Fish Head Restaurante & Cantina

Nice atmosphere, friendly, if a little slow service. Great drinks, decent appetizers, entrée was good. But for the portions, which are the right size, it’s WAY overpriced. Example, we had the catfish, which is one 6oz filet with a tablespoon or two of veggies-​$ 20. A reasonable price for that small dish would be $ 12. Other tapas or similar restaurants don’t charge so much for what are essentially small plates. I mean, it was catfish, not Ahi tuna. So overall, with more reasonable prices this place would have me coming back but not until then.

A bit overpriced, but the food was pretty good. Catfish was perfectly grilled and well seasoned but $ 20 for one fillet?!? This is catfish, after all. The shrimp in cream sauce was also very good, and I would order it again. But, again, five smallish shrimp for $ 20 seems overpriced.
They mixed a great Pisco Sour, and their empanadas and ceviche were good. The ceviche was not exactly traditionally prepared, but it did hit the right notes.
The fish tacos were a big miss, though. The texture was like canned tuna — mushy and watery — and the grilled flavor was missing.
Nice to have a restaurant that introduces folks on the North Shore to South American cuisine, but you can get more authentic preparations of Peruvian and other S. American countries’ foods on the city’s North Side for 25%-50% less money.

We were looking on Sat night for something a bit different, tired of the typical bar food restaurant, steak, Italian, etc. We returned after having been a few months ago. It has a nice Florida/​Caribbean/​Latin flair, perfect for the «something different».
Ambiance is hip, light, colorful, cute. Service was great, very attentive.
But what makes this place worth the trip is the food. There were three of us. We had the Shrimp empanadas as an appetizer, awesome, hot, creamy, flavorful. Then we had an order of croquetes (sp), also very nice, fried yuca (like potato), great mango sauce to go with it.
Then the entrees. Wife did an order of grilled clams on the shell, an appetizer, very good. Son had the skirt steak in a Chimichurri Sauce, perfect. I had the seafood soup. This is the hidden gem. It is in the soup section of the menu, though they mention it is a «dinner» soup. It is like a Latin bouillabaisse, an amazing fish stock with great herb and spicy flavors (not too spicy) and filled with seafood, fish, shrimp, octopus and clams. Highlight of the night! They mentioned several times that it takes a few more minutes than the other entrees because they make it fresh each time, not something heated up that they make once a week. Really a great choice. Do not miss this. They really need to highlight it on the menu, its not just a «soup».
Will be back again, love the place.

Wonderful, fresh, inventive. A great addition to the area!

I am hopeful that I can give this place zero stars. If not I will give it one, if that is required.
I want to convey what a terrible experience this meal was. REALLY BAD!
On Friday, I received an email from Open Table listing new restaurants on the service. I mentioned it to my friend that we had dinner plans with. He made a reservation, we arrived at 7 and where sat immediately. The restaurant was probably 60% filled.
The waiter came over fairly quickly. We were fine to have a pleasant leisurely meal with good friends.
We ordered appetizers and a bottle of wine. At the same time we ordered our entrees. The appetizers came and where pretty good, not great but ok. We had an empanada and the shrimp skewer. Underneath one of the plates was a piece of cellophane. This would suggest the dish was cooked in a microwave… are you kidding?
The only way we got our water refilled was to ask.
After 45 min of waiting after we had ordered, the entrees had still not arrived. I went to the host stand as no one had been to our table. She said she would check (she was pleasant).
The owner came over and said «weren’t you told it would take 25 minutes for your soup dish?»
We assured him we were not and he seemed not to believe me. In fact it had already been 45 minutes and still nothing. He said each soup is made to order. While I am not a trained chef, my believe is that this is not possible.
The owner offered us another appetizer and also asked if we wanted another bottle of wine. We declined the wine and selected another appetizer, as almost 2 hours had past at this point.
After another 15 minutes, now an hour after ordering our entrees came. Btw, the shrimp, were over cooked, tough and chewy.
The soup had relatively good flavor, but was nothing special.
One member of, our party had a steak, she said it was good.
The fourth member of our group ordered the vegetarian plate.
This looked like a plate of frozen barely cooked vegetables… are you kidding me?
In 2014 I would think something beyond a plate of Birdseye vegetables could be served as a vegetarian dish.
When the bill came, the owner said «I took 10% of your bill.»
We mentioned that we had a 10% discount coupon. He said I already took 10% off and gave you an appetizer.
I mentioned that I felt our coupon should be used as we never asked for the 10% off or the the appetizer! and we declined the wine, and that we had a clearly bad experience.
He refused.
The definition of hospitality is, 1.
«the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers.»
My thought is that a restaurant should in fact provide hospitality. This one wasn’t even close.
My hope is to have a pleasant experience when I dine out.
While the company was delightful, the was a very unfortunate dining experience.
My thought is that the two entrees that caused an hour wait for our food to be delivered, should have been removed from the bill.
The owner choose to not even honor our 10% coupon. Really?
The 10% was worth $ 12.00.
While I would clearly never return to this sad excuse for a restaurant, honoring a coupon that was on line would have been the least he should have done.
My thought is that this place will not be around much longer.
Btw…there were about 10 things on the menu that were mis-​spelled.
A proof reader would have been very helpful. This is ridiculous!
Pan-​sheared is not a real thing. There are gulf shrimp no such thing as golf shrimp. Unless they are referring to a vertically challenged golfer!
Sparkling wine is not from the city that is home to the university of illinois…
The place says it is a South American restaurant… Mexican music. FYI Mexico is in North America.
Thanks for reading this long review. Bottom line… go elsewhere, please.

my boyfriend and I had an amazing experience here. the sea bass with mushroom sauce was to die for! thanks for the waiters suggestion! the empanadas we’re cooked perfectly. the breading was delicious. the shrimp in olive oil and garlic was good but it was tiny. the tilapia tacos we’re also a hit. the owners did a great job of decorating this restaurant as an under the sea theme. it’s a nice addition to the area.

Hmmmm… We returned here after trying it out in November. We thought giving it a few months we would see some progress. I think it actually went the other way. :-(
So here is the good:
The Pisco Sour
Their Shrimp dishes — We had a garlic shrimp appetizer that was great.
The chimichurri steak
The side dishes
Coconut cheesecake
Milton’s friendliness; and how the staff tries hard
Stuff they really need to work on:
Ambience — The décor is great, however, if they are going to have employees that are off shift hang around, they should either dress as if they were customers (not in grubbies) or go in the back to hang out. They seem like they want to be hip and upscale… so make sure it looks it.
Value — They have relatively small portions for what they charge.
My catfish — It was about a 2oz portion ($ 16) and it was way too salty. I did eat it all (there wasn’t really that much to eat) because I was hungry. When I said something about it being too salty, they acknowledged it. :-/​
I think they need to work on these items quickly. Jay Lovell’s is opening a place less than a block away within a month.

This is a hard review for me to write. I read so many great things about this place and was really looking forward to it, as were my 7 other dinner companions. Walking in I was surprised by the décor-​it was cold and grey and yucky outside but inside was cheery and light colored-​that gave a good vibe. However, from there, things went a bit downhill for me.
We were a party of 8. We ordered 8 drinks. They took a v e r y long time to come to the table as did our appetizers. After ordering our appetizers, we were informed that one was not available. Ok. No big deal, I guess. I ordered one of their special drinks-​I sadly can not remember what it was and sent it back. I have NEVER sent a drink back. They took it graciously and offered me a Pisco sour, which was a slight bit better. One of my dining companions asked for lemons twice for his drink and both times they brought him limes.
Finally, the food arrived and everything was just ok. I tried the Coconut shrimp, a meat dish and some other fishy items, but to be honest they all kind of ran together-​nothing tasted amazing, nothing tasted special. Sauce servings were very small. I really did not enjoy my meal at all.
We opted not to get dessert and really were ready to go to a bar for some fun-​but they insisted on a dessert so they brought us a small dish of shaved ice that was a bit reminiscent of what was going on outside.
Others have had a great time here, so I am hoping this was a fluke. I am not sure that I would come back to try however…

The food here is of excellent quality and the service is extraordinary. I would suggest the ceviche as an appetizer and as a main course the sea bass or the Ecuadorean white fish.

Okay first off I think this was just fantastic. Our waiter CJ was super interested in making sure we had a great time and that we knew what was on the menu. The décor was very relaxing and really very unlike anything else in this area. Truthfully with all the white leather seats that they have I don’t know how they keep the place as clean as they do. I was really impressed with the quality of the food too. We tried the beef empanada which was delicious and my wife described it as light. I had the shrimp appetizer which was super flavorful even though it was not very salted at all. Again I’m going to say that if a place has a lot of salt in their food they are hiding something. Not fish head. I think that they did a great job on everything and our main dishes were really delicious. Keep in mind that when they don’t use a lot of salt instead they’re using a lot of lime and other very tart flavors. It’s something we would go back to. I had the Ecuadoran fish and my wife had the chicken stuffed with ham and mushroom cream sauce. We finished the meal with an Ecuadoran spongecake and also because there was a huge birthday party there when we first came the owner, Mike was very kind and gave us a slice of the birthday cake! He finished the meal with an amuse bouche of shaved ice, triple sec and Ecuadoran jam which he was giving to all the people in the restaurant at the end of their meal simply because he wanted to try something new and delight everyone in the place. Bottom line, this place has legs and the owner knows what he’s doing. You should go!

Went there for a birthday celebration. The place is is inviting and décor modern comfortable. Food was very tasty. Appetizers were delicious and had steak dinner which was tender and flavorful beer was cold! Try this place you won’t be disappointed.

Did I just transport to Miami? We gave Fish Head Cantina a try while visiting town last week for X-​Mas. Actually, my buddy is a foodie and drove up from Chicago to try this place with us. It was an excellent decision and his recommendation to try. It’s located in the first strip mall as you enter Highwood from LF… (where Conner’s video used to be for anyone who recalls that era).
We started off with two kinds of empanadas and their baby octopus appetizer. I had their skirt steak with Chimichurri sauce… it was all excellent. The four of us shared some wine and we were treated to complimentary shaved-​ice desserts. Our waiter was really excellent too.

Heard about Fish Heads earlier in the day and found ourselves nearby to try it. Loved the ambiance, kind of a Miami feel. We liked the lights in the floor and the Caribbean colors. We shared a refreshing ceviche and split two entries, the Sea Bass and Salmon. Both of us especially loved the mushroom sauce on the Sea Bass, though the mango sauce on the salmon didn’t disappoint.
The wait staff welcomed us and gave excellent insights on the menu.
Wish we had room for dessert, they sounded amazing. Next time. Yes, we plan to return.

My friend has been begging us to go here! Its her newly discovered local gem. So made it a girls night celebrated my friends bday. We walked in to a brightly colored and very warm place, nice escape from the winter blues. Listened to something that south American music all night, Sat in a really cute. booth ! I loved it. I felt like I was in Costa Rica or somewhere in south America, not in the suburbs lol. My friend ordered everything on the menu and we just ate drank wine and ate and kept eating! We got shrimp ceviche, Chilean seabass, shrimp empanadas, the coconut shrimp and a bunch of other things! Everything was delicious! our server and other staff seemed very upbeat and very sweet. A manager even came by and asked how everything was made suggestions. Even sent our table a bottle of champagne to toast for my friends birthday! He actually talked to us a bit explained how they just opened and was eager for feedback! Big plus in my book. Its rare to have part of management actually go around and meet and greet with customers. Left very full and satisfied! I am planning on returning for a date night asap! By the way mostle everything was 7 to 15 bucks! Big big plus!

First time to Fish Head and really loved the food. The Pisco Sour was really good! Wait staff was very friendly and attentive although they probably didn’t need to walk us through every item on the menu. Wife had the Sea Bass — excellent. I had appetizers — the ceviche being the best.

It’s always difficult for a new restaurant as it starts up and difficult to review a new restaurant.
The start up begins with a concept and the days after opening refine the plates and the service staff. Of course, there’s the concern of when will enough diners show up.
I saw all of this at Fish Head last night.
For an appetizer, I had the baby octopus with sweet potato. For an entrée, we had the coconut shrimp dish and the chicken with mozzarella.
The baby octopus was grilled – fresh, chewy, tasty if simple. The sweet potato was firm unadorned sweet potato.
For the coconut shrimp, questions were asked about the preparation and sauce. The meal was ordered and came in a brown sauce. Good, but only that. We had not gotten a useful description.
The chicken was to be in a mushroom sauce with ham and mozzarella. There was a paucity of ham and cheese. A different chicken dish came without those and I wondered if I had perhaps gotten the other entrée. (The pricing and check confirmed I had not). Again, good, but only that.
The wine, a Sauvignon Blanc, went well with our meal. The coffee was noticeably good and the dessert – a sponge cake of sorts – was distinctive, interesting.
I’d say the menu and staff have to communicate better as to the choices. And the sauces might have some verve added to them.
So a new restaurant with an interesting concept of Latin American and Italian. I’d say it’s worth a second try for us and there’s certainly no reason why the beginning steps of opening a new restaurant might not gain greater momentum and show off the food to the max. Of course, wishing them the best of luck in the new endeavor.

Our 1^st time at Fish Head and is was great. I had the chicken with mushroom sauce. It was soooo good. My husband had the Salmon. We both finished our plates and then had a wonderful dessert. The staff was awesome. We will definitely recommend to our friends. We will be back again

My spouse and I stopped by after work a few nights ago. We had empanadas and a fish entrée that we split along with dessert.
The empanadas were good, we really enjoyed the spicy sauce they gave with the meal.
The fish entrée was near perfect (if it had a little less butter it would have been perfect, I am a health nut so I prefer it that way). The staff was so kind to serve us on two plates. My spouse and I don’t eat much so we appreciated the accommodation. We got the chance to speak to the owner and he said next time just ask for minimal butter and they will accommodate us.
We really LOVED the veggies they served with the entrée, we got Yuca and onions. They were very good and also healthy.
Finally we got a dessert that was a steamed cake with a mango sauce which we also liked as it wasn’t heavy.
Initially we were skeptical because we thought the restaurant had a funny name, but we will definatly be coming back. We felt like the food we ate was much healthier in comparison to most other places in highwood. Plus the price range was excellent.
Also, the décor reminds me of the movie «scarface» :),

We had heard good things about Fish Head and were eager to try the new Highwood eatery. The wife and I popped in on a Tuesday evening. The renovated space is bright (maybe too bright) and evocative of the sea — a cruise, the Caribbean — and felt a little unfinished, but we don’t generally go to restaurants to look at the walls, we go for the food.
The kitchen at Fish Head is the star. We started with the Yuca croquettes, which had an interesting texture and mild flavor, and the Machupichu Ceviche, which was simple, bright and delicious. One thing notable about the food is that the ingredients are allowed to tell the story. For some diners this might taste like the food needs salt, but for me it was a refreshing, deeper experience of paying close attention to the flavor.
Because Fish Head is very new, the service is still a little shaky. Our experience was not lacking anything (our server was very personable and appropriately attentive), the atmosphere of the room felt like the staff were still trying to work out the pace and rhythm of the service.
For the main course I chose the Sango de Pescado, a plantain and seafood soup, and the wife had the flambéed shrimp. Both were excellent. The menu had many more items we intend to try out on future visits, we will definitely return.