Fish’s Wild: A wild waste of money
At first when I heard seafood restaurant Fish’s Wild was opening in Davis, I was pretty excited. Davis has a lot of Mexican places and Thai places, but doesn’t really have any restaurant specializing in seafood. One visit to this restaurant dashed my hopeful mind.
Fish’s Wild is a fast-food-style restaurant, where customers place orders at the counter before finding a table. For a seafood grill, fast-food-style is unusual, to say the least. The only positive thing about my dining experience was that the food came out very fast— too bad, however, that the food wasn’t very good.
For $9.99, I ordered a platter of shrimp that came with steamed vegetables. Now, for seafood, that price isn’t extravagant— but because the quality of the food at Fish’s Wild sags beneath standards, this dining experience was a waste of money. For the price I paid, I was served only eight bite-sized pieces of shrimp, and when I say bite-sized, I mean the shrimp was no bigger than your thumb.
The shrimp tasted very bland, as if not much thought or effort was put into the recipe. I usually love to eat shrimp— but I wasn’t too jazzed about the shrimp at Fish’s Wild. I also had a bite of tilapia, whose quality sits at the same level as the shrimp. The tilapia was also bland, nearly tasteless— to be honest, it tasted like it was charred more than anything else.
A mediocre meal can sometimes be forgiven when the service is good and friendly— unfortunately, speed of service aside, there was nothing good or friendly about Fish’s Wild. When I was placing my order, it took the hostess a few moments to remember what her own house sauce was made of. And while I was speaking to her, she interrupted me to have a side conversation with one of the kitchen staff.
As a customer who is paying not just for food, but also for an amicable dining experience, I expect to be treated with respect when I am at a restaurant. The way Fish’s Wild handled the quality of my dining experience ensures that I won’t be coming back.
My guess is that a lot of the people who dine at Fish’s Wild do so because there aren’t very many seafood alternatives in Davis. Honestly, there isn’t much else of merit at Fish’s Wild— don’t bother wasting your money here.
Fish’s Wild, on 516 2nd St., is in a part of downtown Davis that is surrounded by superior dining options such as Uncle Vito’s and Chipotle. No, those places may not be big on seafood, but at least you won’t have to shell out money for substandard food. However, if you insist on seafood, you really should try your luck at Applebee’s.
