Tank

This is definitely one of my go-​to places for fish and chips. I remember first eating at Tank last year and was blown away by the freshness of the seafood and the delicious, crispy chips that comes with it.
Tank has both indoor and outdoor seating and parking within a stone’s throw. If you plan on soaking up some sun (or becoming one with nature), you can opt for takeaway and walk a couple minutes to a little park across the road to enjoy your meal.
I’ve sat both indoors and outdoors and really like the outdoor tables (they make for a good photography background).
Onto the food — I love the variety Tank offers, particularly in their seafood selection. Feel like blue grenadier today? How about atlantic salmon? Oh we’ve also got flathead fillets if you fancy. Decide on a fish before you move on to whether you want it individually or in a pack. (If you’re stuck for fish choice, let’s just say you can’t go wrong with the salmon).
I also love their calamari and scallops — you get the choice of grilled or battered and both are equally delicious.
If for some reason you decide to go a fish and chips shop but don’t really feel like seafood, Tank has a choice of burgers as well. I’ve not had their beef burgers but the crumbed fish burger was good.
Pricing is more expensive than your local fish and chips takeaway. A standalone pack of catch of the day + chips + tartare + lemon will set you back $ 11. Tank for 2 is a good option for sharing as it also comes with potato cakes, dim sims, calamari and salad. Expect to spend on average about $ 20 per person with drinks.

A recent office move has put me in easy walking distance of Tank so I suggested it for lunch this week as I’ve heard good thinks and frankly I love fish and wanted a lunch out that I would feel guilty about.
Wow from the moment we walked into this very white clean, airy, fresh restaurant I knew we’d struck gold!
The fish looked enticing and well presented in the display. The salads were likewise are were more exciting than your average fishnchipy. Although only 3 salads on offer they were ‘now’ offerings, no 3 bean mix in sight here.
I went the fish of the day which was Blue Grenadier. I chose to have it grilled which was the Gluten free option. Other options were salmon, flathead, barramundi, flake and a few others.
It came with salad. I chose a rocket and I think it was fennel with orange portions. I’m not generally a fan of rocket but I liked this. Especially the dressing!
It came with seasoned, crispy chips. It was quite a big meal but didn’t feel heavy.
I couldn’t resist 1 scallop also grilled and I was so very glad I didn’t resist. WOW! Yum! The scallop was perfectly cooked. I mean perfect! It was a little caramelised on the outside and so delicious. I have very high standards when in comes to scallops and clearly so does Trunk.
When we ordered we were told it would be a 10 minute wait. We were ok with that.
It arrived with a smile and I was very happy.
The fish was well cooked and delicious, as stated I went grilled. It was drained lightly which I though perfect. There was tarter sauce on the side which I really liked. I think it included horseradish.
You can eat in or take away. Its just next to a nice looking park but they have big tables outside too.
I’m very much looking forward to trying everything on the menu and becoming a regular here.
It is a bit expensive though. My fish of the day with salad and chips and an extra scallop (just one) was $ 19.80. I think the scallop was more than $ 3 alone but you know what? It was delicious food in a nice atmosphered restaurant, the staff were friendly, and they have all that other stuff like potato cakes and dim sims.
Overall a 5 star fish and chippie.

Decent spot for fish and chips in the very Italian-​centric Lygon Street. The chips have amazing seasoning on them that make them very moorish and the flake is tasty. The restaurant itself is very pleasant but we like to take our grub across the road to the park and eat in the sunshine on the grass.

He’s a fish out of water, yet he’s perfectly comfortable right where he is. Tank speaks about the sea, almost whenever he opens his mouth. His hair still bristles with salt above tshirt and boardshorts, summer or winter. At first glance you wonder whether it’s all for effect, whether he’s actually seen a day of surf, sun or sea. I mean he’s not where you expect him.
But then he opens his mouth and the words are salt. Just salt. The waves roll over you and salty spray fills your ears. You wonder if he’s a surfer or a diver or even a sailor, perhaps all three.
His fishy tails fill just that aching spot, leaving you sated and warmed. He’s got that chilled out understated air to everything he gives you, not big, heavy, overdone but light, fresh and not what you may first expect.
He may be a fish out of water — but a pretty versatile fish!

Walking down Lygon st, we decided to get a bite to eat. Italian seemed appealing but put off by the constant harassment from the doormen (Its not a strip club fellas) we decided to go for a quick, cheap feed of fish and chips at ‘Tank’.
Being a busy Saturday night, I was initially perplexed that only 3 people were working. The tables provided were full bar one, so we decided to eat in, have a beer (ahh Melbourne) and get stuck in.
40 minutes later, our fish and chips were still yet to arrive. I mean come on, it takes 5 minutes MAX to deep fry some chips and battered whiting. I was about to give the owner a piece of my mind when it arrived. Unfortunately, the ‘Old School Pack’ turned out to be as disappointing as the wait. I’ve had fish and chips from the footy that were nicer.
In conclusion, I would legitimately prefer the harassment of an Italian restaurant owner on Lygon than eat at Tank again.

Chippie if you want it, but fresh grilled fish and healthy sides if you want those too. You can’t go wrong at this moderately priced, casual restaurant.
I chose the Tank for One – an expertly grilled, spiced fish fillet served with brown rice, a salad, and wasabi tartar sauce (you can also get the fish fried with a side of chips). It was so good that I ordered extra «appetizers» of spiced grilled calimari fillets, which were just as good. Oh, and I ordered beer to go with the main and the follow-​on appetizers.
Tank is all about the fish – focused menu, few frills.
I’m only in Melbourne for a few weeks, but I’ll definitely leave room on my schedule for a return visit.
Update: Followed up with a take-​out lunch visit for straightforward fish and chips on Feb. 20. Lightly breaded fish fillets; well seasoned and prepared chips. Mmmm.

The best calamari salad in town. Always fantastic fresh seafood cooked in front of you.

Grilled fish is sometimes a hard thing to find, ya know? What’s the deal with every fish and chips having to be fried?!
Tank solves that. You can get the old tried and true fried fish and chips. Or you can get some nicely seasoned fish, grilled just right, served with salad if you’d like.
My favorite thing here is the platter for two. Grab a friend and chow down on some quite affordable seafood. You get dim sim, fish cakes, salad, chips and a good amount of the real stuff; barramundi, grilled or fried.
They make a pretty mean tartar sauce too.
OH, and I guess there is another thing I like about Tank: they have Coronas!
It really is a nice break from Lygon, and from beer-​battered, stomach-​weighting, fried fish.

I admit I was pretty skeptical about Tank. Why take the greasy counters and surly, fat staff out of the fish ‘n chip shop? That’s what they’re all about! But after trying some (okay, all) of their menu I’ve changed my tune.
Firstly, the potato cakes: HELL YEAH. They’re soft and crispy all at once. The dim sims: pretty damn good. The fish: Tank’s beer batter is the tastiest batter I’ve had maybe ever.
The downside is it’s way more expensive than a dodgy fish ‘n chip shop out in the ‘burbs, but I guess they’ve got to pay for all the cleaning of the tables some how.

This isn’t an old school fish and chippery, more like one of those new school, trying to make it cool kinda place. The décor is very bright, modern and minimal. The menu has a lot on offer. The chips are crispy and sprinkled with salt and rosemary. The fish was moist, and flavoursome. I like mine the traditional way, battered and fried but you can get it grilled or crumbed too. The potato cakes aren’t too thick or doughy either. And nothing was oily or greasy. My only beef with this place is that the serving size can be rather small, while the prices rather higher.