Fish Urban Dining
“As an appetizer we ordered the lobster mac and cheese ($16) and it was AWESOME!”
“Massively high ceilings, large windows, and the open bank vault in the back!”
“You can also eat in the vault, downstairs, or upstairs (which is a balcony area).”
Fish Urban Dining
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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Sometimes I read reviews and I shake my head. Is the food at Fish absolutely spectacular? No, not really but it's pretty damn good. Is it overpriced for what is is? Probably. So why the 4 Stars bordering on 5? The place is gorgeous. Not pretty, not nice but spectacular. And, in my book visually striking means quite a bit.
In case this is the first review you're reading about them, it's housed in the former Bank Of America in Ridgewood. The architect did a spectacular job of mating modern and eclectic touches while maintaining the old work bank feel complete with available seating in the former vault, door still in tact. Ceilings are high and ornate with beautiful lighting, a spacious bar area and well laid out seating. I remember seeing a restaurant that was built in a former train station in Pittsburgh called Grand Concourse Restaurant. Same feel and perhaps even the same designer.
The decor makes this place a special event venue like no other in the area; same with happy hour or if you want to stop in for dinner. There really is no other place like Fish and, despite the slightly better than average food, I highly recommend it. Great place, great vibe and for me, in this rare case, that's more than enough. See you Wednesday.
Fish is located in a former bank, which is pretty cool since all the old stuff is still there, you can even eat in the old bank's safe! I came for happy hour on a Thursday, and fortunately happy hour runs all night on Thursdays. The service was pretty meh. They were polite and everything, but they rarely checked up on me and didn't take my drink order until I asked them to.
I figured I'd have some lobster mac and cheese and sliders to go with my beer. The sliders were listed on the menu as served with onion jam on a brioche bun. I got grilled onions and a Martin's potato bread dinner roll. They were also tiny as hell. Lobster mac and cheese had a good amount of lobster and was very cheesy. But I wouldn't come here except for happy hour. The normal prices for these items were ridiculous!
Honestly I expected more from fish, while my meal was decent, the service and rest of my table would agree that there was more to be desired. Especially considering the prices of the dishes.
We made reservations for Mother's Day a day in advance but I think they had plenty of room for walk ins, the restaurant is fairly large and there were plenty of open tables.
Our waitress was friendly, but appeared to be new and you can tell got flustered from the "above average" volume of brunch patrons, keeping in mind it wasn't very busy. I'm guessing that brunch isn't well known at this restaurant.
As for the food, I ordered short rib hash, it was good but it was served lukewarm and the potatoes weren't really fully cooked, I didn't want to complain so I ate it.
A few at my table ordered pancakes and they were all wrong, from the fillings to how they were cooked, they sadly had to be returned.
I will say, I tried some of the tables French fries and they were fantastic.
When it came to clean up, one of the bus boys spilt maple syrup all over my mothers Tiffany hand bag and we weren't offered anything as compensation.
The whole experience could have been improved, I doubt I'd return for brunch but would consider it for lunch or dinner.
For a Wednesday night the place had a good amount of people…many seemed to work in the area coming in in their work clothes sitting at the bar (yes I said bar, so NO BYOB!)
I was here with my family for my brothers birthday. A lot of the reps at my job host their dinners in the room at the back of the restaurant so some doctors had mentioned this place.
Being that my family absolutely LOVES seafood, this seemed to be a place to try.
DECOR: very uniquely decorated. As this was a bank prior to it being a restaurant, the super tall ceiling and chandeliers really open up the space. there's a small second level that seemed to be more for privacy or for parties. The spacing between the tables were perfect as you weren't too close to your neighbor. The bar to the right hand side of the restaurant held an abundance amount of alcohol that can definitely fit a large group coming for happy hour. The place is definitely impressive at a first glance so I can see the attraction.
FOOD: ehhh, I wish I could say wonderful, but the food was literally just ehhh. We ordered the fried calamari and fried oysters to start. The oysters came with 5 pieces of deep fried oysters. Too bad the oysters were as tiny as ever and all you're really eating is the fried breadcrumbs. The calamari was also a disappointment. The squid was way over cooked and extremely chewy. A little bit bland which was ok, but definitely not the best calamari I've had and definitely not worth the price. As for the entree, I still wasn't entirely impressed. I ordered the Moroccan BBQ salmon cooked medium which came with mashed potatoes and asparagus. It was ok…nothing I couldn't do at home if I really wanted to put effort into my food. All around, everyone said the food was ok with the exception of my brother who ordered the lobster cabonera. To say the least the food was ok and overpriced.
STAFF: a little bit confusing as far as who our waitress/waiter was. We were seated immediately and wasn't greeted right away which is fine. We were then greeted by a guy in a suit who brought us out cornbread and took our drink order. While he was gone, the busboy (as it seems) poured us glasses of water. After sitting there for a while a waitress came by and took our orders. Our orders were brought out by two young girls who seemed to be shadowing/training. They followed each other around the rest of the night. Our waitress came by to make sure everything was ok, which was when I realized she seemed to be waiting on a LOT of tables for a Wednesday night. She also played hostess for a little and sat down a small group. Overall our waitress was extremely friendly and nice. The wait for the food seemed a bit long for average food, but people in my family did order steak/lobster.
I'm not sure I can say I would come back for dinner…maybe for their Monday night $1 oysters and just to hang out for Happy Hour. The food here is just average and overpriced. I wouldn't recommend this place for dinner per se, but if it's worth a try if you're planning to take someone out on a nice date.
This large place is a converted bank with a beautiful interior and a "vault" separating the party room from the main dining area. There is also an upstairs area used for parties, too.
An order of Assorted fresh scones & muffins is enough to share for 2-3 people and quite light yet tasty. Tried the Bellini and it was great. The Lobster Cobb Salad, however was unpleasant due to the fishy taste of the lobster and no other flavor. It contained Romaine lettuce which is an un-flavorful lettuce and the avocado was already turning brown. Being a seafood lover, a fishy taste is not of concern to me unless that is all I taste without any flavor. Got a side of potato hash which was thankfully better than the salad.
I'm still giving this place 3 stars as I believe their other dishes may be more enjoyable.
Great place… Manhattan-like ambience. There's a huge long bar which has an extensive happy hour menu. There's happy hour on Saturdays and Sundays as well… from noon to 7pm.
We were there for happy hour and had the beef and mako sliders, and short ribs, which were excellent. The french fries that came with them were just about the best fries I have ever had. We also had the chicken dumplings but had to send them back because they tasted as if they were served after their 'use by' date. They substituted them with no issue for the vege dumplings, which were delicious… but what left a bad taste in my mouth besides the spoiled chicken dumplings was that, since the vege dumplings were not on the happy hour menu, they charged us the regular menu price. Don't get me wrong, it's just a couple of bucks but it would have been a nice gesture if they had just charged us the happy hour price if not comping it all together. It's just these little things that go such a long way.
Our bartender was friendly and attentive even though the bar was pretty busy and she was there alone. Overall, great experience!!
**updated June 2016**
Food ok, good. Service lacking. Space half empty. 2 apps, 2 entrees and 4 drinks = $154 not including gratuity. Probably won't be back for dinner. Maybe for drinks. Maybe.
Great space. Cavernous old bank. Private dining in the vault. The food is pretty good 4*, the service is pretty bad 2*. The bar is long and does not have enough bartenders. I ended up passing out menus to people and placing their drink order strange. Really pretty though. I'll give them another chance.
Save yourself the grief and listen to me-DON'T GO (phonetically, it's awfully close to the Korean word for "butthole", which is a pretty accurate description of the food).
I was really looking forward to this restaurant. I thought it would've hit the trifecta…beautiful ambience, fresh food and wonderful service.
In eager anticipation, I waited to open, walking by back and forth to see if they were done building it. And then I waited some more for an occasion to dine in.
Their food is by far the worst in town. There is no need to elaborate by what I mean by worst-the food was prepared and cooked as if a dimwitted toddler was working in the back kitchen. In addition, the descriptions on their menu are awfully deceiving. Need I say more?
Oh and given it's one of the few restaurants in town that has a liquor license, I had hoped for better drinks. With overpriced and unappetizing meals and terrible drinks, there will be no reason for me to come back, ever.
BOOM, mic drop.