Big Fish Seafood Grill & Bar — Restaurant in Grapevine

First the PROs: The service was good. Food was overall OK. Prices were fair. Crawfish Ravioli in Cajun cream sauce was amazing! The whole family loved the Cajun cream sauce. It went very well on top of blackened catfish too! After the ravioli was finished we tried the sauce on everything, it was excellent. Blackened seasoning was OK, flavor was a blend between blackened and char even though the food itself wasn’t charred. I’ve had better blackened seasoning. Fried foods were cornmeal breaded. Not bad at all. Veggies were excellent and cut in a way that made them easy to eat.

Now for the CONS (primarily minor): There are items that are available, but not on the menu and are not on flyers in the menu. Be aware and look around for chalkboards on the walls for specials. We had already ordered appetizers before realizing there were more options and they were the better options! Crab cakes were OK at best. Honestly my wife was somewhat saddened because they looked and tasted like salmon patties which she dislikes. There was indeed crab in them, just not the best way to make them. Rice pilaf was not rice pilaf. It tasted herby like rosemary or stuffing. It wasn’t that good. Garlic mashed potatoes weren’t bad, but I did expect a bit more garlic flavor. When I make then at home we make them a little stronger in flavor and fluffy with milk and butter. This may be a move to not cause too much division between those who do and do not want garlic. Last the bathroom, you could tell they were trying to remove the smell, but it still smelled like an ancient unflushed urinal.

Suggestions: Utilize that Cajun cream sauce! Seriously, it goes good on everything. Add an option to pay a little additional and get your seafood covered in that cream sauce! The whole family loved that. We dipped catfish, bread, mash potatoes, fried oysters, you name it and the whole family loved it. Add another pasta option with crawfish and that cream sauce. Fix that crab cake recipe. If you want a reference to decent crab cakes, check out Daisy dukes. Find a small side to pasta dishes, like cherry tomato side salad or something with citrus which lightens flavors, that is fresh and cleanses the palate and contrasts with the sauce’s flavor. Dishes like that can get monotonous. This allows you to enjoy this the dish more and avoid flavor fatigue. This keeps customers coming back for that...

Went to Bigfish Grill for dinner last night... The recommendation was given on good portions, quality and value. That was found to be valid, but our experience was less than great. We were seated in a well-worn booth where the seat cushions had sizeable tears in them. I noticed that several booths had the same, and that is basically not so comfortable. My daughter looked at me with uncertainty, but I reassured her that sometimes the food is really good in spite of such things. The friendly and courteous server came promptly. She took our drinks as we decided on the menu. My daughters each chose the grilled salmon salad, and my wife and I wanted fish tacos. Hungry- I eagerly ordered an appetizer of calamari to share. The wait for the food was longer than what we hoped for as the calamari never came. The grilled salmon presented nicely grilled with capers on fresh salad. The taste and quality were good. The cucumber slices were crisp and tasty. My wife and I have lived in southern California, and we know and love fish tacos- with salsa mind you. What was brought to us was fish wrapped in a flour tortilla, pressed on a grill with cheese in the middle (Americans love cheese you know) served with a secret sauce aka thousand island dressing. What happened to the calamari? They forgot and offered to bring it at no charge if we wanted. I was eager to try the calamari and asked them to bring it anyway. The calamari was lightly breaded, fried tenderly and very good to eat. But I was wanting for a good cocktail sauce and some spiciness. In the end, we ate everything, and they didn't take the calamari off the bill as offered. I asked for it, so I didn't feel wronged. Still, it didn't go anywhere to ingratiate themselves to me as a customer, and I wondered about society's expectations at restaurants nowadays. It was a decent experience, but the question remains, "Will we go back for more?" I...

I was hoping for some good seafood, but my first visit to Big Fish Seafood Grill & Bar didn’t quite live up to expectations.

When I walked in, three servers were gathered at a table joking around, even though the restaurant was fairly busy. They eventually came over and seated me, but the first impression wasn’t great. The booth itself was also uncomfortable — the seat cushion felt worn out, like the spring inside had given up years ago.

Since it was my first time here, I asked a few questions about the menu. My server was friendly and helpful, so I decided on the catfish and shrimp plate. Before ordering, I asked if it was enough food for an average adult, and she assured me the catfish fillet was “pretty large.” Unfortunately, when it arrived, the portion was incredibly small — so small that even my server admitted it was unusually tiny and offered to “take care of it.”

A few minutes later, she brought out another fillet, which was a normal portion and much better. The problem came when the bill arrived: “taking care of it” apparently meant charging me an extra seven dollars for the second fillet. I didn’t expect to be billed extra for what was clearly a kitchen mistake, especially after the server acknowledged the issue herself.

The food itself tasted fine, and the shrimp and catfish were cooked well enough. But the experience left me disappointed. I never saw a manager during my visit, and the overall operation felt a bit unorganized — almost like a group of teenagers were running the place at their own pace.

Hopefully, my visit was just an off night, and others have...