Have you found Fish Shop yet? The fish are fresh, the local brew selection is phenomenal and the venue and vibe are chill. This is my new Friday night dinner spot and it happened all by accident. Let me tell you how it went down. My husband and I planned a romantic dinner at a local Pacific Beach restaurant, which we will call “Restaurant X.” “X” is a trendy place you’ve probably been, where the music is loud and the servers give off a better-than-you vibe. The food is great at “X,” so it used to be one of our favorite places to go. My husband and I got to “X,” and I was desperately trying to hide my baby bump in a tight black dress and heels. “X” is pumping, and I mean pumping. The bass in the music is so loud I cannot think straight. They are slammed and the server asks us if we made a reservation (I’d called earlier trying to make a reservation but they told me I didn’t need one.) We are seated and our server finally gets to us after 15 minutes and her first words to us are, “I’ve had such [jerks] tonight.” Huh? Now at this point, my head was really pounding from the music and I could tell the service was lacking, but I’m pregnant — so I need to eat, like yesterday. My husband looks at me with raised eyebrows: “Fish Shop?” So, we left! That takes a lot of faith to leave a restaurant when you’re that hungry. We walked into the Fish Shop and reggae music was playing at a normal volume and I immediately realized this was the best decision we could’ve made. The Fish Shop was what I needed. We were overdressed now. Most people were in jeans and flip-flops — which is what I wished I was wearing. I ordered a delicious shrimp salad — the shrimp were as large as my fist! My husband got his usual blackened mahi , and it was cooked perfectly. You get to pick your seafood and what marinade you prefer, which was tough because all are delicious. We sat near the firepit and enjoyed PB coming alive before us. One of the owners checked in to see how we were doing and we chatted about their amazing local beer selection (which I’m looking forward to sampling when I’m no longer preggers). In classic PB style, they let people bring dogs onto the patio and, just to be nice, allow you to bring your own wine with no corking fee. The Fish Shop is just what we needed. Fish Shop http://www.thefishshoppb.com/ Open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. 1775 Garnet Ave. (corner of Garnet Avenue and Kendall Street)
