Phil's Fish Market & Eatery — Restaurant in Prunedale

Updated Review: we returned to Phil’s with another couple. I stand by previous comments with the my amended and updated review of the story of how fresh the calamari is. Since I live on the Monterey Peninsula, I see the fishing boats in May-June fishing for the squid that becomes calamari. There is a strict season for squid so the boats often are out all night which makes for a pretty sight. When I went to Phil’s which specializes in seafood, I thought I would have a wonderful opportunity to taste some ultra fresh calamari so I asked the lady at the counter if the squid were from Monterey Bay. “Oh, yes, and it’s quite fresh” so I ordered some. Ordering calamari in sandwich form was probably a mistake on my part but I finished the sandwich which I thought was mediocre at best. Outside in the back parking lot, I saw some boxes (see attached photo and pay special attention to the worded at the bottom right of the box below the drawing of the wave): The calamari was from China!!! So much for fresh!! I guess it was fresh “at one time.” In any event, I felt like I have been flim-flammed as I can get calamari from the grocery store as fresh as the calamari sold by Phil’s. In any event, I won’t be back at Phil’s until after the next fly by of Haley’s Comet.

Prior Review:

Phil’s has been on my “must-go” list but after today’s lunch, it has moved to my “been there and disappointed” list. First, be prepared to spend at least $25 per person. I don’t begrudge the pricing because seafood is expensive such that even long established Red Lobster is in bankruptcy. I ordered a crab sandwich with cold slaw. The cold slaw was delicious. The crab sandwich arrived deconstructed and was small (no bigger than two fingers) even tough it was breaded and deep (and I mean deep) fried. I was given a fresh tomato and lettuce along with pickles and a plastic tub of tartar sauce. It was okay but just okay. My wife ordered a fire roasted artichoke which she also thought was okay but nothing special. She also ordered onion rings at $12.95 for which we got NINE onion rings. They were good but at over $1 apiece, we felt like we were played for suckers. So after spending $52 before the tip, we got a pretty ordinary meal. I have fond memories of the old Phil’s location and the quality of the food thete but I don’t carry them for the replacement...

We used to love Phil’s when they were in Moss Landing. Today is our first visit to the new Castroville location and it is a big disappointment, because of the awful service and the downhill food quality.

We ordered 4 dishes including one kids meal and when I looked at the receipt, they charge me $160. I immediately think there is something wrong, it can not be this much. And indeed they order one extra dish for us (which I hope that was just an accident…) and that dish is $44.95 which is more expensive than any other dishes we ordered. So I talked to the front desk, they did not apologize at all and just go ahead refund me. But when I looked the refund receipt, it is just $31? So I waited again until they served another group of people, and talked to the front desk. This time she spent some time calculating how much to refund me, she pay me back $13. I did not think too much and went back to the table. After a minute, wait, didn’t I get charge $44.95+$3.x tax, why you only refund me $44 total? At this point I did not want to go back for the third time and asked them again. So I gave up and just want to enjoy my meal.

But the bad thing did not end here. My kid ordered a salmon dish, and the waitress brought her a fish dish. She did not think too much and started to dig in. When she cut the first piece of fish and the fish was still on her fork, the waitress came again to my kid saying “oh it was a wrong fish…you already ate it?” Then she just took her plate and including her fork from her hand because that wrong fish was still on her fork!!? No apology, and she acted as if cutting that wrong fish is our fault. WOW, i can’t believe this is how Phil’s treats the guests. At this point, we don’t really have any appetite for the rest of the meal.

To be honest, keeping the bad service aside, the overall food quality degrades a lot compared to Moss Landing location, especially cioppino. The whole soup has no seafood flavor, only the taste of tomato. It was not like that before. Not sure if they change the recipe or what. The ahi tuna taco is good.

I am sad to say we will not never be back to Phil’s again. We used to love it so much and now it is time to say so...

I miss their old location right by the beach, but this new location is not bad either! It has a spacious private parking lot in the back which can accommodate up to 20 cars. There are also ample free street parkings.

As soon as you step inside, you'll be greeted with a nice smell of delicious seafood dishes. They have large menus posted right by the entrance so you can easily look at and debate on what to order while you wait in line. There are also pamphlet-style menus and regular laminated menus available if you prefer to have something in hands to scan through.

After you order and pay, you'll receive a number to put on your table. Grab some water and utensils yourself and proceed to either indoor or outdoor seating areas of your choice. I love that the outdoor seating area is really spacious and nicely decorated with a cute Christmas tree for holiday spirit. I have my puppy with me thus opted for the outdoor area.

Our dishes arrived quickly. For every main dish you order, they provide free side salads which are freshly made and quite tasty. We ordered Linguine and Clam and Fettuccine with Blackened Salmon for main dishes. The blackened salmon is super fresh and delicious with the right amount of flavors whereas the clams are sweet and refreshing. We devoured our meals with lightening speed.

Another thing I love about this place is that their portion is generous. Despite the facts that we were super hangry and their food was tasty, we couldn't finish and had to have them to go.

Overall, I enjoy this new location. I take off one star because there were so many flies flying around and hovering over our food while we were there. Hopefully they'll do something to address the...