Flying Fish Company LLC — Restaurant in Portland

I need to preface my 4/5 star review with the fact that I love this place, I come here often, and it’s been my go-to seafood market since they were in Providore. Today we dined in for an annual celebratory birthday lunch for a family member and were disappointed with the experience. We called late last week to see if the Happy Hour menu was being served on Monday 1/16 since it’s a holiday (MLK Day) and the menu specifically says no happy hour on holidays- we were told “YES!” They would be open and Happy HR menu would be available, the person who answered said “yeah you should be good, that only applies to the big food holidays, not all of the holidays on the calendar” - Upon arrival the hostess/cashier gave us a wait time of “maybe 15 mins, but also maybe 40 mins” which was confusing. When we were seated (20 mins later- a totally fine and normal wait for a table) we then found out that there was no happy hour available due to it being a holiday, which is absolutely understandable, and clearly stated in the menu, however the staff seemed to be out of the loop as to what constitutes a holiday in-house, since we took the time to double check and plan around the happy hour schedule. We got the oysters and as always, they were AMAZING. Excellent. 10/10. This is why we chose to come here. So freaking fresh, delicious, and gorgeously served, excellent oyster service. This is the why I’m giving 4 stars. As far as the rest of the food, it was mostly fine but the fish tacos were horrendous. Horrendous to the point where I feel I should say something. Again, I’ve been here a lot, and I love it here, today seemed to be a one-off. Perhaps a staffing issue, or maybe a supply problem, or someone made a mistake, but still something needs to be said. The fish was poorly deep fried (light in color very oily/wet) which was surprising because it’s not listed in the menu as “crispy” or “fried” which would have been nice. The “pickled onions” were what seemed to be thinly sliced shallots recently drenched in a wine vinegar? Egregious flavor, but maybe I’m out of the loop. The purple cabbage was so sparse and SO incredibly finely shredded (more finely sliced than the shallots) that it provided zero crunch factor which is sort of the point, I thought. The crema, peppers and cheese were fine, but the cilantro was placed atop the taco still intact on the stalks, which seemed weird. I could take or leave the blue corn tortilla, but it certainly didn’t stand a chance in elevating the soggy fried fish and raw shallot taco situation. As I said, I come here a lot, and I love this place. The only reason I feel the need to pipe up and complain is because I am familiar with normal level of quality that’s being produced and experienced here, and today was WAY OFF. Like ALL THE WAY OFF. It seems like whoever is in charge of that would want to know so they can address it. I will absolutely be back, but the tacos are no longer in...

I've had two experiences here because I wanted to give it another chance. The first time I tried it was for lunch, when I got the fish sandwich. It may have been a decent piece of fish, but there was so much sauce dripping off it, that would have been the only thing I could taste if it weren't for the obscene amount of salt. Couldn't even eat half of it. The second attempt was a few years later. I thought I'd try the fish and chips. I showed up early on a Saturday by myself (this is important). They have you order your food at the front table before you can sit down, and they tell you where to sit. When I told the host I was by myself, he looked annoyed. With the couple in front of me, he was friendly, he described the menus, etc. With me, he couldn't seem to pay attention. Then after I ordered, he told me that the only place I could sit was the one table in the hot sun. I'm looking at an empty patio that is almost entirely shaded, and he tells me that the only place he can seat me is at the sunny table. I said I didn't want that table and maybe I could sit inside instead. He then deleted my order and said, "well, you'll have to order inside then." and immediately called, "next!" to the people standing behind me. If you're going to make someone sit in the bad table just because they're eating alone, at least have the courtesy to let them know ahead of time so they don't waste their time dealing with you. I don't believe I'll be wasting any...

Bottom line: stop reading about it and JUST GO!

I've been eyeing this place for a while, thanks to their IG presence. I finally had an excuse to be in the right part of town and well, now I'm looking for real estate nearby just to be closer. The online ordering process is very easy and mobile friendly. I went for the salmon poke with cilantro-ginger sauce and coconut jasmine rice and WOW! It did not disappoint. Definitely the best poke I've had on the mainland and in very close competition for all-around best. Very fresh fish tossed with the perfect sauce ratio. The sauce itself is bright and flavorful without overpowering the fish. Fresh greens and house pickles carry the harmony well. The rice - I never thought I would care enough about rice to give it its own part in a review, but this rice earned it. Perfectly cooked and possessing a subtle but distinct coconut note...I would have been happy just eating an entire container of it on its own. Very COVID-friendly with outdoor check-in, ordering, and pickup. Outdoor seating is available. Super friendly staff. I'll be making a point to return, and definitely plan on exploring the market aspect, since I gave it a pass this time around. Bonus points for the easy walk to Laurelhurst Park for a little al...