Red Fish Blue Fish

Address: 1006 Wharf Street (on the pier)
Phone: (250) 298-6877 (you can call ahead to pre-order!)
Price: $5-15
Website: http://www.redfish-bluefish.com/
Notes:  Best deal in town, but not open in deepest-darkest Winter. Also closes early when the weather is bad.



I adore Red Fish Blue Fish. For a city on the water, there are a disgustingly few places that have reasonably priced sea food (and if you know of one I'm missing out on, please tweet me!). I only discovered it last summer, but I've fallen in love and quite regularly get 'the craving.' They have a little something for everyone. Their fish in chips are by far the best in town, their tacones are a nice fresh-tasting twist on seafood, and for the adventurous there is always the "cod dog" and other creative fish dishes. I've yet to have anything even mediocre here! I love the tuna tacones, and when I'm craving fish & chips I won't go anywhere else but RFBF. Most of the tacones are some combination of wrap + fish + mayo + coleslaw + pea sprouts.

Not only is the food great, but your eco-conscience can feel good too! They compost and recycle nearly everything, and have set up their "garbage" cans with clear signage to reinforce this with customers. They also work with the Vancouver Aquarium to ensure that all of their seafood passes the Oceanwise standard, and if you're curious about this check out the signs on the pier that explain how each fish or shellfish is harvested.

The one downside is that there is usually an epic line - although we went on a rainy Saturday at 11:20 and were first in line for the lunch rush so it's not always so bad. You can also call ahead if you want your food to be ready quickly but I've never tested this so I don't know if they take your credit card info over the phone or you still have to wait in line.



Service

September 30, 2011
Wasn't quite as quick and painless as usual today, but the line wasn't long so I didn't complain too loudly except that this was planned to be a quick meal before packing to run for a ferry. It all worked out in the end, thankfully!

June 10, 2011

Talk about dog friendly, this place rocks! We didn't have our dog today, but the dog in front of us in line got a huge piece of fish as a treat. Love how friendly the staff are in general, really.

February 12, 2011
We met the lovely woman who usually works at the front counter at a beer dinner a few months back, and we both recognized her (although couldn't place it) which says a lot about how friendly she always is! There was a different but equally friendly person serving today. I think a good place like this only really attracts good people.





Food
September 30, 2011

Tempura Pickles via foodspotting.com

Apparently deep-fried pickles are popular at the lake in Ontario but this is the first time I have seen them here. It is really hard to visit here and not order the pickles. They are always way too hot when they come up and I burn my mouth but I don't care. The crunchy-savoury-sour combo is amazing. This is what dill pickle chips were crafted after, I am willing to bet! 

Cod Dog with Tuna Belly Bacon via foodspotting.com

The deliciousness of this cod dog should be pretty evident. Deep-fried fish schlong on a bun with epic sauces is Not rocket science! Adding the tuna belly bacon to this is where the stroke of genius came in. "I have not tried that yet" said the woman taking my order, her eyes getting bigger and bigger the longer she thinks about it "but I need to really soon." Yes, I am awesome and you may bow down to me,  Goddess of Red Fishies and Blue Fishies!


June 10, 2011

Tuna Tacones via foodspotting.com

I love these! They were a little bit more cooked today than I normally enjoy (I like it when there's a bit more tataki-ness to it). Not sure if that's a change they've made to the dish or if it was just cooked differently today. The spicy mayo is lovely, and even though I don't love slaw or sprouts but they work perfectly! 

Cod & Chips via foodspotting.com

This is my favourite fish and chips in town! It's so perfectly cooked, flavourful with a crispy outside. The fries are also taste-tastic. Nom nom!


February 12, 2011
Today I tried out the tempura cod tacones, as I'd never had them. They were quite good, although the deep-fried nature took away from the fresh taste I usually like in the tacones but if you're not sure if you will like the tacones it would be a pretty safe choice - kind of half way between a tacone and fish and chips.

My partner-in-life-and-food had the oyster tacones, which are apparently pan fried in a searing hot cast-iron pan and then barbecued to finish them off before being wrapped up with the usual suspects of tacone fillings. We also shared the deep-fried pickles. Yes, deep-fried pickles! They are individually battered in tempura batter and deep fried. Crunchy on the outside, tangy on the inside kind of like a dill-pickle chip.