Blue Fin’s Bistro

It is closed as of late May. There will be a new restaurant at its location around mid June with «an upscale comfort food menu».The name of the new restaurant will be One Whirled Café and it already is on Facebook.
We will miss the Blue Fins, but our best wishes to it’s owner who we are told is about to get married.

Absolutely delicious BBQ Ribs! This is our 2^nd time at Blue Fin’s and both dinners were quite yummy. The full rack of BBQ ribs are sweet and savory, fall-​off-​the-​bone delicious. My husband had the surf & turf and was happy with his food as well. The dinner salads that came with the meals were the perfect size, not too big, not too small and crisp and fresh. Even on a busy Sat. night our service was good and the food delicious. They do have a kids menu and will give kids a page to color and some crayons, but this has more of an intimate dining atmosphere so after bringing the kids the first time, we decided that this was more of a date night place for us. They have a bar and 2 TVs playing sports, but in spite of that this is a good romantic dinner spot.
My only complaint is that the place is small so there’s a long wait if you get there when it’s full. We did call ahead and didn’t have to wait more than 5 minutes for a table but I saw other wait longer. They should think about expanding!
Good food — give it a try! Oh, and kids eat free on Mondays!

Not consistent, not worth the money even with a Groupon! The first time we went we had great food and awesome service at the bar. We had a woman who we think was the owner’s girlfriend and we loved her! Ever since then it’s gone downhill and we aren’t going back. We are sad about this because we met owner and he was very nice. We always like to support a local business but not at that price for what you get. The food just isn’t good, it’s not horrible but it’s not good. Sorry :(We go to Shuckers for seafood, reasonable prices and never had a bad experience.

Great tasting burger with crab meat on top. Friends had lump meat crab sandwiches and salads. All meals good. Service excellent. A little pricey. Nice atmosphere.

Not for kids. Not great service. Very crowded and loud. Not the best food… And I get headaches when I leave there.

Quaint cute and comfy! The steak was very good and the taste/​choice of Rib-​Eye was clearly top choice. The shrimp and grits were okay. The Hawaiian Martini was superb. Nice place to stop in and relax.

Giving this place a very high rating for the following reasons:
1. Totally great service, which rates very highly in my book. Gave us the waiter we wanted and the table we wanted as well. Food was quick and hot, drinks never ran out, very helpful on choosing a meal. He was on his game.
2. Rib-​eye steak was done perfectly at medium well and large portion.
3. Fresh mahi grilled perfectly and I am a picky seafood eater. It flaked well and was not dry.
4. Was quiet enough to have a good conversation, unlike some other restaurants in the area.
5. Due to group-​on we used, was a pretty good deal for dinner.
I eat out quite a bit for business and pleasure; this place was as good as any of the swank restaurants I have been to in my travels. Give them a try.

We went by on Sunday after I bought a groupon. We had been there once before for the all you can eat crab legs.
On this visit we decided against the crab legs. They raised the price to ~$ 40 which is just ridiculous.
The server was great; she was a nice girl and very attentive. I decided to try the ribs with french fries and the wife went with the seafood salad. The ribs were good if you like a lot of sauce. Meat was fall off the bone and the sauce tasted good as well. She seemed to enjoy the seafood salad and said all was good. We would probably go back again but maybe not seek it out.
I do wish that they had not raised the price of the crab legs, a few months ago it was $ 25 and now its $ 40!

Sunday after church and no wait. Should have been my first sign.
The waiter ever-​so unprofessionally asked us «what do you want to eat?»
We then noticed the price for crab legs was marked over on the menu, $ 10 more than on their website. When we asked the waiter — he shrugged his shoulders and offered no solution…“gee, we’ve not gotten around to changing it on the website” was the response.
Biscuits were cold, butter for them was frozen. We were given an empty bottle of ketchup for our side of fries.
Eggs were over cooked and dry. The crab cake was overly fishy like it was old– possibly left over from the day before?
If you haven’t picked up on it– we’ll not be back. Unfortunately we left having wasted our time.

Location wise if you didn’t know it was in the corner of the strip center, you would miss it. At-​least from the direction we came in from which is on Forestville Rd coming up from Raleigh.
I have been before, and my opinion really hasn’t changed much. It is just OK. Not bad but certainly not great or exceptional.
We found ourselves here due to a deal I had purchased.
Bread, standard– but at-​least warm.
Hubby had the penne rustico. He said it was «fine», which in marital terms I know to mean just OK.
I had the crab cakes with garlic mashed. Crab cakes were again fine. The garlic mashed potatoes were truly tasteless even after adding salt and pepper.
Dessert on the other hand was really good. Perhaps from an outside source?
I had the chocolate chip cheesecake which I loved, a bit too frozen for me but otherwise good.
Hubby had the key lime pie. It elicited the same response as the dinner did.
I love to support local places, so it might be a place we go back to, but certainly not without a deal for our meal, as I think the prices are on the high side.

Blue Fins is the kind of place you just pray will succeed because there are limited dining choices on the east side of Wake Forest and even fewer in Rolesville. So I have gone back several times hoping the owner/​manager will get his operation under control, but I leave each time shaking my head over something.
One day, the food will be sloppily prepared, the next it’ll be fine. Or the table next to you will sit unbussed for an hour. Or the owner will try couponing to drive up business, but then tell you that you can’t order the appetizer touted on the white board because you’re using a LivngSocial voucher! The biggest problem, though, is that the place can’t decide if it’s a bar or a restaurant. The bar takes up ¹⁄₃ of the space, leaving space for only a few tables, so if you come as a party of two, expect to be seated in the bathroom, in the drafty entranceway, or at a tiny hightop in the corner.
Bottom line: Even in the boondocks, there are enough places that offer a better dining experience at this price point (average entrée around $ 18). If your thing is sitting at a bar and maybe having a little snack, sure, give Blue Fins a try. If you’re looking for a sit-​down meal, though, go elsewhere.

Have been coming here for three years about once a month. The food quality has improved (never bad) over the past six months. There is a lot of competition in the area. I find the servings sizes of the entrees large and a salad and side are included.
They do have a solid beer and wine list. Service is very good and the wait staff is attentive. The food does take some time so you may want to place your order right away to avoid a long experience. They have non-​seafood choices as well.
One plus is a children’s menu and specials each night of the week. We have enjoyed the Sunday brunch as well. Would highly recommend a try,

While there are some pluses to Blue Fin’s Bistro, there are also a number of cons.
Pros:
Nice location
Free Wi-​Fi
Decent Service
Cons:
Quality of the food
Poor value for the price
The crab dip was good, the wine selections weren’t bad. My bride’s crab cakes were also good. The Atlantis dish was not particularly memorable in a good way… the crab and wine sauce were cold and the shrimp and scallops, while thoroughly cooked, were lukewarm. When I saw the contents of the plate, I immediately thought I was being overcharged dramatically for the dish. There wasn’t much on it.
Those who are posting negative reviews aren’t lying in the least. I thought the place was okay, but I don’t think I’d return based on the quality of the food for the price. For the price we paid, I expected better, much better… Friends have told me they love the place, of course, their preference is for something other than what I had, so I have no doubt they’re justified by their choices, it’s just not my choice.

Had an amazing meal last night from Blue Fins!
The green salad was basic lettuce, tomatoes and onions but every ingredient was fresh and crisp. My red pepper vinaigrette was just spicy enough to be interesting without being overpowering. My husband chose a delicious buttermilk ranch.
I loved the shrimp and crab Alfredo.
The seafood was delicate and the sauce was just right.
My husband’s chicken Marsala was awesome (yes we shared!) The cutlets were crisp, the mushrooms were browned perfectly in butter, and the sauce was fabulous. Th e mashed potatoes were the perfect accompaniment.
We will be back!

Stopped in for a quick bite to eat. The service is great and the food is delicious. The prices are affordable. Nice quaint spot.

My wife and I enjoy this place, the food, especially the lunch wraps is very good — I’ve only tried the fish tacos (three times) and steak wrap with homemade chips, but once you find something that works, stick with it right?
Trendy, nice quiet atmosphere, local artists work hanging on the walls (saw him there one day).
usually either good music playing, or something interesting on the TV.
Friendly staff
The barman sometimes gives you a nipple on your mixer!
wahoo

Blue Fin is a great little restaurant in a strip mall. One would not think that a strip mall would have such a trendy little place but it surprisingly does.
We have always had great experiences while we are here. We have gone for Sunday brunch with delish mimisas, lunch with excellent salads, and dinner with yum-​o steaks and pastas. The price is a bit much for what you get. That would be my only complaint.
The atmosphere is trendy, showcasing local artists on the walls which are painted with modern flair colors. I like the simplicity of it. I enjoy that you can make it a nice evening out or casually venture inside in flip flops and shorts.

We bought a Groupon for Blue Fins, so it was a great chance to see what this place offered. The answer is not so much.
The atmosphere: To start with the restaurant was cold. We kept our coats on the entire dinner and noticed that all the other customers had their coats on as well. LOL. One went so far as to have their hood pulled up. The couple behind us moved to attempt to find a warm place, only to go back to their orginal seats next to the kitchen. Otherwise, the place is fairly well decorated with attractive autumn palette.
D-​. Though the place looks nice, if you are cold, it is no fun. Turn on the heat, it’s 40 degrees outside!
The service: Our waitress was very nice and we were very satisfied with the service. I have to give one caveat on the service. I noticed one of the other servers hanging out and talking to guys at the bar — and she was not the bartender.
A+
The Food: The food was a mixed bag. There was both good and bad. The roasted red pepper soup with crab was awesome. The salad was tasty and fresh. The appetizers were good… tasted a lot like Applebees. The bad? The seafood had big problems.
The fried shrimp was slightly overcooked. However, the light batter worked with it. Pretty good.
The fried oysters were terrible. Terribly terrible. I think they used that same light batter that worked on the shrimp for the oysters and it just didn’t work. They were soggy and falling out of the batter. and the taste was unfresh. Yuck. Even soaking them in Texas Pete did little to make them appetizing.
The crab cakes weren’t much better. But, at least they tasted fresh… or did they? I don’t know because they had so much dill that I was unable to taste the crab. I wanted to go back and tell the chef that crab is mild, sweet, and expensive. Mix it with an egg, a few cracker, some salt, some pepper, and brown both sides in a pan… it’s perfect just like that.
D– I’m waffling a bit on this rating. All in all, the food as a whole deserves a C-​, but for a seafood restaurant to have such a hard time making well … seafood, it gets dinged an extra point. You don’t go to a seafood restaurant to eat appetizers, salad and soup.
Sanitation: The health department rated this place a 90. A weakness with the Groupon is that since you’ve already paid $ 15 and will more than likely eat at a place where you’d typically see a borderline rating and go someplace else.
In conclusion, I don’t plan to go back. But if I had to go back, I would eat the roasted red pepper soup without hesitation.

We’ve driven by this place a million times and wondered why we’ve never stopped. I guess we had a sixth sense and bypassed it for a reason.
We sat at the end of the bar which also turned out to be where the waitstaff hung out to discuss weekend plans, how drunk they got the night before as well of course that this ones table is sending everything back, that one got stiffed on a tip, etc. At one point there were 5 servers /​hostess hanging out and the owner/​bartender seemed totally oblivious. I’ve done my share of serving and restaurant mgr so I understand the commraderie you have with your co-​workers but not right in the midst of the patrons.
I ordered the seafood pita: it came with 2 limp boiled shrimp, 2 mushy scallops and a dusting of crab and shredded lettuce on a cold pita. That’s it, no sauce and did not come with the mozzarella that was described. I ordered mine w/​fruit which after one bite I could tell that it had been kept at room temp for awhile. My husband had a chicken sandwich which was tiny and barely edible.
This is a decent location but the owners need to cut their losses and sell to someone who knows something about food and service. If I go back it’ll be when there’s a new name and ownership. (plz something other than seafood in Wake Forest!)

Went here over a year ago and had not been back until Saturday’s lunch. A kid came around the neighborhood the weekend prior selling a coupon booklet which contained coupons for half price lunch entrees when you paid for one lunch. Had we not purchased the coupon booklet, I do not think this would have crossed our minds for options this past Saturday.
The reason we had not been back in over a year was because we remembered the food being overly expensive for the quality received. However, that all being said — despite the coupon — we found everything we ordered on Saturday was worth the price paid.
I ordered a BLT with onion rings and my counter part ordered the Shrimp Po Boy with fries. Mine was gorgeously delicious. The tomatoes were fresh (not mealy), the lettuce was dark and crisp, the bread was fresh yet grilled, and the apple wood smoked bacon was perfectly crispy and there was lots of it! It was all paired with the perfect amount of mayo, and I enjoyed every finger licking bite of it! The onion rings were perfectly cooked and sweetly tender. I dunked them in ranch dressing, which was buttermilk made and very good.
Service was attentive and the food was delivered by the chef (and apparent owner). Everyone was friendly and welcoming.
I would have issued 4 stars for the experience today, but I am a huge «hater» of some of the giant art work that is hanging in the restaurant and find it very disturbing that these items are «for sale». There is just something not right about this, since this is supposed to be a higher price point dining experience than the local coffee shop, yet the décor is very reminiscent of that. Thereby I had to remove 1 star for this issue, otherwise excellent BLT and good service. Next time I will just try mine outside on the patio since they have tables on the side walk to enjoy the sunshine and the food sans «art».