El-Amin’s Fish House

Sadly. This place is CLOSED.

when we called to order she was clear and precise. she knew my name when i arrived. the fish was good, as could be expected… what really got me was how sticky everything was. if u go here, keep your hands in your pockets.

This was a Groupon deal, I almost always enjoy discovering new (to me) places this way.
Small place with about five tables for dining in. Appears that most order out as there were a handful of folks coming in to pick up called in orders. We ordered the catfish dinner and that came with a few hushpuppies, fries, cole slaw or potato salad and three catfish fillets. Everything had good flavor but the catfish was a bit over cooked. The cook even came out to ask how our meal was as did the person that took our order.
I would come back if it was not so far out of the way for me.

I got a groupon to this place because I love southern-​style comfort food and thought this place could have potential. I was wrong. First, the workers who were cooking the food didn’t look the most sanitary to match the dingy dirty surroundings of rest of the restaurant. I know it is more of a dive type place and that could mean the food is tasty — wrong again. Then when we finally got our food (to-​go). The food was mediocre at best (catfish/​chicken wings) not alot of flavor kind of like eating wood. And to top it off my boyfriend had a huge feather still attached to his chicken… Not the type of garnish we were expecting!!!

Read the reviews and expected a cozy dive restaurant with good food. I got one out of two right. Service was acceptable, but I ordered with a group of people and the kitchen forgot to make my order, so I ended up watching them eat and then they watched me eat. I had shrimp and fries, which would have been very good if they weren’t COATED in seasoning. Too much salt ruined them. I also got a cornbread muffin that was hard and dry. The hushpuppies were good but weren’t enough to salvage the meal. I might try their food again and ask them to hold the seasoning, but I won’t go out of my way to return anytime soon.

First visit tonight after wanting to go for many years. Definitely not disappointed. Wonderful woman serving us and the customers who patiently waited for their orders were great. One of the guys introduced himself, shook our hands, asked where we were from, talked about the history of the restaurant, and reminisced with me about the basketball prowess of its founder.
As fun as the people were, the food was even better. My wife had shrimp and my son and I had fish. Awesome. The soul food sides were fantastic. Great food and plenty of it.
Definitely not the kind of place to go if you want table service (there is none) or white linens (also none) but if you want a small, family-​owned, family-​operated, neighborhood soul food experience with great food, then this is it.

NOT RECOMMENDED. Oh so many reasons not to eat here. Where to begin. First, it’s a take out place and yet they automatically tack on a 20% «tip». For what? Nothing that I can see. Basically you pay an additional 20% over the stated prices.
Next. Their fish dinners. Yes, the fish is tasty. BUT… with the fish dinners you get all grease… greasy french fries, an uninviting piece of «whole wheat» bread, 2 deep fried balls of something, and a drink. And the fish is deep fried. Yikes! All grease. All fat! Help! OMG!!!

I’ll admit I don’t venture into North often, but I will definitely be back for this place. I used the recent Groupon for a shrimp dinner and a catfish dinner for the BF & I. Each was delicious. Fries were nothing special, but the hushpuppies were the bomb. And the mac and cheese was great too! Ambience and service were nothing special, but who cares — this is the kind of place you go to solely for the food.

I hate to downcheck a family place, but the food we’ve had has always been average at best, and not good at times. But what really keeps me from coming back is the service. The counter help is slow, indifferent and inefficient. The wait time is long. I know they’re remodeling to add space, and I hope things get better when that’s done.

Wasn’t sure if I should post 5 stars for the sammich or 3 stars for customer service. I read some of the other reviews & I have to still say best catfish sammich in the hood!
I agree the customer service isn’t the greatest & no they don’t make you feel welcome nor like they want you to even come back but I keep going & it helps tremendously that I can certainly have it my way!

I took my advice from my last review, and got the fried catfish fillets instead of the catfish nuggets. Good choice John! The quality of the fish seemed better, and it was as good as I remember from many previous visits. The fillets are $ 8/​lbs., a bit more than the nuggets but well worth it.
I can’t say I’ve tried the chicken gizzards yet at $ 7.50/lbs.

Nasty. Walk in. The first glass counter is empty except for the rusted out shelves. Was greeted as if I was bringing a summons. I don’t expect a hug, but a fake smile would suffice. Fish and fries were so over-​seasoned that I thought I was in a bar eating popcorn. Fish was chewy and still had the skin attached. Don’t you normally remove that? Ate half before I gave up. Prices were way higher than the quality. When I asked what they had to drink. «Pop.» Then crickets. Ok… gimme a «pop.» «We got different kinds.» Crickets. Are people really that stupid that I then have to ask what kinds they have. Or just too lazy to spout of the 5 or 6 pops that they have? I would have been better going to McD’s and getting one of their Filet-​o-​Mystery-​Fishes.

I’ve often seen this business on my way up and down Broadway but never really had a reason to stop. At first glance it looks like a typical market business but what is held inside is so much more.
A vast menu of fried fish, chicken and shrimp make this place a hit with anyone. I ordered a ½ pound of shrimp. I was expecting your typical small sized shrimp but i got a HUGE jumbo shrimp. It’s a good thing I didnt order a dinner because there’s no way i would have finished. I barely made it through all the shrimp. Everyone i’ve talked to that’s been here loves the food. I guarantee i’ll be back again. Make the trip to north to try this place it’s great.
PS seating is limited. this is more of a take out joint.

I write this review as my stomach is full and content with the delicious greasy goodness of El-Amin’s fish. I’m going to guess that the restaurant is owned by North Minneapolis’ own basketball phenom, Kalid El-​Amin. The guy working in the place could have been him, or at least a brother or cousin.
I had the fried Catfish dinner. For $ 10 you get 3 substantial fillets of catfish, hush puppies, fries or spaghetti, corn bread and potato salad. The fish was great with hot sauce. The fries were ok, a little soggy, next time I’ll try the spaghetti. Everything else was also very good. I have no clue what is in a hush puppy, but it is good. Well worth the price.
I ended the meal with a slice of strawberry cake. Now I’m ready for a good sleep.
In general I think people should come into N. Mpls. to eat more. There are really some hidden gems up here.
Another plus, for soda, they have Faygo Grape, Orange and Pineapple. I love Pineapple Faygo!
Lorae had the Jumbo Shrimp dinner deal. All the same sides, jumbo shrimp that was actually jumbo.
I think that you can even buy uncooked fish to go.
They also have specials on basically every day of the week, check the website.