JJ's Fish House — Restaurant in Poulsbo

We came in here fully expecting a 3 star experience, so our hopes were tempered. We were in the mood for seafood, were in the area and decided to come in. I should have trusted my instincts when we first walked in as I was blasted in the face with the overwhelming smell of fish and it wasn't a pleasant smell. I noticed the open kitchen concept, so I chalked it up to something being cooked. We were allowed to sit wherever we wanted and we chose a booth with a view out the windows. If you're overweight, don't sit in the booths because the distance between the seat and the tabletop is very small and can be uncomfortable. After sitting and looking at the dirty sticky menus, I should have once again trusted my instincts when I kept getting whiffs of what I can only assume was the bathrooms or something. Pretty gross. Overall, the decor of this place reminds me almost exactly of the bland seafood place in Port Orchard complete with the open kitchen, giant garage door windows and super generic boring decor. There's nothing pleasing to look at while you're here except out the windows at the marina.

The server was pleasant and got our orders right. It started out not too bad with the crab cake medallion appetizer with the balsamic salad. We each enjoyed one of the cakes and shared the salad. The cakes were a bit wet for my liking, and as other reviewers point out, were pretty devoid of any crab meat. There was a discernable crab flavor in there though. It all just went downhill from there. My son ordered the "fishwich" which was basically what looked to me like a frozen fish patty with a bunch of cheddar cheese and all the "fixins" you would put on a hamburger. Didn't look appetizing to me, but he seemed to like it. He also puts ketchup on his french fries so I have to take his food reviews with a grain of salt. My lady got the cioppino, and although I knew that she makes some of the best cioppino at home from scratch, I didn't advise against it. She was deeply regretful after the first bite. The dish was completely overwhelmed with oregano. It tasted like pizza sauce with seafood in it. All you could taste was oregano, to the point where we both thought maybe the lid came off the oregano shaker and it all dumped in, but what kind of cook would send it out anyway? So either the cook takes no pride in his product, or he's so completely unaware of FLAVOR that he'd put that much of ANY herb into ANY dish. I ordered the "pan seared oysters" which sounded interesting to me since I've never had an oyster pan seared. They turned out to be pan FRIED oysters. Breaded and fried, in a pan, which just doesn't work for me. Oysters are already kind of weird when they're cooked, why add a greasy batter to the outside of them? My dish came with rice which tasted straight from a rice-a-roni box and a vegetable medley which was straight up just yellow squash and some mushrooms. Needless to say, the food was not just disappointing, but just straight up bad.

We got the impression that the server became clued into our disliking of the food and that's where even the service fell apart here. I got up to go to the bathroom, after only having a few bites of my dinner and this is when the server decided to bring the check, and ask if she could take my 80% full plate of food away, completely frustrating my girlfriend. It was almost as if she didn't want to deal with unsatisfied customers and wanted to get us out of there as soon as possible. She never asked if we wanted dessert, never asked if we needed boxes and also never made good on her promise to my girlfriend to bring more bread to dip in her cioppino. She did bring two more waters to our table that we didn't even ask for, leaving us with 5 glasses of water for 3 people. Things just got more and more awkward and when the server, for a second time, asked us if she could take our plates and if we enjoyed it. We responded to her that actually, we really didn't enjoy this food at all. The server's response was mind boggling and probably one of the most...

An honest review... Very friendly staff, nice seating outdoors when the weather is nice. I was greeted friendly, seated promptly.

The chowder was pretty good. It was a little thinner than Ivars which is a matter of preference, as some like it thicker, however, I liked it just fine. The flavor was there. Finished it completely.

The Cod fish & chips came with a side of slaw. The fries were good, tasted a couple. They were cooked perfectly. Had a nice dry crisp to them. They were served hot and seasoned well, they did good job. If I were a french fry fanatic, I'd get a pile of them. The slaw was fine. The Cod was served in what they described on the menu as a "tempura batter" was generously portioned but arrived over-cooked and not crispy at all. Unfortunately, it was like a sponge of oil. The pieces were, well.... wet when they arrived. I pushed my finger on a filet with a slight pressure and the oil rose to the top instantly.

This may be a problem of cooking technique, as the oil temperature and cooking method was not right. Cod filets should be soft, tender, almost translucent, and the breading should be crispy and free of moisture. When it is broken open, it should be flaky. The outside should crunch a little. These were soaked and disintegrated upon picking them up to eat. (Bummer)

The server was more than happy to take them back, however, I didn't re-order. I may give them another try or order something else another time, but fish & chips should be something easy enough to get right. Maybe it...

( New review: changed rating from 4 to 3 but id go 2.5 if I could. Went on Monday July 1st. Cod fry fish n chips layden with grease, half fish moist and good but other half thin ,dry, chewy with skin on. One plate had twice the fries. I had a few teeth knocked loose from an accident so I asked for a garden salad instead of slaw expecting romane and iceburge. I got a tiny slaw bowl of greens you'd feed a rabbit with a handful of almonds on it and burned croutons. Waitress was super Moody and temperamental. My family member handed her some gratitude cash and she threw it back at her and pushed her hand away and said no thanks. It wasn't a lot, the person treating was a disabled blind and develop mentally the age of 12. She had 5$ to give ( my sister in law)but the money was handed by her mother and it was a huge insult getting it thrown back. Not interested in this kind of abuse. I also am taking into account that others had good halibut, good clam chowder and good cheesecake but the waitress left a trail of bad vibes.) ( 1st review as follows given a 4 star- I really like this place. It has big roller doors that open up for outdoor seating facing liberty bay. Lovely view of water, the park and marina. Great fish n chips, unique tar tar sauce. I've always ordered the Fresh Cod fish n chips but this time I had smoked salmon linguine. It was really good. Very friendly, hard working staff. I started to stir it a sec before this pic so know that it was very nice with even topping.)They no longer serve the...