The Fish House Cafe

It’s been 28 months since I’ve been back. I think about the hush puppies often. I should give them another try. More to follow.

Awesome place! The Fish House Café could become a watering hole for me because I really enjoyed their fish and chips here!
The place is kind of small but very popular as the hint of a build up of a line occurred when I was here.
The fish was battered perfectly and the tartar sauce was top notch! The service was friendly and attentive and got your order out quickly.
They have a big selection of other menu options as well like hamburgers, mac and cheese and other fish items.
My only disappointment is not knowing about the place sooner and to think I know people that work at the nearby hospital and they didn’t recommend this place while having several discussions about where there are good places to eat in town!

Got the number one, it was breaded and fried perfectly. Also got a side of his puppies. Been looking for a decent made hush puppy since I left Maryland and they delivered. For sure going back again.

If you are white YOU will be served last. Do not eat there they DEFINITELY discriminate against WHITE people… I thought it was me i’ve ate there a few times and had that feeling everytime. It wasn’t until i got on here and a lot of other people feel the same way.

I wanted to like this place, especially because of all the good reviews on the food. However, I found my experience to be disappointing. My service was great. The lady behind the counter was friendly and helpful, even gave me 2 suckers for my kids. My disappointment came on the food side. My fish sandwich was ok at best, the fries were also just ok, but the fish strips for the fish and chips were overly salted and peppered. The tail on shrimp had a thick, hard batter that was tough to eat.
I wish this place good luck in the future. Not that they will need it as they appear to have a loyal following, unfortunately my family and I will not be part of it.

Great food I’m from Chicago and it felt like I was home. Found it on Unilocal yesterday after my daughter got transfered to st. joe hospital. I will be going back to try more! Fried okra was bomb! Very small space but perfect for take out. Must try!

The fish house is a strange review for me. I think I would rather not give it a star rating if that were ok. The food tasted great at first and was definitely a fair value. The issue came half way through the meal and stuck with us the remainder of the day. The food was just too heavy and greasy. I know complaining about fried fish as too greasy may seem weird, but after we left there was a gross mouth feel for the rest of the day. I dont know if its the kind of breading they use or the type of grease or if it just needs to drain a bit longer. Either way at the end of the day it just made us feel gross. Overall good fish, but maybe just not for us.

We stopped here on Friday. Great tasting food and people! The place is very small, maybe seats a dozen people. This is my type of place, small, great food, and great people. Food is excellent. I had the large shrimp basket with a side of Mac and cheese, my son had the fish basket, and his friends had the fish and wings basket. They even have okra on the menu! This is my spot now each time I’m in town!

It’s taken me years to find good fried seafood that tastes like home, Houston, Texas. The fried oysters and okra are fabulous

Ordered the fish sandwich like always with the peach Fango. My meal came out quickly with no issues. I was however disappointed in the cheese not begging melted. Huge pet peeve of mine is getting a burger or in this case fish sandwich with non melted cheese. Fish was lightly breaded and delish. I noticed they don’t stack the sandwich like before now it comes with just 1 extra long piece. I posted pictures so you can understand what I mean.

Classic spot to go to in Tacoma
I’ve been coming here for years! Every time I come here, all I do is rotate my choice of the fish sandwich, chicken sandwich, or the philly cheesesteak. The staff are very friendly and you’ll be able to see how much the city of Tacoma supports the Fish House!

Tried the chicken sandwich extremely good. I would indeed go there again. Get the spicy bbq and honey mustard for your fries.

2^nd time eating the catfish platter with fries, taste the same as the very first time I had them, damn it was so good!

Great food, great establishment, good vibe. I love to see a family organization so well run. The fish is good, so are the fries.

Always great fresh food! The cake is heaven. Just like grandma made it. Love the staff always friendly

All I can say is I LOVE THIS PLACE… definitely one of Tacoma’s very own and finest places… if your looking for that good ol’ bug mama’s feel come here

What a great place! I had business on Tacoma and was so happy that Unilocal led me here. Now that I’ve had this great food, I’ll be looking for a reason to schlep from Seattle for more. It’s just a hole in the wall with a few tables, but the service is friendly and every item on the menu looked good. I ordered fish with cole slaw and Mac & cheese for sides. The fish was hot and crispy and the sides were great. I received 4 pieces of fish, plus the sides and even some white bread for $ 8.99
I had enough left for dinner. Customers were raving about the hush puppies, but I want to try the okra and banana pudding next time.
Loved the great jazz playing in the background.

Only thang missin’. is them: Turnips and Mustards. Talkin’ but that «grass, pot-​licka soup, salad (old-​heads term)». Greens.
First lemme say – I’m from Michigan (born and raised). Been here 6 years, done been to Fish House several times. My Olé crazy sister– been here alllllllll her life and she ain’t been here once?
I love you sissy but you are ‘adorable’. Anywayz…
When you move from yo’ home (Flint and Detroit)…there IS – some losses now. Don’t let them murder rates fool ya. Lets get that straight riiiiights now. Rights. We may not have any grass, schools or electricity. We only have 2 police officers & ½ uh fire station & we share water with 2 other cities but look here… we gotta whooolllle lotta thugs and some of the best soul food, BBQ, fish annnnnd shrimp houses on tha ’ block. Don’t play. And Taco Houses let’s not forget that. Chinese too! But we had this Chinese House – ‘Kenjos’ waaaayyyy back in tha day but… they…
somebody discovered ca… t…never mind.
Let’s not — um talk about that right now… I get emotional. I LOVE cats. I do. But not as uh… uh fricken SNACK or a dang side-​dish. Cat Snacks… Come on people. We don’t have to resort to that yet… Book of Eli people. Just say no.
SO – I love Washington. Love it. GOD brought me here and I praise HIM for that but look here… these so-​called Soul-​Food joints here… yeah…make me wanna fight tha owners. Just get ‘pit-​bull-​ish’ on em.
It’s like, like a… a substitute for REAL soul food. I don’t know what tha’ deal is here but y’all being bamboozeled. Tricked I say. Where’s tha’ black Madeas (grandmother’s) wit tha’ teeth missin’ and extremely rusty ankles & feet, that was born next to tha’ stove? Makin’ pots sing since they could walk and talk? Cuz that’s whats missin’. For real. But I love ya! Yes I do.
Why am I here? I was getting ready to say something… Oh! (happens when you your fiddy…50) — This is the only place I can sit in and it reminds me of home. Ahhh… Hot cornmeal fried fish dinner, a sometimes rather ‘dry’ but extremely efficient lady at tha’ counter, who – once she loosens up is cool as chunk uh ice. But she really don’t have time to be ‘moist’ lol, I suppose cause she got business to take care of. A constant line of it as a matter of fact. A chick on the front lines like that – holden it down… yeah she’s an owner, husbands, brothers, aunt POOKIE’S…dream. Dedicated to the golden hot fish cause.
The brothers in tha back be poppin’ that grease and once that order is up – you won’t get it no matter what’s standing in front of her until she checks for accuracy. I digs that. Digs. Tha last thing you want me to do… is have to come back because I got a cracken hamburger instead of my fish. She must’ve opened up a dinner and said «can I get some more Tarter… how many times I gotta keep telling you that»…if my teeth would’ve been false they would came out.
The owner speaks to everyone like they family. I digs dat too. In touch with his people. His customer. Besides that, he and other brothers back there can fry some fish – and with C.O.R.N.M.E.A.L. Bread (Wonder Bread back home /​Franz here) unless it’s a slice with Durkee on it… don’t belong on fish. Breaded fish is for chumps lol. Sorry. But for chumps, I think they offer that as an option for you. Shrimp was decent… small to medium.
When I eat fried fish, I wanna envision my self sitting on my bad-​wig wearin’, toothless ‘Aunt Willie-​Maes’ raggedy porch, mostly dirt and a little grass, no screen door (or door period) wit a couple of non-​working Buicks in tha drive-​way. Jacked up on one side. Uncle J. T…yep…he sittin on the trunk – untanglin’ his fishin’ reels. Cigarette hanging out tha corner of his mouth while he talkin’. A professional puffer… ahhh…family.
Yeah…yeah…yall don’t know nuthin but that there… but that’s the kinna fish I like. And that’s what FHC got when I need that.
Oh…I had the Peach Faygo pound ‘ca’ (can’t call it cake cause she left tha ‘ke’ part off. Yeah my slice was reeeal er… slim) uhhh… hm…yeah. Maybe I should told her I am greedy? Anyway – not bad. Moist. Texture though, reminded me of sweet cornbread. Not necessarily a bad thing but it’s why (and I’m a heavy-​duty baker) I don’t bake my ‘pounds’ with leavenings. I like that old-​fashioned, tight crumb, heavy, velvety texture.
Banana Pudding. Mine murders theirs. Seriously. But not bad. I would buy it again. It’s definitely not the traditional type which I don’t make all the time myself but it had decent banana flavor… not packed with bananas persay but that may have been to minimize oxidation for appearances. It looked fresh. Tasted good. NOT at all runny. Runny Banana Pudding with black bananas? Yeah… No.
Kinda made up for my tiny slice of… you got it…‘ca’.
4 stars for consistent good food and 1— for a blessing.

I came here yesterday and got 2 fish n chips combos, mac and cheese, 6 piece wings.
The mac and cheese was decent, nothing special. It tasted like KFC Mac and cheese which again is not good nor bad, just decent. My hubby got the wings, I had a bite of one and it was too spicy for me (but then again… the Taco Bell «mild» sauce is sometimes too spicy for me) but hubby seemed to enjoy it, so I’m assuming it was good. The fries were a pretty good batch. It went well with my fish.
Now, the fish, I have to admit I’m a bit bias because the best fish n chips I ever ate were in Long Beach CA so I compare every place to that particular business. But here, the fish was actually very good! Good batter, not too thick, not at all super greasy, and the seasoning was delicious!
The business itself was easy to find (right next to a corner gas station), but there were definitely sketchy characters roaming around the area. It didn’t particularly bother me much though, being from Long Beach, I saw random people like that all the time. Not saying it’s ok, just saying I’m used to it lol. The lady behind the counter was super nice and the guy cooking the food was also very nice.
Will I go back there again? ABSOLUTELY!

I had a taste for some catfish. The fish hit the spot. It’s really 3.5 stars because the fries had a old burnt grease taste. Hopefully next time the fries will be on point.