Big Fish

This is our current favourite spot. Great food, reasonable prices, and not too crowded. Fresh Oysters, cold beer, and smiling service. Great for brunch with sweet and savory, enough noise to great a busy hum, but not so loud that you can’t have a normal conversation.

I went to Big Fish on an early Saturday evening. With the amount of positive reviews, I wanted to check the place out. When we arrived, the neighborhood looked pretty sh*tty, but we didn’t let that deter us from checking out the restaurant. They have a free private parking lot in the back which was nice.
When we walked in, Big Fish was empty, probably getting ready for dinner time. We were seated near the window and ordered some oysters for $ 2.95 each. They were served with house ponzu, caper anchovy mignonette, four-​chili cocktail, and Tabasco sauce. They were good, but definitely not worth that price.
We then ordered two items from their Dockside Plates menu; fish tacos with roasted chilies, guacamole, and oven dried tomato mango salsa for $ 15 and the ginger sweet soy glazed swordfish and prawn skewer on smoked sea salt fries for $ 21. Again, although the food was good, it was overpriced. The swordfish and prawn skewer only had 3 small pieces of fish and 2 shrimps total. The tacos just came with 3 flour tortilla tacos, no sides like beans and rice.
Overall, the food was good and we had friendly service. However, it was definitely too much money for what it was. The small skewer didn’t have enough meat on it and the tacos didn’t warrant a $ 15 charge when it came with no sides. Oysters at $ 2.95 each was pretty ridiculous as well, so I wished they gave a deal when ordering a dozen or more. I would come back if I wanted quality seafood, but that price would definitely have me second-​guessing my decision.
Pros:
–Private parking lot in the back
–Food quality
–Friendly service
Cons:
–Too pricey

Excellent food and service. Only thing I would change about this place is their hours, it’s often closed when I want to go.

Surreal. People are going for appetizers and then bragging like it’s the last bit of sunshine in town. This is waaaay overpriced for whatever you get. Stay away. Make your own seafood at home. You will end up liking yourself at the end of the month, when expenses are pouring in :)

Don’t be fooled by the obscure façade! His place is absolutely amazing! Super fresh oysters for a restaurant so inland. I would probably order their lamb and lobster burger as my last meal on Earth. Atmosphere is cozy and casual for a place that serves such exquisite food. My wife is in love with their crab and butter lettuce with spicy sprouts salad with grape fruit dressing. Their butter chicken and lobster curry is also epic! Definitely my favorite restaurant in Calgary.

The food here is great, every time. Most of the staff is great. I’ve been here twice for dinner and once for breakfast. I feel like the evening server we get means well, but I can’t really tell where she’s coming from half of the time. She doesn’t offer a lot of emotion and enthusiasm and often doesn’t ask any questions that help guide you to a menu choice… but she does her job! I’m not sure if she does it on purpose, or if she just doesn’t like us, but it has affected the meal experience negatively both times we were there.
Brunch was great! They had a sweet and a savoury house made scone, which were both amazing. Was not busy for brunch, so I don’t think reservations are required, but definitely can get busy for dinner, so like Dale said, would recommend a reservation.
The foods very good, and fair for the price. The mussels were amazing — be sure to ask for extra bread to soak up the amazing sauce. Would definitely recommend them!

Went for brunch today and was completely impressed. We avoided the usual breakfast fare (omelets, bennys, etc.) and got the platter and mussels to share as well as a few oysters. The platter was fantastic and I highly recommend it for anyone wanting to try a variety of cured seafood. The mussels were even more delicious, perfectly steamed in a great white wine sauce. The oysters, though, were among the best I’ve ever had. I’m excited to go back on a Monday for their oyster night. The quality is superb and there’s a variety to try. Overall, I’m impressed by Big Fish and will make a point of going back for brunch and otherwise.

I did not expect anything spectacular when I went into this restaurant. But when I saw their menu I got a little more excited. The person I as dining with and I ONLY got appetizers, 4 to be exact.
He got a beer and I got the Virgin ceasar. And both drinks were so good. In my ceasar I had pickled herring. Yummmmmn
For our meal we ordered: clam chowder, mussles, bucket of peel Shrimp, oysters.
Even thought it wasn’t much. We left the restaurant… Really full. The chowder is so light and flavourful, mussles were huuuuge, Shrimp… Is Shrimp. But what was also so good… Their bread that came with the soup and the mussles. Oh God. It was soo good.
I would definitely come back!!!

I came here for my sister’s birthday and would definitely recommend it for a dinner celebration like we did. It’s not too big, so it’s got a real intimate feeling atmosphere. If you’re planning on going with a larger group, make sure to make a reservation so they’ll be able to accommodate you. But this made it feel like we had the whole joint to ourselves. Aside from our large group there were only a few other tables in the place.
On that note, it would be a great place to bring a fishy date, or a date in the mood for seafood. Either or.
If you want to switch it up from the usual wine with dinner option, they’ve got some very interesting cocktails to keep you entertained. It’s been a while, but I believe my Caesar was garnished with pickled herring or something awesomely Nordic like that.

Never even heard of Big Fish until tonight.
Spectacular. I consider many things when I go out to eat. How long I am able to sit and enjoy myself is one of them. Some places I can’t wait to shovel my food down just do I can make a prompt exit.
Big Fish was warm and cozy. Quiet background music and a lovely hum of conversation. Not like most chains that try to kill you with bad music that covers the clang bang of kitchen rush.
Started with mussels. Beautiful. Three of us slurped up every last drop.
Chicken and Lobster curry hot pot was great.
Flourless Chocolate torte with raspberries. Can’t even explain how delicious it was.
Three of us sat from 6:30 –10:00. I call that a success and I’ll be back to try other menu items. Very exciting.

This is my second review for Big Fish to rate their brunch experience
This is our new go-​to brunch place in Calgary. I am somewhat of a soft shell crab addict… Their soft shell crab sandwich with boar bacon is my favorite thing to eat! Everytime we go there I try to order something new but I’m hooked on it. The crab is fried to perfection and the dressing on the sandwich is creamy and perfect. The salad dressing on the side salad adds a great seaweed flavor to the experience. My boyfriend gets different dishes each time and they’re absolutely delicious. The French toast is savory and sweet. The fish skillet dishes are incredible as well.
it’s rare to find a place that does breakfast and dinner so perfectly. We are never bored of the flavors there.

Best chowder west of Mahone Bay. Best Paella west of the Ramblas. Great service. Can’t wait for and excuse to go back. It’s almost like a Tsunami washed a really good seafood restaurant up in Calgary.

OMGosh! Best meal Evah!
It doesn’t look like much from the outside — there is a much bigger restaurant next door, but this is a GEM of seafood. Yes I know we are in a landlocked area, but an International Airport is within 10 km!
When I was there, they were celebrating New Zealand week — which is where they fly in seafood from New Zealand and/​or prepare dishes from the local. The week following was Portuguese week (I think).
We had Christina as our server. She provided a very interesting element to our meal — a bit like a Chessire Cat. Her constant smile was friendly, yet somewhat disturbing. She provided excellent recommendations and I think was amused by our silliness.
We started with Oysters — again the airport provides a gateway to PEI and another bay in BC that we enjoyed oysters from. Uniquely, Big Fish serves three sauces in little squeeze bottles. Good oysters don’t need to be hidden by spicy sauce or vinegars!
Based on other Unilocalers’ advice, I had the pistachio crushed artic char. I don’t know if it is available all of the year, but if it is, try this fish. It was fresh, flavorful and the best char I have ever had (artic char is a bit like salmon, but better)
When we arrived, which was before 6pm, the place was a bit empty, but by the time we finished, it was packed — on a Wednesday!
When you go, ask for Christine and smile at her. Oh, and thank her for saving my grey jacket, which I left there accidentally!

Painfully slow service. So far I have been waiting 35 min for my meal. Better be great. The place has maybe 12 total customers. Bar is dead. Finally an apology at the 42 min mark. Ready to walk. I was so looking forward to this place after reading the reviews. Okay, finally got my food and it was tasty but not anazing. Now I’m just waiting for a check, and waiting, and… I don’t want to trash the place. I just hope you have a better experience. Total time for me 1 hour and 20 min.

This place has exceptional food! Tried the salmon and walleye both fantastic. Great flavor and cooked to perfection.
The environment and service is on the casual side so don’t expect high end dinning. It’s a laid back atmosphere which is great for a night out or just with friends.
Tbh there is not much to say — if you enjoy seafood this is one of the best in the city!

A couple gfs of mine insisted on taking me out for a birthday dinner. They were doing some research when Big Fish came up. To be honest I got reeeeeally excited when they mentioned Big Fish as I heard many good things about them and I’ve always wanted to give them a try.
Open Range/​Big Fish share an angled parking lot, but street parking is available too. Reservations were made for Monday, 5:15PM so we hit up Big Fish right after work. We arrived a few minutes early but it was pretty empty. We got seated in the corner which was nice for some privacy and poured glasses of water immediately. We were handed menus and told the feature. Monday nights are their buy one get one deal for oysters when you order by the dozen. We went with two dozen and there are east and west coast varieties, we went with one of each to start. Carly ordered a house made lemonade and Michelle ordered the dark & stormy float (dark cuban rum, spicy ginger beer and cinnamon ice cream). We then ordered mains, Carly ordered the pistachio crusted Arctic Char that came with sundried olive truffle butter and sage mashed potatoes. Being from Manitoba, I haven’t had walleye (aka pickerel) in a long time so I went with the walleye which came with wild rice pilaf mixed in with wilted spinach, pine nuts and crispy boar bacon. Michelle went with the lamb and lobster burger which was topped with cambozola cheese, guacamole and salsa, instead of the roasted potatoes, she went with the clam chowder.
The oysters came out with a bunch of lemon wedges, tabasco sauce, house ponzu, some anchovy mignonette, a four chili cocktail sauce as well as horseradish made in house. OK so this was surprisingly my first time having a raw oyster — a squeeze of lemon, squirt of ponzu sprinkled with some salted and topped with horseradish I closed my eyes and swallowed while I tapped my heels not believing what I just did… it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be: P. Carly and Michelle really enjoyed the oysters! Anyway, our mains followed shortly, all three dishes came out at once and I was suuuuuper excited as everything looked amazing. I had a bite of the Arctic Char and it was really good, tender fish with the crispy skin and the pistachio texture was lovely, I also had a bite of the lamb and lobster burger and it was tasty as well! The lamb wasn’t as over powering as I expected and the guacamole was a nice touch. I finally got to my walleye, they kept the skin on which I don’t LOVE skin but this was nice and crisp. The walleye was good but not the best I’ve had — I guess since I’m from MB I’m pickier but it was nonetheless fantastic. The wild rice pilaf was SO GOOD, bits of beans, bacon, spinach, pine nuts all in one bite, yum! We all polished our plates right off!
I was perfectly full but there’s ALWAYS room for dessert in my books. I’m super lucky to have friends that love dessert as much as I do! I read reviews about this pecan pie of theirs so I knew I was dead set on ordering that. We also ordered flourless chocolate hazelnut ganache torte and lemon lavender shortbread tart as recommended by our waitress. To my surprise, she came out with a sparkler on one of the cakes which made my heart melt :) I was overwhelmed because we had three delicious desserts sitting in front of us — it’s like I want them all at once but cant. I went for the pecan pie and it was love at first bite! I had high expectations from other reviews and it met my expectations! SO GOOD! The pecan pie had almost a crumble of crushed up sugared pecans and it went well with the vanilla bean mousse. We were worried the lavender would be too overpowering for the lemon tart but it was a very subtle lavender taste, nice browned crust with a sweet smooth lemon filling. The flourless chocolate hazelnut ganache torte came with raspberries, I’m not a huge fan of chocolate raspberry combo but this was good, the chocolate hazelnut torte has a crunchy outside with a soft inside.
My first experience at Big Fish was absolutely delightful. Our waters were filled without question, the food and presentation was amazing and the desserts were just the icing on my birthday cake — wonderful. There’s nothing better than enjoying a delicious meal with great company. I HIGHLY recommend Big Fish to anyone and everyone. I will be back for their brunch menu! :)

This is just just beyond yummi food and great service! The oysters and the chowder are outstanding! Great wine selection, not in quantity but in quality!

I had a really mean fish craving last night. We could have picked any restaurant that had a fish dish on the menu but we picked Big Fish because it’s all about fish.
I easily made our reservations for four on OpenTable and one hour later we were seated and checking out the menu.
Big Fish isn’t fancy but it’s comfortable. As we sat there I began to feel relaxed; like I could stay all night (the bottle of Pouilly Fumé probably helped with that!) We all really enjoyed the blues and roots music that played throughout the night and found the server to be friendly and attentive without being obtrusive.
We started with the evening’s baked oysters with boar bacon and cambozola sauce. They were nice, but just slightly warmed. I’m not sure if they were supposed to be hotter than that. Then we had a bucket of peel and eat shrimp to share. It was a really great start to the evening and everyone had their hands in the bucket at one point.
I ordered the evening’s special fish; New Zealand Gurnard with a lovely citrus and green peppercorn sauce. It came with great garlic mashed potatoes, green beans, and broccolini. The sauce was spot on and complemented the well cooked fish perfectly.
My husband had the pistachio crusted Arctic Char with sundried olive truffle butter. Again, the dish was well cooked and he really enjoyed it.
My son was a bit sad they didn’t have fish and chips on the dinner menu and he’s insisting that we return for lunch someday very soon (no complaints here!) so that he can order it. He did order the Manitoba Walleye which led us to a discussion about how Walleye is also Pickerel where we come from… and how Jackfish is called Northern Pike. Always good to do some learning when you are out and about!
Our daughter was delighted with her seared Albacore Tuna salad with potatoes and beets.
We just couldn’t get enough of the great food!
Though we didn’t need to we ordered two slices of that amazing Bourbon Pecan Pie to share as well as a Lemon Shortbread tart for hubby. We didn’t have any coffee though I did notice they have an espresso machine in the kitchen.
I’m certainly jealous that this neighbourhood has such a special place to eat. for a moment there I almost considered moving up North just to be closer!
Our experience and food were definitely worth the five star rating in my books.

Oh my. Pistachio-​crusted Arctic char, plated at just the right temperature and paired with a light, crisp 2013 La Vieille Ferme. What’s more, I couldn’t pass up this dessert: maple pecan pie with vanilla bean mousse. Mmm. I haven’t had a fish entrée executed so well in some time. Big Fish is appropriately named! Stay away if you don’t like fish. Seriously.

My husband, son and I came here for brunch on Family Day (it was fairly busy when we came, so we were glad that we made reservations on Open Table). Our server was very pleasant and knowledgeable (though I did find it unusual that when we ordered teas, we didn’t get any milk or sugar. An honest mistake — I eventually asked the server to bring us some honey instead). My son found his mango smoothie rather small (250−300ml glass, $ 4).
Okay folks, here’s the «food report»:
Creamy east coast seafood chowder with yuzu oil: our son loved the texture and flavor of this chowder, and of course, the garlic toast that came with it.
Eggs and bacon on English muffin, hash browns and grilled grapefruit: boys just love their bacon, eggs and hash browns, don’t they? He didn’t quite care for the grilled grapefruit (so I ate it), though.
* Mussels steamed with white wine, leek and creamy green curry: (please see our photo) this was a phenomenal dish. These were the tastiest (and largest) mussels we’ve had in a long time – the green curry broth was exceptionally flavorful. The problem was that our son kept eating all our garlic toast that was for the broth (even though our server kept bringing us extra toast). Oh well, I guess it’s better for mom and dad to have less carbs.
*Platter of smoked oysters, trout pâté, candied salmon jerky, smoked sturgeon and smoked mackerel with wood-​fired tomato chutney: what a great platter! I died and went to heaven. ;) Our server told us that all their oysters and fish were smoked and prepared in-​house.
*These were generously portioned appetizers shared by hubby and me.
And yes, we did save room for dessert. Our son had the orange crème caramel, which was very rich and creamy, but not too sweet. We decided to share the lemon semolina shortcake with lemon curd and berries; and were impressed with the lightness of the cake and the smoothness of the lemon curd.
This was our first time here, but we will certainly be back soon. I can’t wait to try their pot-​au-​feu for dinner.