

Walked in this afternoon 6 minutes until two. Was greeted by the hostess who said «oh hello it’s only 6 more minutes of brunch left… Would you like to see the dinner menu?» Uh sure ok. Looked abd said yes we’d like a seat outside on the beautiful nice Sunday afternoon, after all it was my mothers birthday. She said «oh ok. Well can you wait 6 minutes so no one gets confused?» She says «ok I’ll get your table ready» fine, so we sit. In walks another woman with her mom. Hostess: «hello! We’re on the end of our brunch would you like brunch!?» They were immediately seated.
Absolutely HORRIBLE service from a hostess. Makes me sick that job title gets tips when you act like that. Me and my mom are both customer service people and thought that was the rudest thing a hostess could do.
*Update– owner really does care what we write here and I was contacted to share my experience. Thank you for taking the time to talk to me about this. I look forward to trying in the future.

We have visited your restaurant twice. The first experience was phenomenal. The second visit was extremely disappointing. We dined in restaurant during happy hour on Saturday May 9^th on the patio with our baby. The server was a gentleman and he did a fantastic job, he was warm, prompt, and attentive. The kitchen was accommodating of my food allergy and the food and drinks were delicious. We have been attending a new parents class at Swedish Issaquah and actually recommended your restaurant to ten other couples. Our second visit the following Saturday May 16^th, we had hoped to have another great experience. We arrived at 3pm and noticed the restaurant was very quiet. No one greeted us in the lobby for five minutes. Finally, a female server came in through the front door and asked us if we had been helped. We said no and she seated us. The weather did not permit us to sit on the patio and so we decided to dine in the restaurant. We asked for the happy hour menu and were informed that we could not order from the happy hour menu unless we sat in the bar or patio. Obviously, with our new baby we are not able to sit in the bar and it was very cold outside so we would not sit outside with our newborn. In addition, the server was rude and confrontational. We asked to speak to the manager. the manager reiterated that this policy was absolute and there could be no compromise. She stated that the owner would not allow her to make an exception for us. We did explain that the prior weekend we had dined on the patio and had ordered over food and beverage totalling over $ 90. This manager welcomed us to go to the patio. She apologized and said she works only part time at this location. We decided to leave and dine elsewhere.
I felt embarrassed when we had to gather up our things and leave. This was a very uncomfortable situation. We felt penalized for having our baby. We did not feel welcome and I want to bring this to the attention of the owner with the hope that he or she would remedy our poor experience.

Went there for happy hour in the bar. Good prices and really good quality food. Their clam chowder is great.

Met up with a friend here for dinner who had suggested this place saying she had enjoyed lunch here before. Not everything I tried was the greatest I had, but it was a great dinner. We both started off with the Pan-​Fried Oysters appetizers and the Big Fish Martini each. It happened to be Ladies Night, and the Big Fish Martini, which is made with UV blue raspberry vodka, was one of the specials. We both decided to try it, but thought it was too sweet for our liking. The oysters weren’t too bad, but not that great. The Seared Scallop and Prawn Pesto Fettuccine was delicious though. The scallops and prawns were cooked perfectly and seasoned well; the dish was full of flavor. Service was great and staff was very friendly. If only this restaurant was closer to me, would definitely want to try more items or their happy hour.

I had a business lunch here and was pleasantly surprised when it was no problem at all to replace chicken with salmon in their Asian Chicken Salad. They make everything fresh so they can hold or replace ingredients (unless it’s a sauce or marinade). The grilled salmon on that salad was delicious.

I really like this place. Came here on the Friday before Valentines Day (²⁄₁₂) and the service was great. Our server was really good and the food was delicious. I had the Paella and the pear salad. The dessert was a bit off. It was «smoked flourless chocolate cake». The smoked reference was to it being a spicy chocolate and man was it spicy. Despite that, this is still one of my favorite places to go. Love the food and the service.

Highly recommend if you would like a meal before a movie! Issaquah Highland Regal theater is right next door.
The food was excellent and the service was very good. Our server Leon was patient and extended extra advice when it came to selecting wine and food. Great for family. Atmosphere wAs perfect.
Please do visit. You won’t be disappointed.

**Response to restaurant** Carrie, I did get an offer to have my food re-​done, but I don’t believe in 2^nd chances for something that failed so badly to begin with. If the chicken was so poorly done, I doubt it could be fixed. And «spring greens» to me means loose spring cabbage, arugula, dandelion leaves, escarole, and perhaps some watercress. That’s a fatal flaw and when you guys get a new chef, let me know and we’ll be happy to give it another try!
The 3 stars are for the ambiance and the service. We ate at the bar, which is nicely appointed. There are booths and also a long high, narrow table which seats about 12 (6 on each side) comfortably. The bartender was friendly and very nice. We ordered our food (walnut chicken salad with spring greens instead of their salad mix for me, and the salmon with extra veggies instead of mashed potatoes for my hubby) and drinks. The drinks came quickly. The food didn’t take too long considering it was Saturday night and fairly busy. (No wait at the front but the bar was almost completely full.)
And here’s where I took away the 2 stars. First thing was that I didn’t get spring greens. I got romaine lettuce. They should have told me that they didn’t serve spring greens. Especially since I especially mentioned arugula to the bartender when he was taking my order. Then, I tried my chicken — and I swear, it was like chewing shoe leather. Anyone ever try tasteless chicken jerkey? Well, I now have! It was really really dry and had absolutely no flavor. Very disappointing. And my husband’s salmon was quite dry too. One would expect that a place with «fish» in its name would do fish well. It was quite disappointing.
So, in conclusion, I think we’d come back for drinks, to sit at the bar and hang out — but definitely not for the food.

Out favorite Happy Hour within 5 miles of Issaquah. The HH menu has excellent choices that are a big step above most «bar food» yet are reasonably priced. The servers are always friendly and attentive. Note that on Fridays HH pricing only applies to food items. On other nights drinks are also discounted.
Our only criticism — The HH menu under the new chef is a little heavy on the hot-​spices. We’d like more options that that are milder.

Great upscale Happy Hour hangout!
I’ve been to Big Fish at least a dozen times now, each time ordering something slightly different and alternating between the dining room and the bar. Below is a synopsis of my experiences over the past six months.
What I LOVED (in no particular order):
1) The Hosts/​Hostesses! Friendly, smiling, happy, engaging and some are downright hilarious! Why is this important? I’ll tell you: If I’m waiting for a table for more than five minutes, it doesn’t hurt to be entertained with witty humor and good conversation! As the faces and first impressiosn for this restaurant, they’re doing a fantastic job!
2) MOST Bartenders. I have two favorites; one during weekday day shifts and one who works weekend night shifts. From my second visit, they’ve personalized my experience and made me feel like a regular. Great service, accommodating and very pleasant personalities.
3) Dynamite Shrimp. The name says it all. Foodgasm in a bowl. Small fried shrimp in a sweet and spicy sauce over cabbage. I eat it like a salad.
4) Cheddar Cheese Burger (add bacon). Holy Wagyu cow. Melt-​in-​your-​mouth-​bread enveloping a perfectly grilled, juicy Wagyu beef patty, thick-​cut, sinful bacon and fresh accoutrements! The fries were also amazing; freshly cut potatoes with a hint of garlic.
5) Seared Scallop, Prawn, Creamy Pesto Fettuccine. The prawns were like miniature lobsters and the scallops were clean and seared to perfection. Enough for two meals.
6) Crab Macaroni & Cheese. Elbow macaroni, Crab, cheese, cheese, and cheese with bacon, onions, parmesan tuile, more rich melty cheese and lumps of crab meat. Best I’ve ever had.
7) Jalapeño Popper Cocktail. Mouth-​warming, borderline-​burning, refreshing, vodka, cucumber and jalapeño goodness that will buzz you up nicely. You won’t be able to drink just one, but watch for those seeds if you’re not used to jalapeño heat!
8) Warm French Bread and salted butter. Go ahead and see if one basket is enough. It’s not.
9) Spinach Artichoke Dip. Order with crab and chips. Delicious when they remember to add the crab.
10) Grilled Alaskan Halibut. Perfectly seasoned and grilled with a medium center and not a dry area on the entire filet. Delicious.
What Was «SO SO» or Just Okay:
1) Salmon & Prawn Risotto (special). I’d give this 3.5÷5 stars. Nothing particularly wrong with it, but my tongue was just sort of going through the motions. Beautiful dish, but needed tangy pizzaz.
2) Calamari. Touted as some of the best by the bar staff, but really just your average, rubbery (over-​cooked) squid. Kind of boring. Again, ³⁄₅ stars.
3) Pan Seared Smoked Alaskan Salmon. Way over-​cooked. I enjoyed the mashers and haricot ver more than my fish, and I love salmon! ²⁄₅ stars; it’s criminal to over-​cook salmon that much.
4) Coconut Prawns. Decent taste, but over-​fried and served with a strange sauce that didn’t quite work with coconut. ³⁄₅ stars. Kind of like the calamari — nothing special.
5) Clam Chowder. Had a slight metallic taste like something in the chowder came from a can. Too many potatoes. 2.5÷5 stars — I expected more from a restaurant with «fish» in the name.
6) Stuffed Prawns. Too salty and greasy. Integrity of shrimp was compromised. This has potential; 3.5÷5 stars.
What I DIDN’T Love… At all:
1) Fire Roasted Tomato Soup with lobster grilled cheese. Talk about one of your all-​time disappointments. Why is this on the menu? I felt duped! You think you’re getting grilled cheese with lobster in it (maybe a half-​sandwich?) and a cup of hearty tomato soup. Think again. You get a warm, bland bowl of chunky gazpacho (you could eat the soup with a fork), and a flattened disc of what used to be bread (I think), cut by a cookie cutter, the size of a silver dollar, with some kind of cheesy fish paste in the middle. Not awesome. I’d categorize this under, «Most likely to be sent back.»
2) They frequently have Bacon Crème Brûlée on the menu, but they’re always out! Supply and demand, people! Make more! I’ve ordered it five times now and still have yet to try it! «I’m sorry, we’re out.» is an acceptable response the first two times, but not every time. Disappointing. «Most likely to never be received.»
Overall, Big Fish is great for an after-​work drink or a nice dinner where you don’t need to get too dressed up (jeans and a nicer shirt are fine, although I’ve actually seen a few people wearing track suits, which really shouldn’t be acceptable, unless you’re on your couch).
One you identify your favorite dishes, the food is consistent, VERY good and perfect for cold, rainy nights when you might be craving something from the «comfort food» category. I’ve also been very pleased with the service, with perhaps only one exception, where I still wouldn’t say we received bad service, but it was far less attentive than we have grown to expect.
Big Fish is my go-​to for drinks, seafood pasta and burgers. Happy Hour is 3pm — 6pm and 9pm — Close in Issaquah.

Went into big fish grill in Issaquah highlands. Had the cob salad with salmon, crab, scallops! It was beyond awesome! You must try this healthy feast of a salad! Congrats Big Fish you have created a masterpiece, my new favorite Salad!

Went for a late night HH at 9:15pm on Saturday. There are at least two entrances for this restaurant. It was our first visit. At first we thought the restaurant was empty because of the way the restaurant is laid out. We looked for the bar. It was at the other end near the other entrance. There were a couple of tables occupied and some patrons seated at the bar.
The service staff were very friendly and attentive. There HH MENU had many things to chose from and reasonably priced.
We ordered a spicy shrimp dish, Cesar salad and two orders of fish and chips. We also ordered a draft beer and iced tea. Food was delicious with generous HH portions. check came to around $ 37.00 plus tip.
Parking was easy to find. Either on site or on the street. Lots of TVs with various sports channels.
I would definitely recommend this restaurant! We will be back.

Took some out of town family friends here bc they were craving some seafood and Big Fish grill didn’t disappoint.
Our server was Stephanie who immediately got our drink orders and came back for more orders again as the rest of our group got in. She was very helpful in helping us decide between entrees we were considering and very attentive throughout the meal — bread was brought out as soon as the dinner order was taken, waters were filled regularly, and she checked on us throughout the meal. She also asked how I liked my kid’s chocolate milk — extra chocolatey, less chocolate…(I really appreciated this bc I didn’t want him having a sugar rush just before bed)
For dinner, we got 2 orders of the Grilled Prawn Skewers, the Seared Spicy Ahi Tuna, the Stuffed Prawns, and a cheeseburger for the kid. Everything was amazing and not a crumb was left behind on the plate. The stuffed prawns actually had huge chunks of crab and the sauce that came with it — mmmmm! The veggies that came with the meals were fresh and still crunchy — not sautéed till soggy. The only negative, which wasn’t too big of a deal since I ate it all anyway, was that my rice was a bit on the firm side.
Oh and on Mondays, kids eat free so our kiddo’s meal was comped.

Last night we stopped in Issaquah Highlands at The Big Fish. it was a Monday night and we were easily brought to a table outdoors on the patio.
First things first
The atmosphere is very comfortable out on the patio with views of the hillside and a park. Waitress was very attentive and friendly but service waned as the evening went.
Drinks/​appetizers
The first thing we order are drinks. I choose a POM pomegranate martin, the best I’ve ever had. I ended up ordering two. You can choose sugar or salt on the rim I highly recommend you choose salt with the sweet POM juice. Appetizers next. We ordered calamari. If you like lightly battered, slightly greasy with dip on the side, this should do.
Dinner
Seafood fettuccini was in a red sauce. Should have read the menu as the man of the house prefers a garlic cream white sauce. I had the grilled shrimp garlic basted with vegetables. The flavor was just a amazing.
Dessert
None too full. The menu was tempting. See note below.
Take away tip:
1). Seems like Monday nights are easy to get on the patio
2) POM pomegranate margarita totally rocks
3) A great place to hang out and enjoy the Issaquah Highlands community.
4) the Regal movie theater is right next door. Makes for a perfect dinner and a movie date night.
I give it a 4. This restaurant is a bit chancy for our first time. It could be a hit and miss but I’d be willing to go again have drinks and dessert The dessert menu offered evening coffee drinks and I think I would try that and pull the whole package together.
I love Happy Hours and will need to return and try out there menu.

I went big fish grill with my wife for a happy hour in the afternoon. We ordered a couple of beers, ahi tuna and prawn appetizer. Nothing fancy, just want to check out their happy hour menu.
Maybe because it was happy hours, both dishes were small sized. There were 5 pieces if tuna in the plate, and about same number of prawn in the other dish. So the portion wise, it’s not very impressive.
As per the taste, the ahi tuna was about average. Let’s be honest, it’s pretty hard to mess up ahi tuna as long as the tuna is fresh. 5 secs of sear on each side then you’re ready for plating.
The prawn was a big hit because of the excellent sauce. The sauce was in Thai style with a balanced flavor of spicy, sour and sweet. It was rather spicier than sweet, but went great with the prawn. In fact, the sauce was so good that I asked a to-​go container for the left over.
In summary, it was an OK place for happy hour. Got some good dishes but more to the pricey side.

The prices are pretty high at this restaurant for the small portions and average food.
The grilled salmon with beans and rice was so tiny that for the first time I had to reach for bread to feel full. And I usually carry back half my food. It would have been better if something had stood out but sadly nothing did. I would rather go to Wildfin Grill in the Issaquah valley than this restaurant for a decent seafood dish.
The service was so cold and rough that they didn’t really seem interested in our order. I would have given them 3 but due to the service have to downgrade to 2.