Moby Dick Fish Market & Grill

I attempted to eat here but after not being assisted for 15 minutes I left. I was immediately grossed out when I walked in the place at the stench of fish. I realize this is a fish market but its also a restaurant and they need to not ruin appetites.

I had wanted to eat here for over the past year when I first noticed this place but since there are so many other places I love to eat at nearby, I never even gave it a chance until now.
I’m glad I finally did because it was really good food and the prices were affordable, but then again that could have been because of the awesome lunch specials they have. Not sure the lunch special hours, but all I do remember is that they had 50% off any hand rolls and buy 2 specialty rolls and get a third free which is nice since I usually never get full eating sushi.
I only tried the rainbow roll which was half price so it only cost about $ 6 which is probably the cheapest price I have ever paid for a rainbow roll. Another thing I enjoyed about my rainbow roll was that the avocado was added to the inside of the roll with only the fish on top like it should be.
The other thing I ordered was a swordfish taco and consisted of 3 or 4 large chunks of swordfish instead of one giant piece which was perfectly fine with me since in the end this probably resulted in more fish. What blew my mind was how many slices of avocado were served since it was about 4 or 5 slices each taco. There also was decent amount of cheese and fresh salsa served that made it even more memorable compared to the fish tacos from Blue Water or PB fish shops fish tacos.
What earned this place a 5 star was our server though. She was so welcoming and friendly as she allowed us to sit where we liked and as she recommended several items on the menu. She was the definition of what polite is and I hope to see her serving us food on our next visit.

Out with Dreamgirls (strip club) and in with Moby Dick!
My wonderful coworker treated me to lunch here the other day. They have a fish and chips special for lunch which is $ 4.99 I think. You get 4 pieces of fish and a lot of steak fries. The fish was cod and it was delicious. The portion was kind of small though. I could have eaten another 4 pieces no problem. They also have discounted lunch deals on different sushi rolls etc. He got a shrimp tempura roll and I had a piece. It was good! I think it was only $ 3.00 a roll too! Can’t beat that.
I would come back if I had a fish and chip craving since its close to work. Maybe Ill see if they can up the size of the fish portion and then we would be in business. Staff was helpful and friendly!

Hands down a perfect place to discover FISH!!!
Great selection of Fish, Seafood, and Sushi.
Tried the Monk Fish and Mahi Mahi… done to perfection.
Cant wait to try their Happy Hour!!!
I love Blue Water Grill and Pacific Beach Fish Shop… but this place has so much more dinning space and waaaaay more comfortable.

I wanted to like this place. I’ve given this place a chance, actually three chances. The last time was last night ²⁄₁₆ and the dining experience was so unpleasant that I will never go back there. The funny thing is that there are a couple other negative Unilocal reviews on ²⁄₁₆.
The first time I went to Moby Dick’s was about a month after it opened last year. It was nice to have an alternative to Rubios whenever I was in the mood for fish. Back then my visit was a bit more pleasant. Went up to the counter and was helped by a cute, plucky girl who was really helpful. Almost way too cheery. Back then you walked up to the counter, ordered, took a seat. Ordered the mahi tacos. It was pretty decent, although the fish was a bit bulky for the toritilla and needed more seasoning. I could tell the place was new and working out some kinks but seemed like they cared about the customer. Seemed promising.
I go back about a week later to try something different. I get the soft shell crab sandwich, which was kind of disappointing. I didn’t care for the bun that they used and the crab was kind of small and undercooked. Still there wa a guy (who was probably the owner or manager) checking on everyone to see how everything was. Also, the format was the same, order at the counter, pick your seat and food is delivered to you. Anyway, I figure that they are still working out their kinks and decide to try again later.
So yesterday, I figured on getting a quick healthy bite to eat after going to the gym. I was going to Rubios but I figure I’d try Moby Dick’s again instead and see if the kinks are worked out. Unfortunately not.
So I get to the counter. No one is there. I see a few waitresses whizzing back and forth from the counter, basically not acklowledging me. I still noticed the big menu sign behind the counter and the big «Place Order Here» sign so I assume I’m at the right place. Finally, after a few minutes of waiting and being ignored, one of the girls asks me if I’ve been helped. I say no. So she asks me if I’m dining in or doing take out. I tell her I’m dining in and she says «Let’s find you a place to sit». So I finally realize that this place is now a waiter-​service type restaurant now. OK whatever. I still decide to dine in since I want to get a quick bite to eat.
Anyway, it was one of the most unpleasant dinig experiences I’ve had in a while, thanks to the waitress. She was a bit cold and unattentive. I felt like I was a nuisance. It took a while to place my order, a long time to get my food, and a long time to get my check. Since I was just at the gym, I was a bit parched and she wasn’t good at refilling the drink, and I didn’t feel like bothering her because she was not that pleasant. Thought it was going to be a quick bite, but turned out to be a frustrating 45 minutes.
Anyway, if management is reading this, here’s a few tips.
If you notice alot of the other Unilocal reviews, common words being used are «confused» or «confusing». Figure out your format and stick with it. Not sure if the sit/​down/​waitress format is all day and permanent but it’s not obvious. There are no signs telling you to seat yourself, and the big «Place Order Here» sign makes customers assume that you order at the counter. Maybe change the sign to «Place Takeout orders here». Another review said ordering sushi meant ordering from a different waitress and getting a separate check due to being a separate business. Good thing I didn’t order sushi.
Have the employees acknowledge the customer. Nothing’s more annoying seeing employees whiz by you and ignore you for 5 minutes. If they’re busy, they should say «Someone will be right with you shortly». Helps when the customer is confused, even on their 3^rd visit :)
That said, I will not be returning. The awful service was the nail in the coffin. This would have been a 1 star review but I bumped it up to two since the food was decent. It’s a shame because it looked promising but I think it’s because they are trying to do several things (fish market, sit-​down restaurant, sushi bar) but can’t master juggling all of it. Unfortunately, I can see a downward spiral worthy enough for Restaurants Impossible.

Tried to go to Moby Dick last night to use my Groupon before it expired this week. We drove 15 minutes only to find out that it was closed during supposedly normal business hours with no sign on the door explaining the unexpected closure either. The restaurant’s windows appeared to be covered in tarps and all the lights were off. I wasn’t too sure how excited I was to eat here after reading all the negative Unilocal reviews and I suppose now I don’t have to worry about it as I’ve contacted Groupon for a refund. A business who isn’t open during regular business hours doesn’t deserve my money.

The menu seems like an exact copy of Blue Water Seafood. You choose your fish then get either Sandwich, Salad, Plate or Taco each for a different price. Only thing Just like copy of a picture or a DVD, when you make a copy of a copy, its just not the same as the original. Maybe i just ordered the wrong thing, but it was nothing to be desired.
I got 2 tacos, Mahi Mahi and Chilean Sea Bass. They were NOT put together and dressed, it was the grilled fish on the tortilla with a few sprinkles of cheese melted over the top. then the cabbage and avocado on the side. It looked really sad. One of them was decent the other was bad. The one that was lighter colored meat and a single fillet was light and tender (Im guessing this was the Mahi Mahi). The other had 4 strips of dark colored fish, im guessing this was the Chilean Sea Bass or the blood line of the Mahi Mahi. Over all not very good.
Service is slow and non attentive, its also confusing when you come in, guess there’s a counter where you can order, or you can also sit down and be waited on. I had to get my own menu and sat myself.
I also saw Kazumi at the sushi bar so i ordered some sushi. Its a restaurant in a restaurant, so its a separate business and separate check and everything, I even had to order from a different person. So confusing.
The floor and space is really nice, too bad the food and service doesn’t live up to its potential.

Their fish is dry and flavorless. I had to keep adding hot sauce and salt to my Sea Bass sandwich. I hope these problems are caused by the fish being frozen, because I don’t want to live in a world where somebody is capable of doing that to fresh fish.
My wife had shrimp tacos. The shrimp were served with the tails on, which doesn’t make sense because how are you supposed to eat it as a taco with the tails on? She said the corn tortillas were the worst she’s ever had.

As far as fried food goes it was average, some what greasy. I ordered a monk fish and chips and only got half of it monk fish other half was cod. How I knew it was cod it was due to we had a half order of fish and chips that was cod. But food here is decent what really is SAD is the service.
Walked in not only were we not greeted but and then asked to seat our self. Typically if your busy I understand these family restaurants don’t always have enough help… but it wasn’t. Not only that our sever was rude, she had an attitude like I was wasting her time. The night goes further along where she forgets the soup we ordered but didn’t forget to charge us for the soup we never got. When we brought it to her attention she didn’t seem to happy to correct the issue, like we should be happy we were getting service in the first place. How would I rate it? Try the place food isn’t that bad… But service is just horrible.

A fish grill and a sushi bar in one restaurant? Awesome. The fish is always fresh and delicious. You choose your fish, how you want it (taco, salad, sandwich, steak, etc), and then your marinade. They also have a bunch of different appetizers and sides. My favorite is the spicy calamari. They offer several different types of craft beer as well!
FOOOOODSSS:
spicy calamari
ono tacos
crab cakes

Pros:
1) Ample seating
2) Friendly staff
3) Fresh fish
Cons:
1) Food presentation appears to lack a sense culinary training.
2) The layout of the establishment lacks thoughtful execution.
I heard they have a master sushi chef, however I don’t think I will be going back.

Once a upon a time a strip club, now Moby Dicks. Either way, it still smells fishy in there… hahaa
In any case, because of a groupon deal ($ 20 for $ 10), i was able to give this place a try. We got the Red Snapper – $ 15 (lemon butter) and yellowtail – $ 13 (parsley garlic) plate. The plates came with rice (or fries or potato salad), a regular salad and the slab of fish. On these plates, the rice and salad were the best part. The fish was a bit overcooked and really lacked flavor. First, I wasn’t sure what fish I was actually eating and secondly, the flavors (lemon butter & parsley garlic) were pretty much m.i.a. It sounds harsh, but its the truth.
Whats also true, though is that they do have very friendly customer service. And they dooo try very hard to hustle for their earnings, which I can definitely appreciate.
Although i’m not here to critique their entrepreneurial skills, I do have to say that I find this restaurant kinda disoriented and convoluted. I’m not sure how to make of this place. It is a limited fish market + a sit down or a fast food restaurant (i’m not sure) + sushi counter? I think they were overambitious.
Overall, I give this a low 3 star rating.

This is another place I found accidentally while driving by the area. I haven’t tried the sushi yet, but the sandwiches are amazing! I love the halibut sandwich and the Seabass. Also… STEAK FRIES!
Not only is the food great, but the service is awesome. Definitely eat here.

By far the freshest fish in San Diego!
I’ve been to El Pescador Fish Market, and Blue Water Seafood, and Moby Dick is waaaayyyy better. The other places have consistently served dry, not so fresh fish. But the fish at Moby Dick is AWESOME!!! It’s so fresh! And they cook it so well! The miso marinade from the Miso Zuke Plate is delicious. We also had a deep fried fish that was delicious. They have good market prices on fish too. We picked up some really fresh local halibut to make ceviche at home — which turned out great!

I got the fish and chips which were fine, but nothing special. I wanted to get a grilled fish sandwich but was turned off by the high price. The prices seem have gone up compared to earlier reviews.
I want this place to do well since they are close to my house and sell fresh fish. The problem is that their fish for sale is REALLY expensive. I won’t pay $ 26/​lb at Point Loma seafood… and this place aint PLSF. Lower prices get more people in the door. If your food and fish are quality, business will pick up and what you lose in margin you make up in volume.
I will give this place one more chance with a family dinner, but I will need to be wowed to justify the price.

Bring on the Poke…
After spending a good portion of my morning shopping for a vehicle, I stopped by here for some well needed lunch. I had them make me the three fish tacos for $ 6 and they had a special on Ahi Tuna Poke appetizer for $ 4.95 and I could not resist, so had that too and an iced tea.
The Ahi poke was very good. (
) The ahi was very fresh and served at a very good temperature. It was light, refreshing, and delicious. (
) The greens and onions were equally as fresh and yummy. For $ 4.95, this appetizer was well priced for the quality.
The fish tacos were good and flavorful. (
) The fish was lightly breaded and crispy and came with some light cabbage and a sour cream sauce. (
) The draw back of these fish tacos was the corn tortillas they came on. They were not of high quality, more like Mission super market white corn tortillas, so they broke apart easily under the weight of the moist battered fish. So, a couple of the tacos became a fork eating experience. But, on the good side, they were tasty.
The service was great and polite. I just hope in the future they either double tortilla wrap their tacos or use a thicker better brand.

I was scared (the location is a bit strange) but now I’m a believer.
My husband and I got:
Ono with Cajun Seasoning
Black Cod Miso Zuke
Clam Chowder (has bacon)
Salad with Ginger Mayo
And honestly we would get all of them again. It was a very pleasant surprise. I would say they are on par with Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill — having the potential to even be better.
Fresh fish *expertly* seasoned with complimentary spices. The clam chowder was good but in a very evil buttery way. Oh yeah. Even the simple salad we had was strangely addicting.

I am fish-​0-​lish for moby dick.
The salmon burger is hearty and delicious, you can make it meal with fries and a drink… by the way you must get the ice tea…
I don’t know what’s in it but it taste so refreshing to me. Like peachy fruity freshness.
Seared ahi tuna salad is great, there is a large portion of fish and a good amount of greens. I like to have my dressing on the side. The fish dressing I usually get is the garlic parsley… good blend with tuna, it has chunks of garlic.
The spicy calamari is so so… they drench it with this sweet n chili sauce. it is better to get regular calamari.
red snapper wrap was very tender except it didn’t seem filling enough
Ono was thick like steak…
Side dishes, Fries are good, edamame is good
I’ll definitely go back for more fish…

I got a flyer on my car for this a while ago and when my friend wanted to get lunch around the area, we decided to check this place out. It’s similar to other places that sell fresh fish and you can choose if you want to eat it as a salad, plate, or tacos. I was in the mood for tacos even though it was not Tuesday lol. The place is actually really big inside. There was also a little sushi bar in the back. Overall it was a pleasant experience– a nice option for fresh fish in the area.

OHNO YOU HAVENT GONE HERE YET? (get it Ohno. like the fish… okay I’ll stop being a cornball and give you some valuable info now…)
It’s awesome.
The service is great, their fish tacos are amazing and their food is waaaaaay more healthier and fresh tasting than the other places in the area.
Things to try:
Salmon Fish Tacos
Crabcake Sandwich
Yellowtail Plate
Mahi Sandwich
And yes… the infamous clam chowder. Just be careful, I could buy bowls and bowls of it because it’s so yummy!!!
Did I mention you can get any of the fish as steak style (aka plated), as a sandwich, as a wrap, in a salad, or in a taco?! I totally recommend just getting a couple of different fish taco style so you can sample out the seas, lol
Alright, now I’ll end my corny-​ness. ^_^