Mass St. Fish House & Raw Bar — Restaurant in Lawrence

Good atmosphere, nice service, okay but disappointing for the price food, awkward set up.

I took my mom there by her birthday lunch since she loves good seafood. When we walked in I was pleased with the atmosphere, it immediately gave off the impression of a place that served high end seafood but was comfortable. The staff was very pleasant and relaxed and the decor was the same way.

Our server took us to our table and brought us some water quickly. It happened to be room temperature, not chilled as we noticed the table next to us had. My mom appreciated it since she does like cold water, and I don't know if it was a purposeful consideration since we're Asian (and Asians tend to ask for no ice or hot water) but if it was, that was nice. The menu looked promising, mom ordered the whole branzino ($38) and I ordered the pan-seared halibut ($28) off the Sunday special menu.

Unfortunately that's when the experience started trailing downhill...there was a fly that kept buzzing around me and the space started feeling uncomfortable: the seating space basically seems like a hallway from the front to the kitchen tables were set up such that one side is a booth and the other is a chair in the hallway. I was on the chair side and I felt like I was in the way every time a server walked past from the kitchen to service another table. Also the table was close to the kitchen and there was no door so we could hear them calling out all the orders, which felt kinda weird.

When the food came it looked nice but didn't live up to expectations when we started eating. My mom's branzino was cooked nicely but the accompaniments were inconsistent: the first tostada she ate was hard, not fried correctly but the second one was crisp and good.

My halibut seemed a little overcooked, the "pan-seared" part was tough (like jerky) and mostly edible for me. The rest was a little dry and bland but was okay when mixed in the broth, while was decent but not extraordinary. The kolhrabi chunks it came with were delicious but one piece had some shards of the hard skin/peel not taken off which I had to spit out. The pickled tomatoes on top were a great addition, the tang balanced out the flavor of the dish very well when eaten with the fish but I wished that they had been served in smaller pieces instead of three big ones... it's hard to cut through tomato skin with a butter knife and the pieces were too sour to eat on their own, I think they were clearly meant to be eaten with the fish. So good concept, but execution needed some tweaking.

I mainly am giving it a three star review because for the price I would expect better execution of the food. If it was, like, half the price I would probably give it closer to a four star review since the quality of ingredients and service and menu planning was there, there was...

Definitely the value here is a great dining experience and exceptional sea food - it clearly justifies the expensive over other spots. Factors we consider when choosing where to dine for fresh fish include mercury levels and the water the fish is sourced from. Health choices seem to matter to the owners and buyers at Mass St. Fish House & Raw Bar in Lawrence, Kansas.

Most importantly, the seafood was superb. Our waitress was very friendly, professional and helpful with making menu selections. He gave great wind recommendations, like the Mussels and Toast appetizer and the Low Tide Fish Platter, which was ample for the two of us. The Mussels and Toast was a stunning blend of white wine, fennel and tomato broth for the sauce. Our waiter also was very knowledgeable about the the restaurant, town and historic street; we really appreciated our conversation with him.

It offers a wonderful dining experience as well for conversations. The background jazz music was not too loud nor too soft; and we loved the song selections. A total gem for exquisite, culinary-level seafood that's fresh, unique and prepared so well!

The cocktails were equally fun. I ordered the “Cap and Gown”, a special since this is graduation time for many students. It was made from Aperol, Campo Viejo sparkling Rose, and their very own house-made Orange Oleo-Saccharum. It is one of the best drinks that I’ve ever order out. My dining partner took a sip and then ordered one, too.

I highly recommend their happy hour specials and awesome outdoor patio seating. I don’t recall the name of our chocolate dessert – but it was just as tasty and unique.

We had no problem finding parking and so enjoyed walking the street after dining. Next time we are traveling near Lawrence, Kansas we definitely plan to return! The service, ambiance, and price is...

Took my parents here, we had never been. We went about 5pm on a Tuesday and it was fairly busy. I didn’t make reservations but didn’t need to, we were seated right away. If I was going to go on a weekend or later at night I would definitely make reservations, they continued to get busier as it got later. They have about 3 different levels of seating, so it is bigger than it looks on the outside. It was a really cute but cozy atmosphere. Everyone was laid back but the service was good. Good explanation of their menus and happy hour offerings. Calamari is the best we have had in Lawrence. The sauce is awesome. We also had the local bread starter offering. It was a whole wheat sourdough that was really good. We saw someone get the ahi nachos and those looked really good. Fish and chips were good. 2 huge pieces of cod. I had the lobster roll. It was more of a lobster salad on a hoagie. I am more of a basic lobster and butter on my lobster roll, I probably wouldn’t get it again I would try something else. The fries are really good. My mom had the $5 fried cod tacos, which were good. My dad had the salmon BLT. If you like smoked salmon this sandwich was really good. We usually don’t do dessert but my dad insisted we try some desserts. We had the coffee crème brûlée, a scoop of the Java chip ice cream and apple cobbler. They were all really good. The apple cobbler was the star though. Had apple butter on the bottom, it was good. We would have that again. Overall we liked the atmosphere, lots of options with food, and the service was great. We...