Chez Fish

Great fresh seafood, friendly service, and casual vibes (like any good fresh seafood restaurant!). She crab soup was good, but don’t order if you don’t like sherry! They were running a great restaurant week special with an soup/​salad, entrée, and dessert for $ 25. Large salads, perfectly grilled fish and scallops, great desserts.

We each enjoyed a different wonderful dish and think we will be back during our week here! I had the Parmesan encrusted tilefish special which was so flavorful and so well complemented by the sides. Our teen had the tortilla encrusted tilapia, also delicious and full of flavor, and my boyfriend had the boullibase special, also fantastic. His dad rounded out our table with a stellar grilled fish platter. Everything was cooked to perfection and the flavored mixed well. We don’t usually all trade bites but had to this time. We are planning to go back later in the week.

We received recommendations from several locals and can honestly say this was the 1^st meal in 4 ½ days that we wish we could undo. The crab cake was 3:1 filler to crab. Not every plate needs to be stacked on top of each other– both the ‘blackened’ mahi and ‘Parmesan ’ crusted tile fish were very soggy and not very fresh. The sweet vinegar that was in the homemade salsa did not go with either fish plate and the really good potato carrot mash was ruined by spaghetti sauce just dropped on the plate. The key lime pie was really good, but it was also gunked up with garnish sauces. Fortunately they were out of the chocolate drizzle but it was floating in a ‘strawberry coulis’ (not a coulis in any way shape or form). All the pie needed was a small lime slice. Lay the plate out and eliminate what doesn’t fit any flavor profile and quit putting tempura shrimp on top when it serves no purpose. At least the beer was cold…

We have been coming here for ten years now and the restaurant has gone through some changes over the years. Tonight it was as good as it’s ever been. Excellent service, delicious food and a packed restaurant. The she crab soup was amazing and the blackened swordfish special was unbelievable. We were pleasantly surprised too to find the tomato crab bisque to be as fabulous as it was a decade ago!

We love Chez Fish ever since we started coming to the area. The fish are so fresh. She Crab soup is to die for.

Year 2— still great. They had a special, gazpacho, which is delicious… If you like cold soups. I do; my father-​in-​law doesn’t. But… He ordered it anyway and was upset that it was so «cold.» Similarly, I got the special, he asked for shrimp and grits… Which is not in the menu. «Can’t the chef make them? It’s simple enough for any REAL local chef… It should be on the menu… It’s a local favorite…» No, no shrimp and grits. No single malt scotch either. For him, a big disappointment. For me —another day in fishy paradise. The specials came with a tempura shrimp «garnish» in top— there were 6 of us, and my daughter snatched up 3 top shrimps before we started. That killed her appetite, so I got part of her main meal. I ate mine too. I ate Grumpy Grandpa’s gazpacho. The. It was time for dessert. Key lime pie or Crème Brûlée?
Now, I’m really not a big person… But I managed to scarf up nearly half a serving of that wonderful Crème brûlée and still waddle out. (Did I mention my daughter’s appetite returned in time for dessert? She got the rest…)
I love this place. It’s fresh and the wait staff is enthusiastic and patient… Particularly with elderly inflexible Southern men set in their ways. (Did I mention Grumpy Grandpa?) Go there. Get «what’s fresh…» Enjoy.

This is a 3.5. The ingredients were fresh and well presented. Ambiance was nice. Wedge salad was good. Pasta with shrimp and scallops had a nice bacon cream sauce but the shrimp were small, slightly undercooked, and did not taste local (I don’t think but could be wrong). The local parmesan encrusted tile fish itself was delicious and perfectly cooked, but the plate had way too much going on: a salty tomato reduction on the edges, sweet and too strong orange undertones on the bottom of the fish. The carrot potato purée and veggies were good. A tempura shrimp on top made for a lovely presentation, and that shrimp was large and had the texture of local shrimp.
The restaurant is a bit on the uppity side for Johns Island and caters to a touristy crowd who probably don’t know Lowcountry cuisine. Along those lines, the creole they serve is New Orleans style creole, not SC style creole. We do not use andouille sausage in our creole. Some locals would have a coronary over this. But it’s still nice to have a cute place to go and if they are creating jobs for some of the locals, then I’ll eat there.

On the way to Kiawah, look for an old shack. Don’t laugh when you see it, stop go on and enjoy he freshest sea food ever. When there for lunch, fried shrimp, the best and plenty of it. Crab sandwich, just Crab, no fillers. The place is funky, weird, small, and old, but hey, I’ve been to the fanciest restaurants around who served the nastiest food. So don’t judge this book by its cover. Stop in and open it up, love it.
Frank G

This place is great. Food is exceptional.
I went with my wife and 2 kids. We heard it wasn’t exactly kid friendly. But we thought our server was extremely accommodating and prepared a Shimp and fries platter for the kiddos.
But the dinner specials are definitely the highlights of this place. The chef is a true artist. Don’t overthink it; go with the specials with the local fish and ingredients. You won’t be disappointed.

They have fresh and delicious food! Made with perfection.

Our party of 10 arrived at 4:30pm on a Saturday afternoon after a day at the beach. We were told that we’d have to order from the lunch menu, because dinner didn’t start until 5pm. The lunch menu was reasonably priced and had enough different choices that this turned out to be fortuitous. We had been told the She-​crab soup was delicious, and it did not disappoint. The main courses were all fresh and delicious. I had flounder and my wife had fried shrimp and I would happily order either dish again. Very glad we stopped at this restaurant and will definitely go back the next time I am at Kiawah.

My wife and I had a great dinner at Chez Fish this evening. Dinner was right out of one of my Daughter’s favorite show — Chopped! Texture, favors, colors, taste and creativity — Had the parmesan crusted Tilefish w/​carrot mashed potatoes, Julianne vegetables, with a tempura shrimp topper. Wine prices were reasonable and salads nice and fresh. Highly recommend!

I love Chez Fish! If you are in this area, you must give it a try. This is my second time here as a vacationer and I was really looking forward to my return. They have the best she crab soup I have ever had– you must get the bowl rather than the cup! I have gotten the grilled seafood platter here, and my second visit I got a special which was Parmesan crusted towel fish. Both dishes were excellent. The employees here are also very friendly and attentive. I would suggest making reservations if you choose to come here as well just as a precaution. Great food and great service!

If you like creamy soups, you’ll like the She Crab. We had no reservations but got sweated promptly. Very accommodating. Would go back again to try other dishes.

Awesome food. Have visited Chez about ½ a dozen times now. Typically for lunch. I appreciate how simple they keep everything. Highly recommend the restaurant.

Rode my bike here, and had lunch. I cannot speak to the dinner menu but lunch was an exceptional value. Of course I had fish, and it was great. Noticeably fresh and cooked perfectly. The atmosphere is very nice, not too formal but still sporting table cloths and candles. If it was not so far away I would certainly go more often.

We came to Kiawah island for a conference and when it came to dinner we went to Unilocal… we found chez fish and read… we ignored the two thin skinned people’s reviews and went… they had no space so did take away… was awesome! We actually came back after making a reservation and Corrie our server gave our great dinner that extra touch of fun personality! Get the clam linguini. … or casino for sure… pass on staying in the resort but make a reservation!

The food that I was served at Chez Fish was bland and poorly prepared.
Not only that but I was able to see into the kitchen where I saw (a) raw fish out on the counter at the prep stations, (b) flies swarming around open containers of food and © disgusting floors and surfaces that looked like they had not been cleaned in weeks.
I contacted the health department.
I recommend you do the same if you see anything similar to what I witnessed.

An unassuming location that serves up excellent seafood. We eat here whenever we’re in town and are never disappointed.

Consistently excellent food. You won’t expect it from the look of the place, but the food is truly excellent. The ingredients have always been fresh, many local, and the recipes are innovative. And for about ½ the price of the Atlantic room on Kiawah, it is quite the deal. The main entrees were under $ 20 and the specials were $ 22. Last night we had 2 specials: parmesan encrusted tile fish over carrot-​whipped potatoes, with julienned vegetable, and also blackened Mahi over rice topped with a fresh salsa and surrounded by the most perfectly spiced black beans I have had. Tonight we went back and had the Mahi again and the seafood pasta — both excellent. Oh yeah, the Key Lime pie is awesome, had it both nights. High quality food at an excellent price — can’t beat that. And just 5 minutes off Kiawah. Crowded both nights and Feb is the «low» season so call ahead for reservations.
My only nit is that the tempura shrimp had a big thick coating on it, not the light, crispy, thin coating I am used to from sushi restaurants.
P. S. my wife left her reading glasses there and the next day they were able to hunt us done by our reservation info and let us know they found the glasses at our table. We would not have realized they were missing until we were out of town if they had not called.
4÷30÷15 update: another excellent meal. Definitely try the curried muscles appetizer, not too spicy and you will want to use the soup spoon to finish it off after all the muscles are gone. 4.5 Stars!