The Fish Counter Main Street — Restaurant in Vancouver

What a disappointing experience we just had.

Came in at 6 and it seemed they were short staffed possibly, though I'm not sure. Main cook seemed quite busy, new guy taking orders didn't know how to answer the phone. None of these are bad at all. But I had sympathy for the new guy and that they were getting lots of orders close to closing. No complaints there.

All fish but halibut was out of stock which is fair given it was end of day, no complaints.

Minor complaint with chips which seemed to be the bottom of the bag they were all short odds and ends. Salmon wrap was great and the side salad was good.

Main complaint was the clam chowder that was extremely salty, well beyond any possible subjectivity. We debated for the whole meal whether to give feedback on it given the cost was $10 and we had hoped there'd be humility with receiving the feedback. We only had a small taste each and then put it aside. Neither of us have any sort of sensitivity or aversion to salt at all. But this was probably double the maximum any sort of normally seasoned soup should be.

I deliberated about complaining because it's awkward and I feel ungrateful for having food on the table. As we left I thought I'd give it a go and I shyly raised it with the main cook. I apologised for complaining at all and said I thought it was too salty.

I was hoping there'd be a mutual apology and a suggestion of tasting it himself or discussing why it might be too salty. I theorized it was end of day and understandably it boiled off a bit of water and it was unintentional.

The response was a bit cold, I felt he was annoyed i raised it and surprised. He didn't seem open to the possibility it was a valid complaint. He offered another chowder and an apology at the very end when I was ready to leave out of frustration and...

My hubs and I stopped by for lunch. We both ordered the single piece halibut and chips. It wasn't busy so we were about to find a table inside even though there was a communal bench and table outside facing the inside if the shop. Our orders arrived after only a short wait. Our halibut was a nice size portion and each was accompanied by shoestring potatoes and a coleslaw side. The batter on the fish was crispy but I found the style of chips too skinny for my taste. The chips were kind of dry and lack the fluffiness of thicker cut chips that I usually like. Because the fries are hand cut there tends to be a lot of tiny over cooked, dry bits in greater ratio to the fries themselves. The fish was flakey and fresh but I found the house made tartar sauce was more tart than what I usually prefer. The coleslaw was terrible. The vinegarette dressing made the coleslaw limp like it had been sitting for a long time and too tart. The coleslaw was also lukewarm and had a odd smell like it had been stored with raw fish. There was too much acidity in the components of this dish to suit my palate; adding ketchup to the fries just added another layer of sharpness that overwhelmed my appreciation of the halibut. They offer other choices such as fish tacos, soup and oyster poor boy sandwiches to name a few, besides a variety of fish and chips options. Tiny shop with very limited seating. Friendly, efficient, order counter service. Self serve condiments, cutlery and water available from a counter cooler. They sell a selection of bottled condiments, cold drinks and packaged smoke salmon to go. Its been a long time since I've been here so it'll probably be a long time before I...

Best gluten-free fish and chips I ever had anywhere in the world. (~$15)

It's hard to find a place that does gluten free batter and also have a seperate fryer for that.

Cod was very fresh, the batter is crispy, yet light and not oily. The one piece portion is actually quite filling even it looks small in the picture. (Also comes with alot of fries).

Good condiments: A slice of fresh lemon, container of gourmet tartar sauce (likely made inhouse?), and things you can request like ketchup, hot sauce, malt vinegar. Hot sauce seems homemade too.

Chips are more like north american style fries, the shoestring kind. I would be having a thicker cut if I had fish and chips where it's a native dish (UK/NZ/OZ), so the chips here were so-so for me, but still warm and fresh... Just feels greasier because of this cut.

Luckily there's some very refreshing coleslaw on the side and I really enjoyed that. I think it had cabbage and kale in it.

I also tried their clam chowder, also gluten free. It was very hearty and you could tell there are wasn't any artificial flavouring, the flavour was just powered by alot of clams and celery/carrot/potato base. The portion is quite small but it was a nice side to have (~$7). It's not cream based, just very tender potatoes that are driving the thickness.

There is a counter for buying fresh fish and fish patties, and local artisanal condiments. The people working are very friendly. Highly recommended for a quick bite, it's about 7...