E & S Fish Company

Great food — took my 80+ year old parents here for our Father’s Day early celebration
The staff took care of the party of 9 nicely for a nice afternoon & lunch all together

E & S Fish Co. is tucked away in a small L-​shaped strip mall. The inside is small & basic, service is average (at least at lunch time), but the food is amazing! You can eat in, take out, or order from their fish market which is fresh & extensive. I’ve had their fish tacos & shrimp tacos for lunch, both are excellent. My husband had the Chilean seabass fish entrée with sweet potato & mango salsa the last time we went there for lunch. Of course I had to try it– delish. You can watch them cook your food too, which is kinda fun. I am a iced tea kinda girl so I feel the need to say their’s is just ok.
We’ve never had a problem getting a seat at lunch time. The place is usually pretty empty. You do however need a reservation for dinner. I believe they are only open for dinner Tuesdays, Friday’s, & Saturday’s for a couple hours.

My husband and I love this place. It is always super fresh and the menu changes every weekend. The crab cakes and Tuna tower are fabulous! It is BYOB, which is an extra bonus. We are frequent diners of this amazing establishment.

The food is outstanding!!! Service is lacking a tad, but food makes up for any other short comings. Will return when in the area and recommend to everyone!!!

I’ve wanted to try this place for a long time. It’s a small little seafood shop with a restaurant for lunch and dinner. Reservations are a must on the weekends. I tried once before to get a reservation for a Saturday, but they were full. It’s a family run business and the service was a little slow, but that didn’t really bother us. We were there to have a leisurely dinner. While we were eating the owner/​chef came to our table and introduced himself and make sure everything was okay. He stopped by again during the meal and at the end of our meal to thank us.
I started with crab cake. It was one of the best I have had outside of the east coast. I had the seafood chowder which came with the meal and it was also excellent. It seems to be a soup of the day with whatever seafood is good that day. For my entrée, I tried the gnocchi with shellfish. Although the shellfish part of the dish was excellent, the pasta fell a little short. It was a little mushy. Probably best to stick with what they do best, which is the fish. My husband got the sea bass and loved it.
They have the best wine and beer in the area, as it is BYOB.
We will definitely be back and I will get something more traditional off the fish menu. I would love to give 5 stars, but the gnocchi held me back.

Stopped here for lunch yesterday and YUM!
Everything was delicious. Started with the crab cakes and they tasted so fresh! And meaty. My husband had the oysters and enjoyed those.
Red seafood chowder was so good my mother in law purchased a container to go! Very flavorful and good amounts of seafood– no fillers here!
I ordered the mahi mahi and it was amazing. The mango salsa makes it very light and refreshing. My family members also enjoyed their choices of fish and were glad we found this place.
We will definitely be back for dinner with a bottle of wine!

This place is cool. No, cooler than cool. We love an unstuffy place with amazing food and service. This place rocks it! First, they are a fish market to buy FRESH FISH. Then, a restaurant… Small menu, small venue. The chef, (assuming owner) came to our table. Not once, twice. He was gracious and so humble, telling us «it’s nothing really– just olive oil, salt and pepper!» God love him!
This place is small. Only open three nights 5 – 8 for dinner, and reservations are pretty much a must.
They are open for lunch, yet to experience. The family runs it, no fancy dress, but clean, so very kind. The chef said the fish is delivered two to three days out of the water. Worth paying for. We love fresh fish. Yes, it’s pricey, but hello, no ocean near here…, simply prepared by chef in an open kitchen — yes open kitchen. Flavored awesome, veggies delish!!!
It’s BYOBBB– so hello, no pricey up on bottles of wine you may not even enjoy!!!
Hat off to them. We love you! We will be back again and again!

First timer! Made a reservation, brought our own wine. We had the tuna tower, salmon, grouper and scallops-​fantastic. Loved the service, loved the atmosphere. We will be back soon!!!

This is a nice fish market style, limited eatery, much like some places downtown. Very clean, simple dishes, expertly handled, were the quality of the fish is the star. We showed up ½ hr before their scheduled close without a reservation, and we were seated despite being mostly full with some rather large tables. We started with the oysters and tuna tower, which were both tasty, attractively presented and handled well. Than we had the skate fish and grouper. Both were amazing and we enjoyed the healthy simply prepared vegetables, which were seasoned well and delicious. Really impressed by the nice sear on the fish as well.
A few tips: make a reservation. (This was our first time there, so we didn’t realize it was customary, since most market style eateries don’t really do reservations). This is a small establishment, clearly operated by a family (the kids are the hosts, bus the tables and your wait staff, while the adults prepare the food) so don’t go in there expecting service like a super fine dining restaurant, with a sommelier and extensive experience from your servers, lol. It’s a quaint, market eatery, not Alinea. (That being said, I thought the young staff was very professional, polite and courteous, despite obviously being a little overwhelmed by their 15+ people table, and others).
Prices are fair for the quality of fish and expert prep (about $ 30 per entrée, which includes their delicious red chowder or salad), blue point oysters were very reasonably priced (12 for $ 18). That being said, if you’re the type of person that wants quantity rather than quality, or likes a bunch of bells and whistles on your plate, you will probably be disappointed. The plates are more like fine dining plates which are usually smaller and not the typical American gluttony portions. (I actually thought our servings were quite big compared to other «fine» restaurants I’ve been to recently).

This has become one of my true favorites in the Tri-​City area. Ernesto does an incredible job as chief, the food is always fresh, impeccably prepared and our circle of friends have all enjoyed E & S each and every time we go. The added value of a BYOB restaurant really increases our interest in coming back more frequently. A true gem. Do yourself a favor, make the reservation, choose a favorite bottle (or two) and enjoy one of the better experiences in St. Charles

So don’t think that since this place is byob that it is lacking in quality or service, because it isn’t. The food is great and the wine, well, since it is byob, that’s your own fault if you don’t like the wine.
I had tuna over a bed of sweet potatoes and loved it. It was a nice large serving, cooked perfectly,
Grab a few good bottles of wine and make some reservations and go. This might be the best place in the area for fresh fish.

Nice little joint offering all different types of fresh fish/​seafood. The owner/​chef certainly takes pride in his dishes as he visits your table to introduce himself and ask about your meal. I’ve only been here one time but was impressed. Portions weren’t huge but appropriate. Wasn’t cheap but reasonable. It’s BYOB, with a liquor store located in the adjacent strip mall. It had a young gal playing guitar and singing which made for a romantic atmosphere. I had the Sea Bass –delicious. I look forward to trying different types of fish that I don’t often see at many restaurants.

Oh my gosh, the best fish dinner ever! Great atmosphere, intimate, BYOB! Our table ordered the halibut, scallops and swordfish all expertly prepared by the very personal chef/​owner! Brandie sang, played guitar and was the icing on the cake for a wonderful evening! Such a hidden gem in St Charles. We made our reservation to come back before leaving.

Such a great find– went for lunch, and had an amazing seared tuna sandwich. We proceeded to return for lunch for the next several weeks in a row, and have found the food consistently fresh and thoughtfully prepared. The lunch atmosphere is casual– think seafood shop that happens to serve fresh sandwiches, fish tacos and salads. We went in a while back on a Friday evening to buy some fish to grill, and the place had transformed– with white tablecloths and lovely flowers on the tables. Apparently, they have dinner Friday and Saturday (and Tuesday, possibly?) — byob, and we can’t wait to try it.

What a great local spot! We found E&S via Unilocal and it was phenomenal. We had the shrimp tacos and they were some of the best shrimp tacos I’ve ever had. The flavors of the red sauce, peppers, and corn mixed with the fresh shrimp was perfect. The addition of the mango salsa added a nice touch of sweetness. I am looking forward to going back and trying dinner.

Great little hidden gem. Fresh fish high quality. 10 tables and byob. Only serves dinner on Friday and Saturday night. Lunch Monday thru Friday.

Another fabulous dinner! The food, staff and entertainment make this restaurant consistently great. The owner/​chef visited our table multiple times. We LOVE this place!

This restaurant is absolutely amazing! The fish is so fresh and they will make you whatever you want if there isn’t a fish dish listed on their menu that you like!

I have had the chance to come here twice now, and I have decided that I need to keep coming back so I can try every sandwich that they offer. To find a place that offers such fresh fish in St. Charles is really a treasure. I love «bare bones» kinds of places like this sometimes, and E & S hits that mark perfectly. There are no frills here, it is just about good food.
Seating inside is ample, and if I had one wish for what I’d change, some outdoor seating would be perfect here, although it wouldn’t be difficult to get your food to go and walk across the street and sit by the Fox River.
In all, this is an awesome spot, and a must try!

We stopped in at E&S for lunch and to potentially buy some seafood. While we didn’t pick up any seafood this time, but the lunch we had was fantastic.
We started off with their daily soup, which was Red Seafood Chowder. It came loaded with seafood. They definitely did not skimp.
We also ordered a Seared Ahi Sandwich with Wasabi Mayo and a Crab Cake Sandwich with Garlic Mayo. Both were incredibly fresh and incredibly tasty. It gave us nice combo of savory and sweet (er).
The Seared Ahi was a little bit thinner than I am used to, but no complaints because of the taste. The Wasabi Mayo had the great wasabi taste, but not the kick, which is good or bad depending on who you ask.
The Crab Cake sandwich was my favorite. The crab cake itself was flavorful and had a good amount of crab in it.
Overall, the food was great, the cost was reasonable ($ 30 including tip), the service was great, and the fish tacos we saw over at the table next to us will be our next meal at E&S.

Excellent! The food is great, the staff is friendly and the folk singer makes the evening complete. It can feel romantic or casual. We love this place!

Excellant fresh fish, dining there was worth every penny. I will definitely be back soon!

I’ve eaten here twice for dinner in the last 6 weeks and have been amazed at the freshness and quality of the food. I love that it’s BYOB with no corkage fee. It’s pricey but worth it if you value truly fresh fish.

Dinner was excellent! Started with raw oysters, and the tuna tower. Oysters were fresh & tuna was tasty. I had scallops which were cooked perfectly. My husband had Chilean Sea bass with mango salsa. This chef knows how to prepare fish! The wait staff while friendly seems awkward. Not too knowledgeable about the options or preparations. As an added bonus, they had a very good guitarist. Need to remember to bring wine next time as it’s BYOB.

A little off the beaten path, but worth the trip. Went here for lunch one Friday. Had a group sandwich that was super fresh and tasty. The prices were what I expect to pay for seafood. Also had a perch sandwich to sample and really enjoyed it as well. The servers were attentive and the food came out fast and hot.
The market looked good too — wasn’t cooking that night but would certainly feel fine taking a piece of fish home for dinner.

I was never a «fish person» so this was an adventure for me. Everything was delicious! I started with a tuna tower. For someone that doesn’t normally eat fish, this was visually impressive and tasty. My date loved it! After the tuna, we ordered escargot. Again, I was so impressed. I would definitely order those again. I’ve known the owners for a long time now so they had special ordered an Australian lobster tail and a King crab leg for me. Wow! I don’t know what else to say. E&S sure know what they are doing!

I’m surprised by the bad reviews… that being said, be sure to check the reviews for «Diamond Seafood», as this place is in the same location, and has been operating as E&S for probably more than two years so there is some posting under that business that’s applicable to E&S.
Anyhow, this business is primarily a seafood market, not a restuarant. The food is expensive, because premium seafood is pricey. Always. especially since we live in the Midwest. It’s fresh and there’s great variety.
I love their lunch menu. Tons of sandwiches, fish tacos and shrimp quesadillas among other fare. They even have a sushi chef that works during the week (11 – 2?) and it’s excellent! Last time I had spicy tuna, Mexican and a Philadelphia roll for lunch. So fresh, made to order, fish was velvety and melted in my mouth. Definitely a must try. I haven’t eaten dinner here due to the limited hours, but I hear it’s byob and they seem to draw a decent crowd. I will continue to support this business, there’s nothing else like it in the area and they deliver consistently great lunches and fresh delicious seafood to prepare at home.