McGrath’s Fish House

Went for dinner around 8:30 pm. Waiter was very rude and unprofessional. He practically threw our plates down on the table (startled us) and was preoccupied with something other than his tables. He was looking behind himself when he took our order. We were polite never the less and just wanted to get through our dinner. The food was cold but otherwise tasty. We didn’t dare say anything though! It was a very tense and unpleasant dinner. Will not be returning there… ever.

How can you call it Fresh if you only get your fish fresh every 5 days? Both the fish and chips and the sole were soaked in oil. Service was good. they just need better cooks.

I had been wanting to go to McGrath’s for quite some time. Well, we finally made it for a late lunch. Getting my husband to seafood restaurants is not real often but it worked this time. I ordered a cup of clam chowder and the fried cod, clam, shrimp, scallop plate. About all he eats is fish’n chips and coconut shrimp.
The clam chowder was thick and tasted clammy. The problem was that I didn’t see one clam in it and only about 2 small potatoes. I was surprised with the chowder. The broth was good but I wouldn’t order it again. My fried platter was good. I had no complaints and there was a lot of food.
However, the bigger problem was the coconut shrimp. It was way over cooked and even tasted a little burned. He didn’t eat it. Fries were good.
I doubt we’ll go back as overall we were pretty disappointed.

After a cup of clam chowder (aka potato soup, no clams in sight!) I had ½ crab and artichoke sandwich. Way too soupy on a piece of flatbread and really tasteless… the fries were crispy as ordered, tho! Couldn’t eat it. Won’t go back, the tables need a good, solid cleaning as well, sticky and icky. I used to like this place… sad…

This place is hopping around dinner time but the wait was worth it. The waiter was very attentive, didn’t even have to ask for anything because it was always taken care of a second before I thought of it. That was the best service I’ve had at a restaurant. The food was just as good and the amount you get is perfect for the price. The stuffed salmon was delicious. I will definitely be back for more.

The food was good. Appetizers were good as well. However the service overshadowed everything. My boyfriend and I were treated like we didn’t exist. Our waitress didn’t even ask until the end of service how we were doing. She treats other customers better. And barely smiled at us. I was skeptical to give this place another try. But I decided to give it another try. Worst part? Our waitress said thank you without even making eye contact. And walked away before we could say thank you back to her. I gave it 2 stars only because the food was good. I’ll never come back here again. Oh. And she looked like we were bothering her the whole time we sat here. She made it very clear she didn’t want to serve us.

Pros… My waitress was awesome! The lightly breaded cod was really good. They honored my request for an open faces fried oyster sandwich with lobster cream sauce… Yumm! The side salad was fresh and beautifully made. The Marion Berry cobbler while a bit chewy was still good with the ice cream.
Cons… Overwhelmingly large NOVEL for a menu. The fish stew tasted like bland salmon & can stewed tomatoes. Chowder tasted like progresso soup. The New York cheese cake and mouse dessert were slathered in sauce to try to hide the store bought taste. Lastly, they forgot the bacon on my sandwich! BOOOOO!!!

If I ever come back it will be for the fish and chips, salad then cobbler. They are safe.

I ordered the shrimp penne and salad. The salad had peas on it which I found weird, but it didn’t taste bad. the pasta had a watery sauce which I also found odd and it stripped all of the flavor potential to a bowl of watery noodles. On the other hand, my raspberry daiquiri was delicious and so were the coconut prawns and calamari

Four of us had our Friday night dinner here. We ordered fish tacos, crab stuffed mushrooms, a hamburger, COD fish and chips, captains plate, oyster shooters and a few drinks. The meal was served fast, wait staff was on top of things for drinks and food, he was joking around a little, he made the process fast and efficient. We gave a 20% tip and wrapped up the meal to make our table available for the next guests. Our visit was about 50 minutes from start to finish; and this is a place we would return to eat again.

Always seem son when we come here. Sometimes service is slow. Prices are ok, seems fair. Doesn’t seem to be the best seafood around though.

No place I’ve ever been to has been so hit-​or-​miss. The first time I went, it was the best experience ever. Great food, great service, very impressive. The next time it was great too.
The third time, I had to send my food back because there was a dime-​sized bit of charcoal stuck to my fish, and bits of it had crumbled onto the rest. Mistakes happen, but that one seemed real easy to catch. But the server was cool, and he even brought us a free dessert.
We just left our fourth trip, and had to leave before ordering. We had an hour for lunch, but after 15 minutes of waiting for our server Stacey to finish chatting with the table behind us, we knew we were not going to have time.
All I can do is convey my experiences; I honestly can’t say whether you should eat here or not. If all goes according to plan, you’ll have a great time. Just watch out for the server, and check your food for bits of kitchen debris, and you might get some great seafood. Want to roll the dice?

Ordered the Dungeness crab dinner. It was very good. When I travel to the coasts, I make sure to get some local flair {seafood!). McGrath’s makes this meatasaurus’s tummy happy.

We have dined at this McGrath’s many times over the past 10 years and always enjoyed ourselves. Yesterday 12-​31-​2015 was the worst experience we have had with any business in a very long time.
Food — Excellent appetizer of pan-​fried oysters. Darn good in fact. The entrees were left uneaten. Cold should be hot, rare should be well done, our sides were on the wrong plates and what was left looked nasty.
Service — Top notch hostesses. The rest of the staff seemed professional and enthusiastic. Except for our waitress named Jane. Impatient, eye-​rolling, huffy Jane. Having already discussed or mutual frustration with Jane, when the entrees arrived in all of their shame we decided to cut our losses and walked to the lobby looking for a manager. Here comes Jane to the rescue not to make things right but to yell from 20 feet away «You can’t leave unless you talk with a manager!» as she walks away from us. This is what happens when people in the service industry do not like their job.
The manager (sorry forget his name) was a nice enough person. I told him Jane was solely responsible for our negative experience. He listened to our story, comped our appetizers that we had offered to pay for and agreed to speak with Jane.

I meet up with a group of guys for business once a year in the Portland/​Vancouver area because of its location on our company’s major west coast trade show route; we have made a tradition out of McGrath’s on Thursday night the week we are in town. We ask for the same server, Luke, who always remembers what we like and starts the iced tea flowing for our buddy Brad as soon as we are seated. The sourdough bread is as good as everyone says and we’re big fans of the Coconut Prawns, Crab Cakes, and the Halibut Parmesan. I personally really like the oysters I’ve sampled as well.
The seafood is solid but the service is the reason we come back every year. Luke always has great local beer recommendations for us and our beer aficionado friend Chris gets tons of great brewery recommendations every time we visit. Luke gives us lots of tips on the local area — this past year he even drew us a map of local hiking hotspots as well as a good cheap burger joint to check out afterward (which our buddy Kevin really appreciated). We’ll be back again next year so keep doing your homework Luke and we’ll buy you a beer when you’re off duty! –Tod, Brad, Kevin, and Chris

This place has an amazing menu. Excellent service the food is pretty good. A little too much salad dressing on the salad so ask for that on the side. Where the food is excellent I have the macadamia nut encrusted rockfish and it’s very rich but its super yummy. My friend got the halibut DaVinci it’s also good comes with lots of sides lots of food bread pasta and very good value for the money

We go to Mcgrath’s every year for my mom’s birthday so we went there tonight. Unfortunately, the waiter must have forgot we told him it was her birthday because they came out to sing to the table next to us and we only got our bill.
I love their sour dough bread and butter! You get 2 sides with most meals so you get a lot of food for your money. I usually get their Bay City Salmon or the Parmesan Halibut. Tonight I got the wood fired salmon and it was delicious! The appetizer of calamari is also amazing!
They don’t take official reservation but if you call ahead, they usually have a table ready when you get there! Their customer service is usually really good.
I was a little upset that they got rid of the mints at the door as you are heading out!

I guess I’m spoiled.
For several years, I had a job that took me up and down the coast quite often. I knew which divey-​looking converted gas stations served good food and which ones to avoid. I tell ya, there is NOTHING cooler than finding some re-​furbished joint in Podunk, Oregon that serves fish that was probably swimming around when I woke up that morning.
I will say that McGrath’s seems to stick to fish from the Pacific Ocean. You are certainly not going to wind up paying premium prices for some gussied-​up Gorton’s thingie.
I had the halibut, a baked potato and a basic salad. Everything was fine, in an A-​OK way. No complaints.
It’s a nice looking place, it’s clean and the service was fine. I’d go ahead and come in if I was in a seafood mood or wanted to take my family someplace nice.
I hope I’m not damning this place with faint 3-​star praise. I just wasn’t ‘wowed’, I guess.

Went there for dinner with a couple of friends on Saturday night. It looked pretty crowded but my party was seated pretty quickly which was nice. The restaurant is spacious and had the sort of «the locals dine here» kind of a vibe.
Service: The waitress was less than attentive. In fact, the manager, David, was the one to clear our salad plates and bring us water (Thanks David).
Food: I had the crab & artichoke dip and it was okay. Full disclosure, my normal stomping grounds are in Maryland so I may be biased. My friends both had the Woodfire grilled salmon with a side of vegetables and a baked potato. The meager vegetables were cold and the cheese on the baked potato was not melted. We asked the waitress about this and her response? Baked potatoes normally don’t come with melted cheese! Err… Really? Perhaps in the Pacific Northwest. Anyway, we asked that it be warned. Perhaps the restaurant fairy sensed our disappointment because David checked in on our table. We were polite and non-​committal. He asked again and we said the vegetables were cold. He brought us a nice bowl of fresh steamed vegetables. Not the pathetic offering we got earlier. The response from the waitress? «Oh wow! Fresh steamed vegetables. Huh.»
In sum, David made up for lackluster service and food was slightly less than average. Doubt I’ll make a return visit.

I wanted to like this local chain restaurant. After all they serve west coast sea food rather than trucking frozen Atlantic fish across the country. We were not off to a good start when I noted the table was sticky with remnants from previous diners meals. Service was friendly and attentive. Drinks were served promptly with a smile.
My hazelnut crusted halibut was dry tasteless and over cooked. Served with bland rice pilaf and a tasty fresh house salad that included sweet peas.
My mother’s Ciopinno had large quantities of crab legs with shells that were soft and could not be cracked? I tried to help her and resorted to peeling the rubbery soft shell rather than the normal cracking with the supplied tools and found the meat flavorless as in previously frozen for God only knows how long.
I am giving three stars rather than two because the atmosphere and service were deserving though, they did not deliver what I know McGrath’s can source, fresh product locally. 2.5 stars is a more accurate assessment.
What they served us today was not up to par. Is it poor management or suppliers? Both maybe. Hopefully they will learn how to sell quality again because it wasn’t present today. This establishment could learn a lot from Ivars in the Seattle area as that chain delivers well prepared seafood every time.

We went in on a weeknight for dinner with the in laws from out of town on a weeknight. Besides our table, there were 2 other tables in the restaurant.
Atmopshere: Ok. It’s a franchise so I’m not expecting gourmet dining experience. The table tent menu was sticky and covered with bits of food.
Service: slow. I understand we were not regulars but it’s wrong when a table that clearly was seated after us get all their food before us because they were regulars. We waited a good 25 minutes before the food came.
Food: lukewarm. Oversalted. Overcooked.
Will not come back here again. Maybe will give another location another chance.