Marine City Fish Company — Restaurant in Marine City

Unfortunately, this restaurant is not on the river-side of the road. It’s across the street from Water Works Park. However, Marine City Fish Company does have sidewalk seating and upper balcony seating that looks across the park to the river, so we had a nice view of the river while we dined. We chose to sit on the second-floor balcony. It was a hot day but the roof provided shade and the ceiling fans did a good job of moving air. Overall, it was a pleasant place to enjoy our lunch. Our waitress had one of the most pleasant demeanors I’ve encountered in a long time and she kept my iced tea filled to the brim! Kudos to the service. I started with a cup of their Company Chowder. It was very flavorful but a little runny. It was probably thinned down but even so, it was a little salty. I would still recommend it, especially if you get a fresh batch! Ask the waitress! For my entree, I ordered the Fish Co Lake Perch. It was sauteed in butter and lemon. The meal came with a small house salad and a side of their house bread. The salad was fresh and crispy and I loved the ranch dressing. I really, really liked the bread! It looked so basic… a simple slice of Italian bread with poppy seeds, but it was so much more! It was actually warm and fluffy and had a little touch of sweetness to it. YUM! The lake perch was PERFECT! It was very lightly floured and sauteed. It was flavorful and oh..SO TENDER! Each filet was delicate and flaky. My only complaint is that the first filet I bit into had a few random bones in it. I know it’s fish but I wasn’t expecting bones and I dang near swallowed one! I skipped that filet and went on to eat the others. I had to be very diligent when I took a bite to make sure that there weren’t any bones. Thankfully, there were only bones in the first filet. The rest were succulent and meaty. I have to mention their tartar sauce. It was very strange. It was more like a remoulade than a tartar. It was runny and a bit too sweet for my taste. Of course, that didn’t stop me from eating it. LOL. Oh and their green beans were oddly cooked too. Some were well-done and soft and some were still bright green and squeaky. I like green beans cooked either way but wasn’t in the mood for a mix of the two so I skipped the beans. I would recommend this restaurant. The decor is a little quirky with its homage to the surrounding nautical environment. Some nooks and seating inside look like you're in a boat. Cute! The menu has a lot of nice options, especially if you are a seafood lover. The service was very good and I was pleased with my fish. For these reasons I’m giving the Marine City Fish...

Have been wanting to stop in here and decided my birthday was the day to go. They weren't busy, but seating was a little slow and there was no greeter at the door. They have me a great little spot, and once seated, I took a good look around. It is LOADED with all things nautical! I came in for the AYCE shrimp, so I didn't need time to peruse the menu. They're training some new people, so there was, again, some wait time, but with a view of the river, unless you've got somewhere to be... what's the big deal? Kayla (trainer) and Hannah were professional and personable. I don't drink much at all due to migraines, but I did want a celebratory beverage, so I asked what kind of vodka the had. I have to be so careful but Kayla was a gem educating me about Valentines. I do very little gluten, so I'd tried Tito, but I still got a headache. I can usually tell from the first sip, and low and behold, the only thing I got from the #incredible3olivedirtymartini was a very nice buzzzzz🐝. Did I mention the olive choices were jalapeño, Bleu cheese and salmon? Of course, I had one of each. I'm not a big potato person, but I went w/ their homemade chips. They were perfect crunch/texture/browning but a tad too salty for my taste. Still would recommend. The shrimp were, in fact, jumbo. I'm not big on breading (Gluten), but, if it's crispy, we are going to eat our limit. And it was. The shrimp itself was firm, no mushiness. Pass on the cocktail sauce. I prefer lemon. The coleslaw was very robust. Coleslaw is usualy just a side. This slaw has personality! A good amount of dill (always good, not a given). I'm going to give that a try at home. Thank you. I was able to roam around and get some shots. What a fun place. Gr8 view from the upstairs! The upper area would make a gr8 place for a shower or get together, I would think. I don't know if they do that. There's also a sit down bar area where you can just enjoy a beverage or food of choice. All in all, #MCFC capped off a gr8 birthday. Thanks to the crew! Kudos to the chef. NB: The young man who was so diligently keeping the tables in order could help man the door. I almost left...I thought it was odd no one seated me for a good 5 min after I walked in. He's a go-getter- and i told him so! That's good to...

I really wanted to love this place, but it fell short. We had a party of three and made a reservation. The wait was about 10 minutes once we arrived.

The majority of our dinner was good, but one entree just ruined the experience. I had the “Italian Fisherman Pasta Bowl” and it was not up to standards. The noodles were stuck together in layers 2-3 pasta pieces thick, which left the middle uncooked and ruined the taste and texture of the fresh pasta. It was the first thing I noticed when the pasta reached the table, so whoever sent it out must not have been paying attention or didn’t care. The noodles are very wide, about 1/2 the width of a lasagna noodle.

I was hoping the scallops would be seared then added, but they were just boiled in the sauce. The scallops ended up being very chewy like a piece of gum, I wish I was exaggerating. The sauce came out very watery, but after mixing it up with the noodles it seemed to “thicken”. The dish also lacked salt, it was on the bland side. Everything else in the dish was fine, but the issues I mentioned made it impossible to like.

The appetizer of Fried Calamari was really good! The Perch, Walleye, and Fries were all cooked very well, but it all needed salt which was a shame. We added it at the table, so it wasn’t a big deal. The clam chowder was AMAZING. Definitely order it if you like that sort of thing.

The place is really nice overall, I definitely recommend sitting upstairs if possible for a great view. Just be aware it can get a little hot on a warm day since they sometimes leave the doors open to the balcony. Our server was very friendly and attentive. I mentioned the issues with my pasta and he was apologetic and said he’d let the kitchen know. Hopefully they got the message.

I wish my experience turned out differently. I’ve heard wonderful things about this place. Maybe it was just a rough day in the kitchen, but for the price of the food and the drive we made, I was highly disappointed. Hopefully I’ll be able to make it out again and give it a second chance. Definitely check this place out, but maybe just stick to the classics and don’t adventure too far...