Reel Foods Fish Market — Restaurant in Idaho

I have shopped at Reel for a long time, and up until my recent experience would have given them 4 stars. They get excellent quality fish and shellfish and can tell you where it's from and when it arrived. Their prices are generally on par with the quality (i.e. good stuff is expensive, you can get a good bargain occasionally, and some of the lower quality fishes are way overpriced).

I dined in recently and ordered the special, which was lobster roll. I ordered it without a bun since I can't eat wheat and fisherman's stew as my side. I also got the oyster basket and picked out my 6 oysters. I didn't want fries, so my waiter said I could sub seaweed salad which I had already ordered to take home. He was very nice and accommodating for high maintance me. The food was all excellent.

Then it was time to check out. Another gentleman began ringing it up, perhaps owner or manager? My server said he would do it, but the other gentleman insisted. I overheard my server tell him as he was ringing me up that he had told me I could use the seaweed salad in place of French fries. He shook his head and said no, I had to pay full price for it. The server also pointed out that he was overcharging for the special. He shook his head and said that was the cost.

When he gave me my total, I was very surprised. He went through it, and pointed out he didn't charge me to shuck the oysters. Well yeah, I ordered it off the menu and didnt even get a side that was supposed to come with it. He then gave me the price of the lobster roll, which was much higher than the $5 written on the board. I pointed it out, and he said it was a mistake and immediately walked over to change it. He then asked me if I had ever got a lobster roll for that price. I said I only had it once in Maine and it was $7. He said he would do it, but I wasn't being very fair. I said ok.

I expect a restaurant to honor the prices printed on the menu, written on a board, and quoted by the server. I didn't appreciate the way he treated me or the server. I wont be back. So in a nutshell, I give 2 stars for the totality of my experiences: good to excellent food, previously good service, and this recent...

This place has the best fish in town.

When Reel Foods was changing locations, I tried to get fish elsewhere. I had not-so-great experiences getting fish from Winco (not fresh), Albertsons (rotten - twice!), and even Whole Foods (rotten). I had started defaulting to Costco because they have reasonably priced Steelhead fillets and it's always been at least reasonably fresh.

I stopped in at Reel Foods yesterday afternoon and was greeted by Marcus filleting an absolutely spectacular looking salmon. We chatted for a bit while he prepared the fish and I ended up with the best salmon I've had in a couple years. I am going to be coming back here for my seafood from now on.

Not only is the fish wonderful, there is often variety you won't get at an Albertsons or Winco. Browsing the selection yesterday I saw yellowtail (one of my favorites) and escolar, in addition to tuna, oysters, and nice plump scallops.

Marcus is great and the quality of fish is top-notch. Give Reel Foods a shot, you won't be...

There’s only a few places in town that sell fresh sea food. A lot of what you find is freshly frozen or it’s been about a week in transport and storage before it’s displayed. Marcus takes pride in flying in the freshest from water to display as he can get, sometimes fresh caught within the last 24 hours from elite straw of the world!

Reel Foods used to be located near the library in downtown Boise and now conveniently serves the Boise bench inVista Village with its changing variety of sea food. It’s not much to look at when you walk in the store, but it’s perfectly enough for what it offers... great customer service and great pricing. Just ask and they’ll special order for you and package it so you can take home the freshest seafood possible.

With fresh seafood delivered several times a week, it’s nice to know Reel Foods will have something new and yummy for me to try. Marcus the owner has even been known to hire himself out as a personal in home chef and give sea food...