Fish House Fish Market — Restaurant in Monhegan Island Plantation

Island sparrows trapped to die in Fish House shrimp traps. The first place we went when we arrived on the island was to have lunch at Fish House. The walk on the road leading up to the shack was lined with stacked shrimp traps, typical for the island. My husband and I noticed, when passing by, a flurry, and realized several island sparrows were trapped inside the shrimp traps, pacing wildly in the hot noon sun and desperate to escape the traps. We informed the person at the counter of the disturbing situation. She pointed us to a man she said was the owner. He stood in conversation with some folks, and we introduced ourselves and alerted him to the plight of the trapped birds. He laughed dismissively and said ”I’ll go get my cat”. We had lunch and left for our hike, trying to forget what we had seen, and the callous exchange. The next day we walked past and stepped down the lane to look: there were still birds madly struggling in desperation to get out of the traps. I went back to the shack to ask again for help and the server shrugged her shoulders. I came outside to see that my husband had climbed up the stacked traps and was trying to free the birds by turning the trap for an escape hatch. In the one trap there were four dead sparrow corpses, and it broke our hearts to see that needless loss. The one surviving sparrow finally shook free and flew out. My husband was able to release three more sparrows from a second trap. That was our wedding anniversary on Monhegan island. We now think of Fish House with revulsion and will never return, perhaps only to see if any more innocent island birds are trapped and needing rescue. Even walking past that stretch of road is heartbreaking. Proud nature-loving Monhegans and birders, we think you should know about this. Please talk to the Fish House and others about the risk of trapped birds. Of boycott this...

If it wasn't one of the few places to eat, on this desolate, non tourist friendly island , it would be out of business. The space where you order food is tiny and it gets very crowded. There is no indoor dining space, only a few, communal, picnic tables outside in the sun and you have to wait until someone else leaves to find a place to sit down. The day we were there, they were out of many of the offerings on their limitted menu. Their salads were the low grade type served at local delies. The lobster in their lobster rolls was rubbery, not the crisp, fresh tasting treat Maine is famous for. This place is known for it's smoked fish, which is made daily. But that is apparently reserved for the locals, only. The whole trip to Monhegan Island is not worth the time or the expense. It's a run down and dirty "artist hamlet". Might be nice if you want to "escape from civilization" for a summer, but there is nothing on the island to support tourists...

Ordered crab tacos. Served on a street taco that was about 4 inches in diameter the kind you get at the supermarket in a bag of 30. Some shredded crab meat with a spicy sauce. You get two for about $20. Not worth it. My wife couldn’t eat hers. The young woman who brought them to our picnic table was nice, but the woman who took our order was rather nonchalant and non-caring. She didn’t tell us where napkins and utensils where; we had to find the ourselves. I guess she thought we were there many times and knew our way around. Since my wife did not like the tacos, we got a calamari salad. It was served in a small plastic bowl which couldn’t have been more than 3/4 of a cup. It cost $6. Luckily we knew where the forks were this time. A lot of people were telling us this was a great place for what is offered on this rather spartan island, but not by us. Maybe we ordered the wrong food or got there at...