The Fish Shack

The Fish Shack in Downtown Vancouver

It's been too long since I've had a proper brunch; time to drag my family out to Downtown for some runny poached egg goodness!

Lunch and Brunch menus + fresh sheet

After an immense amount of time spent looking through essentially every single brunch menu in the Downtown-y side of Greater Vancouver, I settled on The Fish Shack. It's cheap, the menu items are unique, and it just so happens to be a walkable distance from where all my relatives live (I got to visit my cousin's new baby boy!! Gaahhhh~~~) I actually called the restaurant about an hour or two before my visit to make a reservation, but that wasn't necessary. Even on a Saturday at noon, the restaurant was only about, say, a quarter full? Enough people to convince me that it's a safe place to eat, but with no wait. 

Interior of The Fish Shack facing Granville Street

To begin, I really like the interior of this restaurant. It's casual, chill, yet still put together. There is half a second level that I think would be an awesome place to hang out with some friends. The decor has a very suitable fisherman-esque theme. There is a tiny area for outdoor seating where there are heaters for the chiller days, like when I visited. There wasn't any loud, annoying music blaring through the restaurant. It's a very family friendly spot too. So far, so good.

Water in mason jars

We were seated promptly and provided with menus and water in mason jars. My parents giggled at the fact their water cups resembled mini versions of the cups at Hong Kong-style cafes. The menus can be viewed on their website; I really appreciate it when restaurants have their full menu (with prices and updated items) online.

The waiters and waitresses here are very casual, like the joking type. Our waiter was very efficient and provided us with good advice on the menu and delivered swiftly. The only small complaint I have about the service here is when I called in, the girl that answered the phone spoke too casually. Instead of politely being asked to repeat my phone number, all I got was a rude "What?" So I was taken aback by the sudden harsh tone.

Fish & Chips lunch box with Manhattan (top) and New England (bottom) Clam Chowder

On to the food. My dad and brother ordered a fish and chips lunch box each. It comes with one large piece of fish (probably cod), some fries, coleslaw, and their choice of chowder. The red chowder is Manhattan and the white chowder is New England. The Manhattan was too watery and not flavourful. The New England was creamier but still not as thick as we prefer our chowders. However, there was a good amount of whole clams in the soup. The fries were soft and almost soggy; my dad did not finish his. The coleslaw is typical and tastes good. The fish is fried very crispy and golden, but I would rather the piece of fish be thicker but shorter in length. That way each bite is more meaty instead of just tasting fried batter. For a restaurant that pride's itself in their fish, this fish and chips dish was not phenomenal enough to blow me away. It was rather...average.

Fish and Chips Benedict

My mom got the fish and chips benny from the brunch menu. Their benedicts are really unconventional, and I like 'em! The fish pieces were fried beautifully and the eggs poached soft and runny. The potatoes on the side are AMAZING; crispy on the outside, soft and mushy on the inside. Perfectly seasoned. Gotta bring my best friend here just for the potatoes. The side of fruit is a nice touch and a clean way to end a heavy meal. The benedicts are probably the best items on the brunch menu. Can't go wrong.

Corn Bread Hash

Sorry about the blurry photo, evidently I was too hungry at this point to have any more patience.

I ordered the Corn Bread Hash, which sounded very different and I was attracted to the corn bread part, because I have a love for corn bread, specially Sweet Tomatoes'. When this came, no joke, my jaw just dropped to the floor. It was massive. Served in a medium sauce pan (yeah, not even a small sauce pan), this was pure carbohydrate overload. There were cut up pieces of prawn (not those measly baby shrimp) and slices of sausage mixed in with the cubes of corn bread. Chopped tomato was present too, except I don't think it did much to the dish besides release all its water and make everything soggy. Not visible in the photo, but the same roasted potatoes that accompanied the benedict lines the entire bottom of this cast iron pot. As if there wasn't already cups and cups and cups of corn bread to fill me up. The two small eggs were poached soft, although slightly on the more well done side of runny. When served, the corn bread still had some crunch to it, but by the end of my devouring, everything had begun to get soft and mushy. This was a fun dish, but I don't think I'll be ordering it again anytime soon as it was just way too much food and it wasn't super "WOW".

Time to dig into brunch!

The brunch items at The Fish Shack are a really good deal. For under $10 a entree, the food is prepared well, creatively planned, and taste is good. I would come for brunch again and order the benedicts. Thumbs up for brunch! 

For Twitter users, tweet #hookitandcookit plus your table number (which to be honest, I couldn't find) and see what surprise you get! I didn't have data service on my phone so I couldn't test this out... boohoo!

Why I don't have a boyfriend

Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡