Flying Fish — Restaurant in Little Rock

We stayed at the Residence Inn Downtown Little Rock, were tired and hungry on a very hot summer Sunday, saw among the limited things open in LR on a Sunday that the Flying Fish was a 4 minute walk away and that it serves grilled fish. I was so glad we went and tried this place out. It is super low key, the kind of casual place that has been there for ages with all plastic and metal surfaces but has its own idiosyncratic personality. They have $9 18 oz frozen margaritas which are delicious: not too sweet and just the right amount of kick. That hit the spot on a 97 degree June late afternoon after a day of driving. My husband and I ordered the grilled red snapper. He got it “snappy” style which means it is coated in spicy Cajun seasoning. I got it with the garlic and butter, but added the Veracruz sauce on the side. In a happy accident, I also got a cup of the crawfish chowder. I mention all of this because I have a definite food suggestion for anyone reading this: get your grilled fish Snappy style, with a cup of the crawfish chowder, use the chowder as a topping on your fish, and it becomes delicious mouth magic. I’d skip the Veracruz sauce which was fine but a little boring. Our snappers were a little overcooked to the point of being too firm, but they tasted fresh and clean and I am still glad we got them. And once we added that crawfish chowder on top…well, I would go back again for more today if I was still in LR. The grilled fish there comes with grilled large slices of zucchini and squash which had a citrus marinade and were so tasty. And also with a side of fantastic beans and rice. They have a bunch of different fish to choose from which you can have that way. We also tried the hushpuppies. If you are into those, they are very good. I only like to eat fried stuff just so often. Dipping them into the crawfish chowder also stepped up their hushpuppy flavor game. We had the banana pudding and the key lime pie to go, eaten later, and both were very good. I think I’d give the edge to that key lime...

All I can say is the food here was amazing!!! This was my first time trying this restraunt. First off, I walked in and had a seat couple tables w/ in walking through the door. Only to find out to order other than online, you have to go through the what look like a kitchen walk way and see the cashier to order. The menu items vary from fried, grilled n some raw seafood. The starters go from fried calamari to salads to soups/ stews/ chowder and gumbo. After browsing the incredible option to choose from, I decided to try a bowl of their new lobster stew and after chatting w/ some customers picking up their orders or getting ready to order themselves I decided to try the very highly recommended catfish tacos. After paying, I saw a fresh lemonade machine and ordered that along w/ my regular lemon water. The cashier handed me a lil table buzzer device. Within jus minutes, it was lighting and vibrating to inform me my food was ready. I go to the cashier table and retrieve my tray of food. The quanity of the food was pleasant surprise. I was served 3 good-sized filled and flavorful tacos w/ a bowl of beans and rice. Everything was delicious! The prices are very affordable, and the quality is top notch. 💯 recommend this awesome seafood restaurant. Along w/ seafood items, there's also vegetable dishes and even beef burgers.

Update mid April 2025 I had to visit my favorite fish taco spot here. It did...

Previously, I used to love this place, but unfortunately, it has taken a turn for the worse. On both occasions, I encountered a girl at the front who was somewhat heavyset with long hair, and her demeanor was consistently hateful and rude. It's disheartening to see how miserable and disrespectful she is towards each customer. The local community has even started discussing her rudeness, and it has reached a point where people from Stephens Bank no longer want to visit due to the difficulty in dealing with her.

But that's not the only issue. During a recent business lunch, my coworker fell seriously ill after consuming the shrimp po boy. Upon closer observation, we noticed that the shrimp were dipped in a bucket of room temperature water before being coated in flour. The fish itself was poorly prepared and lacked proper seasoning. It's safe to say that we won't be returning to Flying Fish after such an experience.

The only redeeming qualities we found were the appealing decor, tasty hush puppies, and refreshing lemonade. However, these positives pale in comparison to the risk of food poisoning. It's particularly concerning to encounter such issues in a landlocked state like Arkansas, where fresh seafood should be handled with extra care.

I hope that Flying Fish takes customer feedback seriously and makes significant improvements to their service, food preparation, and overall...