Flying Fish — Restaurant in Dallas

Flying Fish: A Seafood Oasis

When faced with the choice between the “Christian Chicken” of Chick-fil-A in Concourse A or a quick detour to The Flying Fish in Dallas’ Design District, I chose salvation in the form of seafood and frozen margaritas. And let me tell you—I made the right call. I don’t know if Chick-fil-A’s drive-thru has gotten faster, but last I checked, they weren’t serving frozen margaritas capable of making your teeth go numb.

The Flying Fish is a fast-casual operation with a heavy emphasis on the “fast.” You place your order at the counter with a team of friendly folks who guide you through a menu filled with fish prepared your way—fried, grilled, or boiled—alongside combo options for those of us who believe in abundance. Want catfish and shrimp? Sure. Want to throw in some oysters for good measure? Absolutely.

I went with the fried combo basket: two perfectly seasoned catfish filets and four plump shrimp, served with a generous heap of fries and hush puppies. The hush puppies were golden orbs of joy, and the fries were a dependable classic. But the unexpected star? The coleslaw. Chopped fine, just a touch sweet, and barely creamy—exactly how I like it. It’s the side you think you can skip, but you shouldn’t.

Pro tip: the house-made tartar and cocktail sauces are excellent, but if you’re like me and think horseradish should border on reckless, there’s an extra spoonful at the table to make your cocktail sauce sing.

But let’s talk about that frozen margarita. Limey, stiff, and cold enough to test the integrity of your dental work. A couple of sips in, and I was halfway to forgetting I had a flight to catch. I can’t confirm this, but I think it might actually be a TSA requirement that you aren’t allowed to fly the plane after one of these.

If I lived in Dallas, The Flying Fish would be a part of my regular rotation. Fair prices, fast service, and a margarita that could substitute as Novocain for your next...

A waste of $60. Surprised to see 4 star reviews unless the folks eating here have not had good seafood before.

Fried shrimp: Tastes off. And that’s sad because it actually looks good and not super oily like the hush puppies.

Hush puppies: Some were too oily to eat. Some were less oily and tasted good. But out of say 12 hush puppies it seems like some were fried in an old batch of oil while some were fried ion fresh oil.

Fries: basic fries. Tasted fine. They weren’t warm. The relievers showed up as estimated upon ordering so yes they may have cooled down in transit, but I doubt it. They didn’t taste fresh overall, but fries are pretty simple.

Green beans: no flavor. I’d pass on that if you’re willing to order from this place.

Rainbow Trout: the best looking out of everything I’ve ordered so hopefully it will taste okay.

Overall: The delivery was timely. The seafood was not great and I know most seafood in Dallas won’t be outstanding given the location unless you have a place like Ocean prime or others that fly in fresh fish daily, however for basic fried shrimp, hush puppies, fries and green beans to all tastes mediocre - that’s just a shame. I likely could have gotten better food at red lobster which is a shame. I’ll update once I try the rainbow trout later. Maybe this place just didn’t change their oil out...

Ok, let me get this started by saying that this review is from 3 people and their comments during dinner last night. The wife had a fried fish & shrimp combo. Fish was very bland, but shrimp & fries were good. Daughter had the grits & gumbo. Now before I continue, let me just say that I've worked offshore, and have eaten at plenty of Cajun restaurants. I know what gumbo roux is supposed to taste like. However, that gumbo roux was over the top saucy. She didn't like it, and I was only able to tolerate it. I had the Cajun buffet which consisted of fried gator bites, fried frog legs, and jambalaya. The Cajun buffet was actually very good. I'd eat it again. My family and I are in town for a surgery and we ordered it to go, so we could eat it in the room(that review is coming later). Finally, the restaurant on Irving is an awesome place to go to. Plenty of pictures on the wall of peoples catch. They have t-shirts for sale. A major plus from me, is that they didn't turn me away for not wearing a mask(not getting involved in that argument). They offer crawfish, crablegs, and shrimp but at the current market rate. I'm sorry, but $8.99 per pound of crawfish is ridiculous. So, with half of the meal not that tasty is the reason for the 3 stars.

Loved the...