Fishbar

Have heard so much about Fishbar since they are very active on twitter (@_fishbar). I finally made it there this past Saturday. As we enter the restaurant, I immediately like the decor, simple yet so many cute touches and bare brick wall (yes, me and my brick wall addiction).

Love the how the light cast on the brick wall, just so pretty (^_^)

The have a very affordable wine list and some seafood inspired cocktails such as Octo'pussy Martini with Oyster and Shrimp Caesar Cocktail. 

They also have IZUMI sake but since we didn't like it last time we try at their brewery here, we ordered a bottle of white instead. Hope they will have more Sake selection in the future.

Daily selection of Oysters 

Got 4 out of 6 types, 2 each and it was super fresh & delicious

I normally only like my Oysters with a squeeze of lemon but I just can't resist the fresh horseradish

Salmon Tartare

~ wild sockeye salmon, soy, apple, shiso, house made crackers

Just like the tartare I had here, there was way too much soy sauce and was way too salty. Just as a lot of other non-asian restaurant, the soy sauce use in dishes are way too salty. Although the fish was very fresh and in the perfect size, the salty soy sauce just ruin it... maybe try low sodium soy sauce?!?

The house made cracker was thin as air but it doesn't help that the tartare was so salty, you'll want something more substantial to bite into.

Fishbar Sashimi

~ Mackerel, pickled plums, honey wasabi

This was very good given that it's a non-Japanese restaurant but it doesn't justified the amount of mackerel for $14 compare to the one from here ($8) and here.

Just look at the soy sauce dish to give you a better idea how small the portion was.

Steelhead Trout Rillette

~ house made pickles and crostini

That's probably my favorite dish of the night and best value for $8 and the little jar is just so cute.

It looks tiny but it holds more than you think (^v^) I love how this still have chucks of fish instead of the too creamy version and the crostini was toasted just right (you know what I mean when some cut your mouth)

Codfish Brandade

~ butter chives, crostini

I didn't know what Brandade was and had to ask, so just in case you don't know either; it's an emulsion of salt cod and oil eaten with bread or potatoes.

This was my 2nd favorite of the night and want can go wrong with a buttery dip =P

This was so creamy smooth and buttery and perfect on top of the yummy crispy crostini which is perfect for a bread lover like me =D

Catrina Bay Scallops

~ humita, chorizo oil

This was the only recommendation from the owner among the hot dishes. I was expecting 1 or 2 large scallops but instead we got a bunch of tiny ones =P

The humita puree was very yummy sweet and the scallops itself had such a perfect sear crust and was cook just right... it's almost like dessert came earlier =P

Grilled Swordfish

~ harpoon caught, peperonata

Again the perfect seared and the still raw centered, this was a great alternative to the usual seared tuna.

Chocolate Brownie, Onatario Cherry Jam, Vanilla Ice Cream

That's what I call vanilla ice cream where you can actually see the black dots. The brownie was warm and the red peppercorn on top was such a surprise and everything just goes so well together. The texture of the warm gooyee slightly bitter brownie, the soft sweet soft cherries in the middle, the cold vanilla-y ice cream with a surprise kick from the crispy peppercorn.. it's just so perfect adn our only task was to get a bit of everything in each bite (^_^)

Verdict :

Portion are extremely small for what I paid

We were tempted to go next door to Pizza Libretto for pizza afterwards but it was still packed .

(for what I paid for a small dish here, I could have got an entire pizza)

Everything was extremely good except for the overly "soy-sauced" tartare.

I would go back for sure but probably arrange a late lunch before that =P
 And did I mention that the service was excellent even on a full house (^v^)