Review of The Fish House in Vancouver’s Stanley Park – Great setting, delicious meal
The Fish House is located in the heart of Vancouver’s famous Stanley Park. Serving local seafood with a delicious twist, The Fish House is an excellent choice for a mouth- watering meal in comfortably elegant surroundings.
We barely made it for our 7:30 reservation at The Fish House. We had called up our vehicle almost half an hour earlier… 7:15 and it had still not arrived. That afternoon, we’d spent the rare sunshiney Vancouver day driving and strolling through Stanley Park. As pleasant as that had been, we had not figured out how to actually get to The Fish House located in the park. By daylight, it looked as though heavy construction, torn up roads and all, were besieging the restaurant we had heard so much about. Impenetrable by day, we were getting more and more anxious about finding it in the dark.
We finally climbed into our vehicle at 7:20 with “insider” directions into the park from a kind valet. Navigating several one-way streets and a neighborhood teeming with jaywalkers, we finally found the entrance. Or had we? The recently grated, poorly lit, unmarked dirt road did not look promising. We took it on faith, picking our way through a war zone of construction until we eventually reached the parking lot to The Fish House. When we entered, it was like another world.
A warm glow emanated from the place, from the softly-lit décor to the genuinely friendly staff to people just having a great time. We were led to an intimate table in the fairly spacious dining area, and melted into our seats with a feeling of relief. What had started out as an anxious drive against the clock and against geographical sense quickly turned into a relaxing and pleasant evening. We could now focus on the menu that we had heard such good things about and enjoy!
In planning our trip to Whistler/Vancouver, one of our ‘musts’ was sampling The Fish House’s famous “Flaming Prawns.” We can safely say that one taste will spoil you forever – it is truly a fantastic dish! Prawns are sautéed in garlic, with the tantalizing combination of roasted red peppers, spinach and feta cheese. The dish is brought to the table in a cast iron skillet, doused with ouzo, and than literally lit on fire. When the flames are doused, you are left with an incredible mingling of flavors, from the salty, briny feta now creamy and warm, to the bittersweet licorice taste of the ouzo. Whatever you try at The Fish House, you must sample this specialty!
The selection of main courses were numerous, and mostly seafood based. We tried the Black Cod and the Silverbrite Salmon, Prawns and Mussels. The Black Cod was delightfully crispy on the outside contrasting with its rich, slightly oily texture on the inside. The Salmon dish was also expertly prepared. Both dishes were served with homey buttermilk mashed potatoes, an autumnal medley of flavorful slivers of roasted beets, zucchini and red pepper.
We felt like white wine with our seafood, and chose a nice half bottle of the Kenwood Sonoma County 2001 Chardonnay, which was crisp with fruity tones. Not stellar, but certainly a nice accompaniment to our meals.
We did not try dessert that night. The meals were quite filling and, as quite often occurs on a vacation that is nearing its end, we felt as though we had overtempted our palettes one too many times. Not wanting to overdo an otherwise excellent meal, we held off on the tempting dessert menu, perhaps until the time of our inevitable return – in no small part for those flaming prawns!
Getting out of Stanley Park was easier than getting in (unlike the situation with the proverbial lobster and his lobster pot – easily in, but not easily out). We would certainly recommend a visit to The Fish House if you are in the Vancouver area!
For more information or to make reservations, please call 1-877-681-7275 or (604) 681-7275.
