Fish Boutique

Great place for happy hour! Mike, our server was very friendly. Excellent food and atmosphere.

Recently discovered this place, it’s amazing!!! They have the best quality of fish, all fresh, and pretty decent prices! I’ve bought the seabass, the lobster tails, the king crab legs, and the tuna, nothing’s let me down yet. Can’t wait to try more! Thanks so much for getting us great product out here in suburbia!

So I have this thing about salt.
I like saying it, I like all the pretty colors salt can come in and when I was a little kid, I use to pour salt on slugs. (Calm down… it was because I innocently believed the old adult unit that told me I was being helpful in the garden… I don’t do that anymore — ick!)
But…should I lift my eating utensil with a savory morsel of food that has been sprinkled, basted, souped up, seasoned, jacked up with too much salt. Well, tick-​tock, chock one star down from a perfect score.
Don’t get me wrong… I actually like Fish Boutique. I mean their lighter version of a clam chowder was tasty and I think they know how to cook chilean seabass so it’s not dry and tasteless. Now if we can just get them to ease up on the salt in the crab legs and crabcakes… I’d be happy to try those dishes again.

I stumbled upon this place as I was shopping at Trader Joe’s in Scripps Ranch. This place has a pretty good selection of dishes. I ordered the Tuna Melt, and they gave decent portions.
Highlights:
1) Wild caught fish at a good price.
2) The fish quality is definitely there.
3) Modern décor and Happy Hour on Sunday-​Thursday 3pm-​6pm

Average. This place is uniquely decorated for a type of fish mart/​restaurant however the food presented is average on quality and taste. So unfortunately I went there with a hungry boyfriend so we ended up ordering three dishes off the happy hour menu and two regular entrees. Their happy hour menu does sound very appetizing for a decent price. We ordered:
— crab cakes ($ 5): one decent size crab cake but only one, on a tiny bed of spring greens, served with a side sauce that tasted too much of alcohol. The crab cake seemed to have a decent amount of crab in it when you look at it, but each bite seemed doughy to me so I didn’t really appreciate it that much. Also, that sauce either needed to be reduced down a bit more or just wiped off the plate altogether.
— clams and mussels ($ 6): good sauce, wish it had a little more of a lemony zing to it, but overall great dish for $ 6.
— calamari ($ 5): a bit on the soggy side for calamari. I usually like them crispy fried and golden brown. It was a bit under-​seasoned so I found myself shaking salt at it for a while. Also, the sauce looked very fresh and tasty but it was kinda bland.
— seared scallops: two perfectly seasoned and seared scallops on a bed of sweet corn and bacon. I have to say, this was probably the best thing I’ve eaten here.
— salmon burger: I don’t understand why they processed the salmon instead of leaving the whole piece of fish intact. Yes, it does make it look like a regular burger patty but it down grades the integrity of the fish. When I order a salmon burger, I know exactly what a cooked salmon fillet look like so no need to mask it into something that it’s not. Also, was very bland. And the side salad I ordered for $ 1 extra had the lightest lemon vinaigrette that I didn’t even taste it at first and the salad had wilted leaves! GAH! Paid $ 1 extra to get wilted leaves. :[

I heard about this place from a friend and decided to try it one day. The food and service was great. My wife had the chilean seabass and the clam chowder. I had the grilled caesar salad and salmon burger. All 4 dishes were excellent. As other reviewers have said, the clam chowder isn’t the typical thick creamy style, but I like this type even better! Based on the smiles on the other customers’ faces, I assume that their food was good too. If you’re in the Mira Mesa /​Scripps Ranch area, go check this place out.
Also, they sell fish there too. I haven’t purchased any myself, but there was a steady stream of customers coming in and buying food while we were dining at the restaurant. I will definitely give their market a try in the near future.

Used the Unilocal deal but would have gone hear even without it. We had the clam chowder, calamari, and crab cake sandwich. The clam chowder was great but isn’t your typical white (new England) chowder. They added some alaskan king grab… yum yum. And it wasn’t as thick as a new England, more creamy and buttery. I would definately have it again. My mom had the crab cake sandwich and she loved it. If there’s crab cakes on the menus, that’s what she orders. I would come back for sure.
The décor is a little off, I think they tried to make it look all fancy. If they take down the beads and the silver stuff in the walls this place would be great. Also really nice people just need to work on service skills. Food delivered quickly and together just need pick up the pace as far as greeting and cleaning up once customers leave.

Wow! Really impressed by this place!
First off, I bough the 12 for 20 deal in my car on my iphone right before I came in so that was an awesome deal right off the bat.
I ordered the chowder first because I am really into soups and I wanted to see if this was as good as people were saying it was. I was not disappointed at all because this soup was so good. I ate and drank every single drop out of it and if there was a drop left I soaked it up with the bread that they gave me with the soup.
I also ordered the pan seared scallops. I love seafood, but I dont like to order scallops from certain places because I am afraid that they wont be cooked right. These scallops were cooked to perfection and compare to many upscale and more expensive seafood restaurants where you would pay triple the price for seafood of that quality.
5 star experience with 5 star food!

This place does not feel like a restaurant at all! When I walked in I felt like I was in a boutique clothing store. and I’m not sure if people would associate a seafood market/​restaurant as a boutique? They don’t go together like Jack and Jill but whatevs.
I had the:
— clam chowder: it was watery and had big chunks of potatoes. The portion is generous for 1 person (comes in a bowl), but would’ve been nice to have more consistency.
— fish & chips: the fresh cod was actually really good! It’s not too oily and didn’t sit heavy at all!
When you check in via Unilocal — you get a discount. and sad to say my service was GOOD — until I showed the waiter my Unilocal check-​in offer. He actually took my phone and marked the offer «discarded». I thought. «WOW! That’s REALLY tacky!» I would’ve done it myself, and showed you I did it. sorry but I don’t know where your hands have been. and what if you dropped my phone? Would you have paid for it? Yeaahhhh buddy… i don’t think so.

I love this place. I think it is one of those restaurants that is a gem, hidden in quiet Scripps Ranch, in the same complex as Chuck E. Cheese.
We stumbled into this place by accident. I was looking for soup on a rainy night and went in just for their clam chowder. Clam chowder is to die for with chunks of clam and the base/​broth not too thick.
I’ve been back several times and have tried the Calamari Strips, Fish and Chips, Crab Cakes and my favorite is the Chilean Seabass, which just melts in your mouth. My son loves their Risotto.
I recommend this place!

Ate dinner here several months ago, and purchased from their market a few weeks ago. 3 stars for the dinner, 1 star for the market.
Dinner: Overall, the food was decent, but I was not blown away at all. Salmon sandwich was bland, but the clams and mussels appetizer was yummy. I wish they served larger slices of crusty bread to sop up the broth – it’s a little hard to do with tiny, almost cracker-​like pieces of toast.
Market: I purchased some «fresh» halibut from their market, which looked pretty good in the case, but as soon as I walked out of the store, I could smell the unwelcoming aroma of stinky fish through the wrapping paper. Fresh fish should smell clean and like the ocean, not fishy. What a disappointment, I guess I should have been wary when I walked in and there weren’t any other customers (it was around dinner time on a weeknight, Trader Joe’s was poppin).
I really wanted to like Fish Boutique, because we barely have any good seafood places in Mira Mesa/​Scripps Ranch. I won’t be returning.

Had a very good experience here last night. We walked in around 5:30pm and the place had only one other couple at a table. So good that it is not crowded. But you want to see more clientele to make sure a place stays in business. There are not many good options for seafood (non Asian) around or east of I-​15 in my hood. I absolutely hate the Fish Bucket in Tierrasanta. Most other seafood is miles away near the ocean or bay. :) Even getting fresh fish to cook at home can be a pain in Poway/​Scripps Ranch.
So I have been meaning to stop by here for a few months. Finally did. We wanted some healthier than our usual Thursday rampant gorgefests. Fish was the thing tonight.
We were told to sit anywhere. Now about the décor. Some here on Unilocal have been critical or find it odd. I quite liked it. And most importantly it was immaculate. Everything was sparkling clean. The interior décor strikes me as Elegant Whimsy.
The server was perfect. Friendly but not overly so. Helpful. Had an opinion. Yay! We started with the beers, our Thursday tradition. They had 4 beers on tap… except something happened to the IPA so that was not available. We ended up with some Belgian Pale Ale on tap and a bottle of some amazing Belgian stuff that was crazy good and rich. Beer prices were quite good.
I ordered the grilled Caesar salad and the gf ordered the clam chowder. Now if you are a fan of traditionally done foods… such as the Caesar salad at Costco’s food court and the clam chowder at The Brigantine, you may not be a fan of the interpretations. But I can say I liked the salad a LOT. It was very lightly grilled which brought out some flavor and lightly seasoned. as compared to the normal drenched in dressing Caesar. The sliced toasted baguette was perfect… very good. The soup had large chunks of crab on top and looked different… more clammy and less the white flour thickness you get at other places. The server explained it was gluten free. Now, I like my glutens… but this was very good. The body was made out of potatoes and chunks of seafood/​clams. I noted someone thought the serving portion was small. I did not think so. It was a nice bowl (and a nice salad) for the price.
For a main course, I went with the crab risotto. It was perfectly done, not too rich or heavy. Served with another slice of the baguette. My gf ordered the fish and chips. The server let us know this was not traditional fish and chips, and true… like the salad and soup… if you want traditional, you may not like this. Instead of the normal dipped in batter fish, this was more a bread crumb coating. There are three good sized bits of a dense white fish. The breading was good. Fish was a bit flavorless, but the tartar sauce was excellent. This was served with shoestring french fries that were very good. I was surprised at how good they were.
They are running a deal with 10% off your order if you check in on Unilocal.I think our server forgot to subtract that, but not a big deal. Maybe next time?
So 4 stars for this place. I was happy to see a few more tables filled as we ate as this brings me hope this place will do well. It deserves it. I like having a fresh seafood place close to home. I will be back, I hope to try some of their other menu choices.

I’m giving it a well deserved four stars. It is a European style restaurant. What does that mean? Excellent food modest prices and modest portions. I had a bowl of their clam chowder and it was very unique and tasty. It had chunks of crab floating around in it-​now if your expecting something that has a pasty white consistency look elsewhere. This lam chowder is delicious and tasty. My only minor criticism would be that there wasn’t enough, I wanted more but for six bucks I can’t complain. I tried the fries they were good but I certainly wouldn’t go out of my way for them.
Why four instead of five? For me it was portion size I wanted more!

A hard to find café-​ish setting, this Fish shop is hidden in the Scripps forgotten mini market place. The alluring lettering on the the marque states fresh fish which this far inland is usually a lie. When you walk into the shop it really does have the slight feel of a fish shop, although it only has two ice cases to choose from the ambiance really wants you to feel like it stinks of fish, but to my dismay the smell of good food overpowers any trace of fishiness.
The service here is very welcoming, I half expected a snooty employee to man the front register judging my inability to afford fresh cooked fish as meal for lunch. But to my surprise I was welcomed warmly, and was recommended the Ahi tuna melt. During my wait which was longer than the expected 5 minutes the server assured me, I noticed the ambiance of the restaurant part of the shop. There was a family of 5 having lunch off to the side, alone in the group of about 5 – 8 tables. I noticed that they were enjoying a bottle of wine along with their lunch, undisturbed they were enjoying the solitude of the non-​existant lunch rush.
Ten minuets after the five minutes the server originally proclaimed I finally received my Ahi Tuna Melt. The dish was served with very thinly cut french fries with dashes of parsley flakes. The Ahi tuna it self was superbly seared and full of flavor. It was well cooked, but did not exactly taste like fresh fish, but it hit the spot regardless.
Prices were decent, the next time I come by I might pick up some of their overly priced cuts of fish. I forgot to ask if their fish was Sashimi quality or not, hopefully it is so I can make some Ahi Poke.

Went here for lunch right around noon and it was OK. It wasn’t crowded — just my party of 3 and another party of 2 — so I was surprised that the service was so slow. But I noticed the server was pulling double-​duty, working the tables and working the fish counter, so although he was very friendly, he just wasn’t able to be very attentive.
The food was OK too. I ordered the fish ‘n chips and was surprised at how much food I received. The fish was unseasoned and bland, as was the accompanying tartar sauce. Oh well, I enjoyed a nice glass of wine with it and all was well. We also ordered fried calamari appetizer — delicious! My friends split a shrimp sandwich & caesar salad — they seemed to like it.
The décor didn’t appeal to me: fish counter when you walk in, and then walk past shimmery beads falling from the ceiling to table seating adorned with black chandeliers and wall mirrors. I kept thinking that adding velvet walls would have helped complete the funky (French?) look.
Overall experience: Meh. I didn’t love it. I didn’t hate it. I’d come back, but mostly to enjoy the company of good friends, rather than to enjoy the ambiance or food here.

The five of us ladies decided to try this place for lunch.
WOW, very SLOW service, thank god we had 2hrs to spare…
* Clams & Mussels — not bad
* Crab Cake — Dry, not very tasty
We each ordered an entrée
2– Northern Halibut — @ $ 24 each
2– Pan Seared Chilean Seabas — @ $ 23 each
1-​Pulled Lamb Pappardelle (pasta) — @17
Portions on the the fish was extremely SMALL, the garnishing was a few vegetables & a sprinkle of rice.
(You can go to a lot of different fish restaurants in San Diego, for a larger cut & better quality fish for this price)
We returned the pasta, it was so SALTY, we could barley take a second bite.
We addressed the problem to the manager, and he quickly took it off the bill.
All five of us won’t be coming back, we all hope this place will make it if they adjust their portions & quality based on the $$$ they have listed on their menu.

This place is starting to come into it’s own. We’ve been a couple of times and I would say that it is settling in. Now serving a few local brews and a very good happy hour menu, it is now more of an everyday restaurant.
Clam and Mussels were delicious. White wine, cream, garlic was very well balanced
Sauteed Shrimp Sandwich is just really good.
Calamari was fried perfectly and the accompanying sauce was ok.
Beet Salad, though it has no seafood was a refreshing salad.
Service has been really good both times and the chef was out and about. Décor is different but ok as others have mentioned. Haven’t bought anything at the fish market.

My husband and I went there last night for dinner. Not 80’s décor as mentioned in another review, but in line with a boutiqe feel. The service was outstanding! The chef came to greet us and make some menu suggestions. We ordered the calamari absolutely delish, lightly battered and cooked to perfection! Husband ordered the fish & chips to die for and enough for two. The fish was cooked to perfection with a nice batter! I had the sea bass, absolutely wonderful, came with veg and a risotto cake with a berry sauce that complimented the dish without overwhelming it.
Someone who would compare the Fish Boutique to the the Fish Bucket in Tierransanta and find the Fish Bucket better probably perfers greasy deep friend cod fish and chips… just sayin.
We will definately go back and bring family and friends!

Fantastic new neighborhood spot for foodies! Heard about it from our Health & Wellness instructor in Mira Mesa. So we stopped by on our way home in Scripps Ranch after class.
Mission Brewery IPA was fantastic, calamari was perfect and the sauce was a nice compliment. Clam chowder was a nice combo of fresh clams, tasty potatoes and creaminess! Topped it off with mussels and clams. in a fantastic White wine and garlic sauce/​soup! No problem with unopened mussels or clams! Mopped it up with some tasty bread.
Will definitely return. Happy hour looks like a winner. This place is half restaurant and half fish market. We wish them the best!
It is great to see exciting places opening during these tough times!

Really nice deco. Service is good. Food is so-​so.
They sell fish next door by their kitchen and the price looks good. I will definitely stop by to get their skate wings and their snow crab lumps.