PassionFish

Totally worth the price! Friendly and professional staff, excellent food and ambiance.

I had been before, but wanted to take advantage of restaurant week, and to try some new menu items so I had a stop in this weekend.
The restaurant was very busy, and since it was sort of spur of the moment our we did not attempt to get a table, and nestled ourselves into a bar table. In doing this we elected the bartenders to be our servers, which is fine, and I excepted to wait a bit longer for service.
After a while of not seeing anyone, my boyfriend went to the bar and asked for drinks, menus, water, ect. The bartender assured us he would be out shortly to get our orders. So we drank our wine… and waited. We finally got the bartenders attention– to his defense he was totally swamped at the bar, so this didn’t bother me too much.
We both started with the Lobster & Butternut Squash Bisque. The restaurant assures that it comes out piping hot by putting the soup in small tins, and having them poured at the table. The soup was very good, and the toasted pumpkin seeds give it a nice texture and nuttiness that compliments the squash, but doesn’t do much for the lobster.
Moving on, entrees for us included the Whole Crispy Flounder and Fisherman’s Wharf Cioppino. I thought the whole fried fish was exactly what I would expect it to be – a whole fried fish done thai style with spicy vinegar sauce on the side. This was very good, but if you are not willing to pick through bones for a while it is not for you. The Cioppino was disappointing. While it did contain a large amount of seafood, it has a ton of tomato based broth, and comes with one piece of garlic bread which is not an adequate vessel to aid in enjoying this dish. They also don’t serve it with a spoon, which would be advantageous seeing as there is a ton of liquid. There was just no way to eat it. It was also under seasoned for my taste, so after a while it was just very flat.
Dessert included the Caramel Crème Brûlée and Chocolate Mousse Crunch Praline. The crème brulee was wonderful, delicate, and just sweet enough, but I found the Chocolate Mousse to be strange. It comes with a piece of colored sugar sticking out of the top, and the red stuff (strawberry compote) looks like red goo seeping out of the bottom. As far as taste goes– it was okay, but not great.
Highs and lows here, but I’m sure there are still a lot of great menu options to be tried.

Went for the first time during restaurant week. Make sure to make reservations in advance as the place is relatively busy with long wait times. Thankfully, our table of 7 had reservations and were seated promptly upon arrival.
We had Ken as our server and he was attentive, informative and thorough. His demeanor was very professional and felt as though he was our professor more so than a server. Haha
We all chose to do the 3 course $ 35/​person restaurant week menu.
I had 2 Moscow Mules which were refreshing and definitely had a punch to them. The ceviche as a starter was delicious. It had the right amount of acidity, salt, crunch and flavor. The scallop entrée was so good. The scallops were a good size and the mini potato cakes were a nice touch along with the brussel sprouts. I cleaned the plate fairly quickly. I finished with the crème brûlée with biscotti.
I would love to try more options and will be returning.

It was my first time here… i loved everything from the atmosphere, food, to our awesome server gerrard. I had crab chowder. the consistency was perfect. The creamy and the crab ratio was perfect. The crab cake sandwich was good. I am middle eastern so I did crave a bit more seasoning. The best part was dessert. the apple crisp and the crème brûlée were great. The server gerrard was the best part of our experience. He had a great personality. We had a 2 year old in our party. he kept him entertained for a while as well so we could enjoy our food. At the end I told him he had to have been working at this place for years since he was so knowledgeable about the menu and he said he had only been there a week! Wow. mindblown. Well I am coming back and requesting his section. ;-)

Passion Fish is one of my favoriteeee restaurants in DMV!
Oysters here are so damn good that I have to get 2 orders.
Crab cake is so yum!
Also the service is prompt and all the staff is so attentive.

My husband and I decided to try the happy hour and I have to say one of the best in the Town Center! We had the ceviche, blackened mahi mahi tacos and the fish fry. Each item 5 $ which if you are familiar with RTC cuisine that’s amazingly inexpensive! All were super fresh and tasty!!! The mahi mahi tacos were my favorite!!! They had a good variety of beer wine and mixed drinks for a great price as well! Atmosphere was nice but cramped as happy hour is only at bar! So people eating on ledges and standing shoulder to shoulder was not so appealing. One non important detail! Bartenders all where a really dated unattractive striped button up :-(they just didn’t portray an upscale look. But really nice restrooms! Now that is important!!! We are going back for dinner next week!!!

I came here for my birthday dinner and they did a wonderful job. We had a group of 8. The food was great! I had the crab cakes and most of the guys had the NY strip. We had sushi for an appetizer and everything was so fresh. I will definitely be going back again.

Been here a few times when traveling to the VA/​DC area and what can I say, I HEART this place! It’s a pescatarian’s dream. Décor is nice, service is always on point, happy hour at the bar is happy and swinging with many local after 5-​ers and of course, let’s not forget the food. The food is amazing! Order anything. It’s still guaranteed to be great.
This particular night, we started off with a nice mix of briny MA oysters and some sweet local ones. Tasted distinctly different but so yummy in their own unique way. Next, we opted for the Passionfish maki which was pretty good as well. Depending on which part of the maki you tried, it varied which fish you were going to eat as part of the roll.
Lastly, the red Thai curry lobster claypot was beyond words. My coworker and I both ordered this and we ate the entire thing in less than 10 minutes. Even the sauce wasn’t spared. We sopped every last little bit with the crackers on our table. It doesn’t look very appetizing because of the lack of garnishes but I’d gladly sacrifice the look in exchange for that WOW taste.
Until next time, Passionfish. We will come a knocking again.

Been a few times. Excellent dinners but I wonder if they shouldn’t be $$$$. They have a great $ happy hour during the week at the bar if you can find a spot. Get some appetizers and some sushi. Nice way to start the evening. The wait staff are all friendly and competent, without exception. Really nice folks.
Love visiting, but seems there are some things heading south in recent times. The sushi rolls may be getting smaller and more expensive. Also, maybe it’s just me, but there should be more options for sushi that do not have cucumber or avocado on the menu. Focus on the fish!
Would be four stars but service left lots of dirty dishes around, which isn’t all bad. But then we saw a staff member setting a table put a mound of silverware directly on the seat cushion where a customer had just been sitting and another was inbound… no napkin underneath, while he wiped the table down with a dirty wet rag. Then he didn’t clean his hands and set the table with the silverware from the seat cushion with his wet hands. Of course it happens everywhere, but at least hide it… gross!

Been here twice; during restaurant week and during the holidays. Great service both times from small to large parties. It’s a little louder on the bottom floor due to the bar and open kitchen but nice décor overall.
As for food — everything from start to finish was tasty! I highly recommend the crispy flounder! If you don’t mind doing some work to eat… then definitely a great choice. Their seafood dishes are fresh and don’t ever have any fishy smell to it. Side dishes were good and even their complimentary bread and spread were on point. Great presentation and great execution from appetizers to desserts. Definitely will come back if I’m in RTC!

Came here for business. Food was amazing so as was service.
Char-​Grilled Baby Octopus — ⁵⁄₅
Red Thai Curry Lobster «Claypot» — ⁵⁄₅
Pan-​Seared Sea Scallops — ⁵⁄₅
Chocolate Mousse Crunch — ⁵⁄₅
Need I say more? ;)

Came in without reservation and wasn’t s problem! The restaurant had not opened yet but bar was busy snd yet service was still prompt. They had dr loosen Riesling so already off to s good start! Service was great and our server was so friendly and on it! We shared the crab soup to die for! My husband had the oysters and we shared the calamari all delicious!!!
I had the Mahi and he had the crab cakes! Coming from San Francisco crab cakes are hard to Best But this place did it! What s gem. Will return and recommend

In no way does my rating reflect a negative experience, we actually had a pretty good one! Unfortunately it just didn’t do it for us. Hubby and I had never been and heard good things from friends, but solely about happy hour… so we didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t have my phone on me before we decided to go so I couldn’t peek at the menu beforehand and decide if it was the right choice… if I had, we would have ended up elsewhere. I’m still quite glad we tried it once, though!
Pros:
–Ambience: the décor was stunning, IMO. I didn’t expect it to be so fancy for somewhere that’s known for happy hour! LOVED the chandeliers!
–Service: our waiter (can’t remember his name ugh!) was very good at his job. my hubby said as we were leaving that he alone made our experience worth it in the end. he was funny but not at all imposing, very attentive when needed but didn’t hound us or even hover nearby, he always showed up at the right moment!
–Drinks: I tried the mango margarita with no salt, it was the best margarita I think I’ve ever had! It was light and SO tasty but the sour mix wasn’t even prominent, plus it came with tiny mermaids on the glass and I loved that.
Onto my opinion of the rest of it:
If you’re not a die hard fish lover or don’t always order it while out, be aware that this menu basically revolves around it. I guess that’s to be expected for some people, but I assumed they would have more mixed options so I was very put off by the menu. I spent a good 30+ minutes studying it, and kept asking my hubby if we could go somewhere else but he wanted to give it a shot… keep in mind he is a die hard fish lover, and even he said it wasn’t worth it in the end. Basically, the menu is all appetizers on the left. Lots of sushi rolls and a couple of salads and soups, surprisingly neither of us ordered an appetizer which we ALWAYS do so that should clue you in right there… just not a great selection.
The right side is split. It has a few options of plates that are already put together by the chef… none of them appealed to me so I moved on to the fish filet section which was putting me off by the second. You basically pick a fish, which is served plain, a side and a sauce. None of the sauces sounded appealing but I’m not going to eat fish plain so I asked if we could try all of them since we were here and I already knew probably weren’t going to come back. I liked the lemon thing (surprisingly), the verde and the curry one. The fish itself (rainbow trout for me) was fine but it’s fish so it tastes like whatever sauce you have with it. My husband ordered red snapper, his favorite, but didn’t like it and said it was overcooked. Both of us had the grilled mushrooms as a side and it was easily the best thing we had there.
For dessert my husband had the crème brûlée which was pretty good but I didn’t LOVE it, and I had the mousse. The mousse was FANTASTIC and I loved the raspberry sauce.
All in all, it just wasn’t worth the price. If our bill had been about half or less, we might have had a different experience in general, but honestly nothing seemed worth that to me. I’m disappointed, I’d been looking forward to date night for months and wish my husband just listened to my instinct and gone somewhere else.

I was there last week for a work trip and visited Passion Fish for the second time. I ordered the Sea Bass/​Asparagus, Lobster bisque soup and a glass of red wine. The sea bass was cooked nicely and pretty good. Bisque was really good, lick the bowl kinda-​good (but not advised if you are with your boss). Last time I was there I had the sushi and the beet salad — which were both excellent.
If you love seafood, I think you will find a ton to love about Passion Fish. It is a nicely decorated restaurant located in a huge area of shops and restaurants that are all attached to one another. It has a bit of an elegant feel and the wait staff is very attentive. It’s a big space and seems like a good place to meet a group of business associates or friends. I have had two good experiences there and would love to try many things on the menu. Nice touch to bring chocolate after the meal. Well done!

I can’t wait to go back!
We went for my sister’s birthday, and really enjoyed it. This place was a good pick. Everyone enjoyed the food which consisted of Salmon, macaroni and cheese with crab on top, and the crab cakes. The key lime pie was really a hit.
Presentation is really important when you are celebrating a birthday, and PassionFish did a great job with it. The service was also on point. I can’t wait to go back to try the happy hour.
5 Stars!

I stopped in for dinner with a friend and it was absolutely awesome! We got the oysters to start. It was fresh and I loved the spice of the sauce.
He got the Surf & Turf (Steak & Crab Cake) with Lobster Mac N Cheese and I got the Crispy Whole Founder.
The fish was cooked perfectly and crispy. It was a lot of food and I couldn’t stop myself from eating all of it. I tried the steak and it was cooked a perfect medium rare. The Lobster Mac N Cheese was creamy and it has huge chunks of lobster.
I highly recommend eating here. It was absolutely delicious. I want to go back really soon.

For the longest time we avoided PassionFish due to not only the Unilocal reviews but, their menu struck us as rather… ummm…unconventional. That said, recently I was checking their menu and found it to be more mainstream plus they had a soft shell crab entrée. So, I suggested to my husband that we should give them a try. After he looked at the menu, he agreed with me.
We were here on a rainy Saturday, arriving at around 4:30 p.m. The person at the host stand told us that they don’t start serving dinner until 5 p.m. but we could go to the bar and have a drink and an appetizer. We declined to do that and since it was raining, we asked if we could just sit and wait. Personally, I don’t understand restaurants that open at 4 but don’t serve dinner until an hour later. While we were waiting, other customers asked to be seated for dinner and of course, they weren’t accommodated either.
So…finally we got seated and our server was prompt getting to us. He asked if we wanted bottled or tap water, we said «tap». He gave us plenty of time to look over the menu so when he came to take the drink order, we gave him the entire order.
I started with a caipirinha, which was well made and whimsically garnished with a plastic mermaid hanging off the edge of the glass. My husband had a Stella Artois. The bar was quite prompt when it came to making the drinks.
For starters, I had the char-​grilled baby octopus, which consists of: «halloumi cheese, bread, tomato jam and saffron aioli». The halloumi cheese consisted of two small rectangular pieces that were grilled. Halloumi cheese is made with both goat and sheep’s milk and I didn’t care for it (but that’s my personal preference). I was happy that the saffron aioli obscured the taste. The octopus portion was small, which I was happy about as it meant I would have room for dinner. It was grilled to perfection with no hint of rubbery texture.
My husband had an iced jumbo shrimp cocktail which had 6 jumbo shrimp in it plus it came with some homemade cocktail sauce and a lemon piece on the side. He said the sauce had good horseradish flavor. As for the shrimp, he did say that they could have been peeled better as he had to fight to get the tail off. A little better peeling would have made the tail easily slide off.
For my entrée, I chose crispy tempura soft shell crab which consists of: «Asian slaw, carrot-​ginger dressing and dynamite sauce». It came with 2 crabs which were plump and fresh and the tempura batter was lightly applied. The Asian slaw had good flavor although I didn’t taste any ginger and the dynamite sauce had little heat. Still, I enjoyed this dish. If I could change anything, I would have reduced the amount of slaw.
My husband had «pan seared jumbo sea scallops» which consist of: «spring peas and pods, potato purée, morel mushroom, nage». He thought the scallops were properly prepared and enjoyed the items that accompanied this dish. That said, he pointed out that there were 2 different varieties of mushroom and thought that there was also shiitake mushrooms on the plate. Since I didn’t taste his dish, I can’t say with certainty.
We didn’t have any dessert as we were full. Going into this meal, we knew that it wouldn’t be cheap. Before the tip, dinner cost $ 121 + change. Service was very attentive and efficient — no complaints there. We would consider going again sometime!

Private company dinner for 14 hungry people. Some private rooms are SO sterile & an afterthought. This room, The River Room, is light filled and can seat up to 50 people. Our host pre-​ordered 3 great entrees, (we chose one but I wanted all 3), a salad, choice of Key Lime pie or Donut Holes, served with Bavarian coffee cream. 2 passed hors d’ouevres & incredible sushi — seriously, incredible experience.
Outstanding service by Joseph & Allen. Oh wait… sides to share. Lobster mac n cheese and the healthy mixed vegetables.
The restaurant was packed and the outdoor patio was full.
No wonder they are opening a new Passion Fish in Bethesda this Fall.

Food was good. Calamari was perfectly fried and tossed in an Asian sesame sauce. I got the Geisha roll which was great. Jumbo shrimp was good and not too shrimpy/​fishy. The only thing I’m not a huge fan of is the dangerously hard cracker bread they bring out first. That stuff can really cut your mouth if your not careful!
Service wasn’t bad but our server didn’t check up on us too frequently. The we’re a couple instances where we were left with empty drjnks. Good thing for the other staff coming around to clear the table and refill waters.
I think this place is overpriced for what you get.

Came here during restaurant week for lunch and my mind was blown as it should be expected from this upscale joint. The food was right on point with one exception, the lobster ravioli (details below).
Started off with the Crab + Corn Soup which was amazing. There was plenty of crab in the soup, veggies, green onions, and the corn made it a little sweet. I would highly recommend this appetizer.
For the entrée I had the lobster ravioli with shrimp. The only complaint I had about this was the amount of lobster in the ravioli… lobster meat was lacking. The shrimp on top was a nice little bonus and the sauce did have a great flavor.
for dessert I had the key lime pie. If you’re a key lime pie snob you’ll probably like this one. One of the best ive ever had. The limes must of been shipped that day from Key West… just sayin

A primeira vez que fui ao passionfish devo confessar que não agradou. O salão é amplo, bonito e levemente sofisticado.
No entanto, o salmão que pedi, estava excessivamente salgado, quase intragável.
Na segunda vez pedi uma salada de atum tratar, e se redimiram.
Estava excelente.