Big Fish Steak & Lounge — Restaurant in Sarnia

UPDATE BELOW.. FABULOUS ... Our Daughter told us that this is where she and her hubby go for fine dining, and they love it. I said, "REALLY?" It doesn't look like much from the outside, but I said to my hubby one evening, "let's try it!" We have eaten at many restaurants worldwide, and I have to tell you that this place is very good! Inside, the ambiance is lovely, the service is excellent, and the food is delish! We both had the Seafood Chowder, and it is in the top 3 of the best we've ever had, possibly the best! Prime Rib was just delicious! Everything was presented beautifully .. Loved it!!! Way to Go, Big Fish! Our compliments to the Chef! UPDATE Sept/23 We came to the Big Fish for dinner in their usual warm atmosphere. .. Boy, did we get a surprise! First of all, we’ve noticed, since Covid the prices have skyrocketed! Our usual $175 dinner for my husband and myself and my son, is now over $300. I had a very bad day/news, and I just wanted to relax. My husband and I were in a back booth, with nobody around us. My sister called me to see how I was doing, and they brought our appetizer during that time. No problem. It was shrimp. It was good. The food wasn’t the issue. When we walked in, there was no warm welcome like usual. The bartender was talking to somebody else. However, he always welcomes us and I noticed that he didn’t even say hello. Anyway, back to where I was. I got off the phone from my sister, our appetizers were finished, and this woman came up to us and told us we had only a certain amount of time allotted for our booth, and when that time was up then we would have to leave. We were absolutely stunned! We have never been spoken to this way at any restaurant anywhere! We were so upset, and my husband was furious! We sat quite a while after she said this, waiting for our entrée! It wasn’t coming and my husband is not one to make a fuss! However, he got up and walked over to her and said, “if you expect us to be out of our booth at a certain time then you had better get us our entrées because we don’t even have them yet!” During all of his time I had ordered my signature drink, an Espresso Martini! When I first asked them for this drink years ago, they had no idea how to make one. Well, I had an amazing recipe out of Europe, where it originated, and also a recipe out of Chicago, that I shared with them. I used to taste test with the bartender to get it as best that he could without an Espresso Machine, which the owner, who was always lovely to us, told me after Covid, “guess what I bought for you… an Espresso machine!” Well, did we laugh, and I was thrilled. Anyway, I asked for my Espresso Martini, and when I got it, it tasted like pure, thick, coffee… Just Awful! No white chocolate, no dark chocolate, no Kahlúa no nothing! I said to the waitress, would it be OK for the bartender to add some Kahlúa or Bailey’s or something? She said sure, and she brought it back to the bartender. This is the bartender that is usually very good to us. Anyway, he added some Baileys, and it still wasn’t great, but it was ok. I ordered another one and asked for double Kahlúa. When I got it, once again, it was awful .. and once again I asked If somehow he could make it a little bit sweeter… It’s supposed to have coffee in it for that boost, but it’s also supposed to have a sweetness to it. So this time the waitress went and told the bartender, and instead of getting a little extra sweetness in my drink, I got a very angry bartender, who literally argued that his Espresso martinis were very good and everybody just loves them! I was just shocked to have this bartender raging on me like this, and I told him “I am the one that brought you the Espresso Martini recipe in the first place, and these just aren’t what I am used to! Well he didn’t care and he stormed off. Once again, we were shocked! They finally brought us our entrée and we ate, and after getting over a $300 bill for the two us we left. This is Sarnia, not the Biltmore! What an awful and unexpected experience! We...

We visited Big Fish to celebrate a family member's birthday on Sunday August 5. The interior was lovely as was the manner of our server. The entrées were well presented and generous.

An issue arose however when the birthday guest bit into a hard bit of what appeared to be plastic in her mashed potatoes.

This was brought to the server's attention and she brought the item to the kitchen for further examination - and returned with another serving of mashed potatoes. She was apologetic, but proceeded to inform our table that the item was likely a bit of potato or an onion.

Neither I or any of the guests at our table have ever encountered an onion or a potato with a hard plastic texture with a bit of string attached to it.

While irritated, we continued to enjoy our meal when a gentleman (apparently the owner) approached our table to inquire about our experience. We advised him of the concern and he thought perhaps a bit of saran wrap had fallen into the potatoes as they are 'covered with plastic wrap when they are prepared'. We indicated that the item was not plastic wrap, but rather a hard bit that appeared to be plastic. He said he would investigate and left our table.

Our bill came and upon review noticed that even a minor gesture of removing a drink or dessert, let alone the offending entrée had not been made. We inquired and our server and she indicated she would see what she could do. The owner then returned to the table and was reminded of the issue and asked if any sort of discount would be granted due to the less-than-palatable addition to the meal in question. He replied that 'no there will be no deduction as it was likely a piece of potato or onion'. His manner was unapologetic and frankly arrogant.

Even when visiting a fast-food chain employees are trained to address situations related to foreign objects in food.

When entering the 'higher-end' spectrum of the dining world, one needs to provide impeccable guest service and accommodate errors with courtesy and humility. An establishment is only as strong as its satisfied customers.

We will certainly not return to this restaurant. The experience left an unpleasant taste(and object) in our mouths and put a damper on an otherwise lovely birthday...

We were in Sarnia for business. Decided to try Big Fish. First appearances were good. Nicely welcomed at the front door and we didn't have to wait for a table. Lady server came over and it went down hill from there. We ordered a drink a piece. Before we had even had time to sip we were given the "Specials of the Day" without pricing of course. The way she spoke made us uneasy and uncomfortable. Everything seemed to be a rush. We ordered the Oysters Rockefeller and the Shrimp Scampi. Both arrived cold. My oysters complete with bacon and cheese I sent back. Even the cheese hadn't melted. When she (the waitress) took them away and "re-heated" them they still came back cold. AND the cheese still wasn't melted. My husband's shrimp were not properly cooked either and his appetizer again was cold. We asked for the bill and left. First impressions are always important but this just didn't help our decision to leave. I can't imagine what the rest of the meal would have been like if we had decided to stay. the 'Host" asked us what was wrong and we didn't want to get into it as there were other customers waiting at the door. He came around the back as we were getting into our vehicle and again asked what was wrong as he had to know. We told him we were disappointed and left it at that. This place could have such potential. Perhaps it was the cook? But the wait staff was irritating, the host good. Perhaps it was a bad day for all of us. Will check out other fine dining in Sarnia...