Fish City Grill

Closed, like the for good kind… And I really wanted a f@cking fish taco.

So long Fish City may you be resurrected again in south Austin someday.
That said, we went by last night for our seafood fix and found that they had shuttered the place down. That right it is no longer in business here in Austin. The G-​town spot is still open according to their website, but the south ATX, and HillCountry Galleria stores are no longer listed…
Any other suggestions for good seafood at reasonable prices?

This place is so disappointing. The location is very convenient to my office and I like having variety on my lunch hour. With other better options within a few miles drive, I will not be returning any time soon.
If you really want a fish meal — theres not that much competition in the immediate vacinity. Fish City Grill cooks up some very unremarkable fish. The preparations are neither immaginitive nor well executed.
I’ve ordered both the fish sandwhiches as well as some of the special entrees off of the blackboard. In general the sandwhich tasted either like it came from the deep freeze, the microwave, or both. I could get the same quality at Wendys for $ 5… The ‘special’ was small, over spiced and overpriced at $ 14. The side pilaf and vegetables were absolutely Meh.
The service is fine — but I can’t get over the lackluster execution of the menu.

Tasty lunch menu. Service is hit or miss. I’ve preferred the male servers to the female at this establishment. Both waitresses have been slow and not particularly friendly.
Crab cakes are yummy. Pasta hits the spot.

We went in last weekend with our 6 month old baby for dinner. The place was empty & the wait person came & welcome us with a sour face (skinny gal with curly hair). She never said Hi, 2 words, both or table. With that sour face she showed us to a booth & did not even offer a high chair for our baby.
Our waitress came and took a good 10 mins to come back 2 ask what we would like to order. She passed by like 5 times, ignoring our body language that we were actually ready to order our appetizer. In this 10 mins we saw her yapping with her other staff and friends at the bar. The calamari was alright, but they were too lazy to whip up their own sauce, the dippings were thai sauce u can buy at the asian store.
Thinking that it was a «FISH» restraurant — SEAFOOD, we both expected to have fish n chips on their menu. We flipped thru the menu and found none, apparently fish n chips are on certain days and if it is on the black board then they will have it. Wat, FISH PLACE NO FISH n CHIPS???
We both ended up have fried cat fish. Nothing special.
So we think, no we not coming back. We will not even recommend this place to friends. I rather stick with Joe’s.

This place put the meh and smeh.
I decided to be fancy and order one of their fish specials off the chalkboard. I ordered the Pecan Crusted Salmon with new potatoes and rice pilaf.
The salmon was neither pecan nor crusted. I was served a plain ol’ fillet. The new potatoes looked like they took a potato, microwaved it for 5 minutes, sliced it up and threw it on the plate. There’s a big seasoning conspiracy going on here. I had to put a little salt on the salmon and potatoes. Can’t a girl get a little rosemary on her potatoes? The rice pilaf was the only decent thing on the plate.
The only thing that made up for the lack of flavor was our waiter. He had a good sense of humor, checked up on us a sufficient amount of times, and kept the refills coming.
This place will never make it on my list during one of those where do you want to eat, I dunno, where do you want to eat conversations.

Overcooked fish, too expensive, not worth it.

FCG is one of my lunch staples. My coworker and I go about twice a month and the waitstaff and manager always remember us and chat us up. It’s nice to feel so welcome when you need a break from your day. The food isn’t the greatest seafood I’ve ever had in my life, but it’s tasty and fills my belly. I love the fried oysters and seafood salads. Maybe the lunch waitstaff is better than dinner? I’ll have to go in the evening sometime and compare. Overall, it’s an enjoyable experience and they have a nice variety.

This place sucked. I wouldn’t go back. I ordered the Cajun Shrimp Pasta. I usually don’t complain about my food too much, but OMG, this dish was so incredibly freaking salty, I couldn’t take it. Luckily our server was nice enough to replace it with something else on the menu. I think I had the fish tacos which were alright. We also ordered calamari for the appetizer and it just wasn’t good at all. It was greasy and the sauce they gave with it was the standard sauce sweet/​spicy red sauce you use for fried spring rolls at chinese restaurants. The greasiness left me feeling gross.
Like I said, at least our waiter was nice and the manager came to apologize for the crappiness of the pasta. So two stars.

i’m having a hard time deciding if i’d revisit this place or not. although our appetizer was good (fried pickle chips with ranch. MMMM!), my entrée was terrible – i got the cajun shrimp pasta. the sauce was waaaay too runny, more like a penne pasta and shrimp soup. and the shrimp were really fishy.
overall the service was a bit lackluster. our waitress asked if i wanted bread with my pasta, and when i asked her what kind of bread it was, she responded with, «it’s just house bread. you know, like regular bread.» ohhhhh riiiiiight, REGULAR bread. huh?
they did have a good selection of food on their menu, so i just might be able to convince myself to forget this visit and try again.

This is a pretty cool little seafood place. Coming from the Eastern Shore it was a relief to find a place in Austin which was all seafood and provided a comforting atmosphere (I am big on atmosphere). This place wasn’t high end like many seafood places on the East Coast but was more down home-​ish? Hard to explain but anyway, great food, friendly service!

If ratings were based on service alone, FCG would get a solid five or more.
I was that customer waitstaff hate that showed up 30 minutes before closing time (hey! I was hungry, and I was craving fish, OK?). Every single person in there was out-​of-​their-​way super friendly — especially our barmaid/​waitress Miyeh.
The menu was incredibly varied. I originally had just craved fish tacos, but there was so much more, from the venerable fish and chips, to crawfish, to po-​boys, to Cajun pot roast (!). I stuck with my fish taco order, and ordered calamari as an appetizer.
Food verdict? OK… just OK. High points and low points. They love chipotle, and it finds its way into everything. Fish tacos didn’t taste like any I would recognize and therefor didn’t hit the spot. Calamari was a little flavorless. Another diner had fish and chips… says the batter was subtle and perfect, allowing the unnamed fish to come through exquisitely.
As I said, the service was incredible. When his fish came out, one piece looked a little «dark,» like it had been in the fryer too long. Our waitress apologized for that and said she would bring out another. A few short minutes later, she brought another piece of fish out on a bed of lettuce.
We ate fairly quickly because we knew they were closing shop, and when she brought us the check, she thanked US for our patience in everything, like the wait on the food (which wasn’t long at all). We thanked HER for being so friendly, when we clearly extended her night just a little bit.
So I haven’t explored the menu, but I know I’ll go back now and try some other things. I will stay away from the fish tacos, perhaps, but they seem to have enough good things going for them that I think I might be hooked.

Despite the fact that Fish City Grill is a another Dallas-​based chain, I recommend it highly for well-​prepared affordable seafood. Not only that, but the service has been impeccable when I have been there – some of the other reviewers must have hit it on a bad day. When I complimented the manager in the early days after this location opened, he actually comped my meal. I didn’t expect it, and it is certainly not why I am leaving a positive review.
What are my favorites? The huge peel-​and-​eat shrimp, the fried oyster nachos with a dab of remoulade under the oysters that are liberally topped with homemade pico de gallo, the po’boys (fried oyster or shrimp are my choices), the sauteed veggies as a side, the parmesan-​crusted tilapia, the trout – yes, I have eaten here often and have tried a variety of dishes.
Despite the fact that we are near a coast, finding good and more importantly, affordable, seafood in Austin has been a challenge. Fish City Grill fills that need. Give it a try!

I have eaten here twice and have no complaints.
The Fried oysters with slaw and fries are fresh and tasty and not at all greasy!
We have also tried the Cajun Steamer Platter of Shrimp and Alaskan Snow Crab Legs served with potatoes and corn on the cob — all perfectly seasoned.
This place serves some darn good food at low prices!

What are y’all talkin’ bout?! This place is awesome! Aside from the shrimp, which taste kinda fishy, the Oyster Nachos are incredible. The fish tacos are amazing (and I can split it with my huband– who’s 6’4 and eats like a teenager!)
Kenya is MY FAVORITE waitress here. We always request her! Last time we were there, we had the Shrimp and Crab platter for two. I don’t like to peel and eat shrimp, so they replaced them with fried shrimp for no extra charge.
One thing I do like about this place is the ability to substitute sides or customize orders for no additional charge.
I only gave it four stars because of the the shrimp issue and the atmosphere. They could afford to dress the place up a bit.
Try the fish tacos and make your own judgement. I dig FCG!
PS– They pour a good drink.

I must admit I felt really bad for the staff the first time I visited the Fish City Grill. They had been open for over a month and the place was empty. I sat at the bar (within arms reach of the door) and just kinda sampled the fare. My first experience was the Texas blue crab bisque. The flavor was good and the amount of crab for the price was fairly reasonable. I asked the bartender named Chris about the foot traffic and he told me that nobody really knew the place even existed. I actually experienced some women actually peering in the door like it was a portal to another dimension. I was still waiting for a Craigslist buyer to surface so I ordered a side of jalapeño hushpuppies. They were on par with any other seafood place within the area. My buyer arrived and I left with curiosity wondering what the rest of the menu was like. I now as of last week have been back three times and I have enjoyed all experiences for varying reasons. The blackened catfish was great especially paired with the restaurants apple cider cole slaw. The non mayo based slaw was clean and refreshing. On another visit, the crab cake was good but not really a cake. It more had the look of a crab pancake if you can so imagine. My wifes fish and chips (waffle fries) had no greasy residue telling me that they keep their fryers clean and on temperature. The service each time was friendly and attentive. The amount of diners has increased and the cozy restaurant was nearly full on my return trips. I will also point out that the dining room was clean and well kept on all my visits. I will be the first to say that I am not a fan of chain food; but I will be back for a blackened catfish fix in the future.

We were two for three on our trip to Fish CIty Grill. The two positives were both poboys– not a very high degree of difficulty, but they were good. Nice mix of crunchy bread and shrimp with plenty of moist remoulade. The third item was an outright failure. The crabcake sandwich was underseasoned– and there were multiple pieces of shell in the crabcake. Beer was very cold, and that has a tendency to make me happy. Nobody expects haute cuisine for $ 7, but nobody wants sharp crustacean exoskeleton in their teeth either. I will stick to poboys and shiner next time!

This is my very first «one star» review, and it will hopefully be my last. I am the easiest person to please in the world, but I can honestly say I wish I never went, and I will never go back.
The service deserves more than one star (sorry Cher), but giving two might in some way insinuate that there is a chance for this place. The food lacked flavor and imagination. How do you mess up bread even? Really? Their portion sizes made me want to throw my friend’s crawfish pasta plate back at them. The atmosphere was boring. I really am not picky, but I was extremely disappointed.
I guess I could have saved my time by just writing: Don’t bother!

I went with a colleague for lunch last week– I had the cream of roasted jalepeno soup, a salad, and the crabcake sandwich. The soup was rich and creamy and appropriately spicy. I also tasted the clam chowder and am convinced that the base was the same. I would order either one again for a warm, comforting lunch. The salad was ok, nothing fancy but fine. The crab cake sandwich was reasonably priced, but I probably wouldn’t order it again. It fell apart while I was eating it and the crab wasn’t very prominent nor flavorful. But for 6 – 7 bucks, who am I to complain? However, I will go back because I envied the fried fish baskets and fish tacos I spied coming out of the kitchen. They looked like some deep fried, crunchy, greasy goodness! At these prices, even if it doesn’t taste as good as it looks, it might still be worth it! I’ll update my review after my second trip–
3 stars for low prices and good lookin fried fish and tacos–

This place sucks… sure, the food is cheap, but the service is HORRENDOUS and most of the dishes on the menu are apparently cooked by a gang of 10 year olds and home economics washouts in the kitchen (MREs are better than this slop). The only thing on the menu worth having is the Blue Crab Stuffed Mushroom appetizer. The Fried Shrimp Po-​Boy that I had on one occasion was passable.
My last (and final) visit to this place had to be the worst dining experience I have EVER had in Austin. I had the mushroom app (OK, pretty good), followed by the greasiest grilled shrimp Caesar salad I have ever encountered — and, yet, the shrimp were STILL undercooked and verging on raw. Not only that but these shrimp were the tasteless, mushy «farmed» shrimp that probably arrived on our shores frozen aboard a freighter from some far off land. NOT the Gulf shrimp that have some flava! Oh yeah, the waiter noticed that I wasn’t eating my salad entrée but said nothing and — get this — left work (loudly) without bringing me a bill. I was (very) tempted to ‘walk the bill’ but hey Gordo is an honest guy!
Avoid like the plague. If one restaurant were to close in Austin, this would be an excellent choice. Great place for break-​ups between GF/​BFs. Die Fish City, Die!