Nina V

This was the highlight meal of our weekend away in Pacific Grove. We visited on a Friday and enjoyed the live jazz, warm welcome and check-in throughout the meal by the owners, very friendly waitstaff and the food and wine pairing were delicious. The whole cooked fish was on the dry side but I think it was the type of fish. The fish collar special-of-the-day appetizer was remarkable (never had anything that delectable). I loved people watching too. Everyone enjoyed their food, the company and the camaraderie of the wait staff and music performers demonstrated the trust and care they have for each other. The menu highlights the source of the seafood which triggered a conversation with our neighboring table later in the evening. So fun! Update from Nov 2022: we loved it so much we came back to relive the awesome seafood eating experience. Our waitress was so charming! We had to get the aged Albariño wine again (can’t find this everywhere) The fish collars were like eating Korean hot chicken wings, except they are fish “wings”. Everything is so well prepared and the co-owners and staff are delightful! Update from Dec 2024: came here on a Monday night. Had the whole cooked fish again as well as the smoked sablefish, oysters and mushroom medley.

+8

Lauree Riggin

Food: Fresh, tasty. Service: perfection Atmosphere: intimate, friendly, neat Cleanliness: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Our family (grandparents, parents, two year old) enjoyed Sunday afternoon brunch in a quiet upbeat setting. We had mimosas with fresh squeezed orange juice, the freshest calamari with a lovely spicy dip, amazing melt-in-your-mouth bread & butter, smoked fish soup, fish tacos, cod burgers, fries to knock your socks off and champagne. It was a wonderful experience.

+2

Brett Austin

Definitely make a reservation,...as they are very popular and it's no wonder! This was my first visit and will not be my first. Parking is street parking, so depending on local events could be a bit challenging. About the Wild Fish Restaurant...from the moment I arrived to when I departed, everyone from the owner to the staff were nothing short of spectacular! They met everyone with a smile, answered every question and were attentive to all their customers. I had their swordfish, it was approx. 1/2" thick and was tender and moist, it came with potatoes and greens...all cooked perfectly. You must try the coconut and rum cocktail...amazing and their butterscotch desert was perfect as well. Give them a visit, you won't be disappointed!

+1

Steve Thomas

Place was nice. I would recommend making a reservation because it fills up even early on a Saturday. The oysters are probably the best I have eaten in the USA. They were excellent. Nd the swordfish steak was excellent as well. The calamari had a great smoky flavor. In totally spent about 200$ plus tip for 4 glasses of wine (gerwertraminer is what i would recommend) oysters and appetizer and two entrees. It was a great dinner. The owner also comes around and asks you how you are enjoying it which is really cute. I would return.

Karen Tamsen

Best lunch I’ve had in the area. Completely unassuming place, but very charming. Delicious ahi tostadas, fries, salad, tuna melt. You can see where your fish came from - captain and all. Highly recommend! I can’t wait to go back. Fresh lemonade and homemade ketchup. Fresh and organic ingredients.

a p

Business dinner. Excellent outdoor parking. Wonderfully attentive service. Prompt to fill water glass, asked if we need extra drinks and plates which requires paying attention. This was greatly appreciated so we can enjoy our meal and discussion without interruption by looking for help. The meal itself was wonderfully prepared (ahi tuna), presented and was delicious. Oysters were fresh and very enjoyable - great balance of sea and natural oyster flavor. Good variety in dessert options - bread pudding, chocolate cake, cheesecake and sorbet. Prices seemed fair and in line with expectations. Will definitely continue to come back! (This was the 3rd visit for this reviewer).

+1

Anthony Pineda

Some of the best seafood I've ever had. Came in for dinner while staying in Monterrey and was very pleasantly surprised. The calamari was so flavorful. The sablefish dish came on a bed of vegetables that was just amazing. Outdoor seating and staff were also good. Good experience.

+4

Melanie Castillo

What a fantastic find! We arrived without a reservation and thankfully the host was able to accommodate us at nice outdoor table for two that was perfect for our date night. We started with the fresh oysters (50/50 from selection available). The waiter took his time describing the saltiness of the brine and what we should expect and he hit the nail on the head. My salad had green apple and goat cheese and a nice tangy but slightly sweet vinaigrette. Each of our fish meals were perfectly prepared with fish that was caught that day! Our meals were light enough that we indulged in dessert. We felt perfectly full at the end of the meal, and enjoyed every aspect of Wild Fish. The owner/manager even took time to chat with each table; which we especially enjoyed.

+1

Bunny M

Outside is decorated with lights and made me excited to go in. Very nice little restaurant. Clean and warm with the all cute candles on each table. We were greeted right away by the owner. Then waitress came and recommend their appetizer for the day. Crab. We ordered two other fish. And EVERYTHING tasted AWESOME. if this is the fish available everyday, I can eat fish every single day. BTW, their complimentary veggie size is pretty big. So if you don’t eat that much. Probably you don’t need to order appetizer. Highly recommend!

+6

Joyce Loeffler McNeill

Great value at happy hour. Service is friendly but disprganized. The bartender does 99% of the service including drinks. Oysters were milky in late December? Good wines by the glass especially at happy hour.

Johnny HSIEH

I came to this place because of all the recommendations on Reddit by the locals. We ordered a whole fish(75$) and clam chowder(15$+) The chimichurri on the fish was delicious. Fish was soft and tasted fresh. Potatoes were textured and delicious. **The salad, on the other hand, was WAYY too sour. I don’t know what they put in there, but it was unpleasant. CLAM CHOWDER: had high expectations, but was served one of the worst clam chowders I’ve had. EXTREMELY SALTY. Almost as salty as the ocean water. I notified the waiter, he politely ordered me another one. The second time, it became very watered down. It was obvious the chef just decided to put water into the chowder since it was made in a huge batch. We just decided to return the dish. Despite the disappointment from the clam chowder, the waiters were absolutely amazing. The live music playing even at 9 pm Friday, provided a phenomenal atmosphere. I would totally come here again, and I’ll write another review then.

No MSG No Garlic Foodie

We were taking a stroll along Ocean View Blvd and dinner time was fast approaching. I had identified Wild Fish previously as a possible restaurant. It was not too far to walk to Lighthouse Avenue, we decided to check them out. After looking at their menu, we decided fish is probably a healthy option given our location. We were seated by the window, unfortunately, the door had to be left open when meant that we had to keep our down jackets on. We were going to share a few appetizers with the Whole Fish entree. Unfortunately, they ran out of the small Whole Fish. We were a large Rock Cod that was over two lbs, for $75. Well, that meant we wouldn't have room for the other appetizers we had identified. Bah! I ordered the non-alcoholic Navarro Vineyard Pinot Noir juice. Being spoiled by the delicious sour dough focaccia we could get from Pastaggio at home, we were disappointed by the House-Made Rosemary Focaccia. The fish was very filling. My partner enjoyed it, I thought it was overcooked as that's the typical problem with Rock Cod. We enjoyed the crispy potatoes, and the miniscule green salad, and of course, we couldn't finish the fish. We rewarded ourselves with sticky toffee pudding for putting in a good effort though. Knowing that Rock Cod tends to be overcooked, next time we visit, we would definitely try other dishes.

+1

Arrived and was told that half of the menu was not available even with a chalkboard out front showing one of them. We should have left. We both ordered black cod and one thin part of mine was cooked to mush and was inedible. The thicker part was soft but edible. This easily was the worst dining experience we have had in years.

J Vu

I have never had a dinner service be so disastrous. Whether through inexperience, incompetence, or poor management, we were not served our meals. The entire service did not go well from start to finish. Upon arriving for our 5:30 reservation, we were told the online reservation system was not working. No problem, as there are still plenty of tables and we are seated right away. We’re told that the chef is new, so certain items may not be available. You would think a new chef would be fully trained before staffing solo? But no problem, we’ll try a different dish if need be. We put in an order for popovers and beers, but are told that they are out of that beer tonight. No problem, just water then. The popovers arrive and we are missing one. It seems that it has fallen off the plate before they brought it to our table. No problem, they replace it for us. The popover was not memorable, quite soggy and oily. They also did not give us any plates for sharing. 40 minutes into being seated, our meal order is finally taken. As we are waiting for our food, it becomes clear that the restaurant is severely understaffed, with only one waiter and one helper serving the entire restaurant. No one at the tables around us have any food on their tables. The tables seated outside come back in to see if they’ve been forgotten. A table of 4 in the corner leave after being served only waters. We’re not sure where our waiter has gone off to. At this point, they really need to stop seating people. An hour and a half after being seated, we flag the waiter to check the status of our food, giving them the benefit of the doubt. After some time, the waiter returns to let us know that the kitchen has lost our ticket, and our meals were never made. He offers to comp our appetizers. At this point, we’re realizing they won’t be making our food? And we must leave hungry having already waited for close to 2 hours. I suppose we should have spoken up earlier but we were giving them the benefit of the doubt. So we leave, and grab pizzas down the street instead. Keep in mind, we arrived at 5:30pm (the restaurant opens at 5) and left at 7:30pm. The tables that were seated after us still did not receive their entrees. Quite a disappointment.

Cynthia Maddox

Absolutely terrible experience compared the experience at their other location (Little River). I can't believe the vast difference in food, service and ambience between the 2 places. The one in Pacific Grove was absolutely horrendous experience. The one in Little River was absolutely incredible, which was why I am shocked how horrible Pacific Grove location turned out. Reasons why Wild Fish at Pacific Grove was an atrocious experience. -service was incredibly terrible = forgot our oysters order, he hardly came to check on us when we were the only ones at the restaurant ( on 1/15 @1230pm) because he was busy chatting it up with fellow server and chef, and had to flag him or fellow server to get any service. -food was horrible and lacked flavor = - smoked fish chowder was bland and hardly any fish in it, super thick, dark and unappealing visually - sword fish egg Benedict had over cooked egg, salty hollandaise sauce, potatoes were grey and under cooked. Tasted like a bunch of salt with wilted arugula - spicy shrimp boil with risotto was not spicy, uncooked risotto, very soupy and overcooked rubbery shrimp. - our food took 40mins to be given over cooked and terrible tasting. - the ambience.... So many fruit flies flying around front window dirty table. Mind you, we were the only ones in the restaurant to receive such horrible service, given a dirty table, with terribly over cooked food. Coming from service industry myself and knowing how the other wild fish location upholds themselves, the Pacific Grove location was absolutely horrendously atrocious experience. The server could have done better taking care of his guests and quit distracting the chef so the chef could have made proper food. When the server came by once to check on us, he clearly saw the egss overdone but did nothing about it. UNFORTUNATELY, We hadn't eaten that morning because we looked forward to eating at Wild Fish. SO, we ate what we could but what a complete disappointment. We won't be returning to Wild Fish...to either locations and suggest to others to avoid at all costs the Pacific Grove Location. Only positive, the drinks were decent.