City Fish and Bar, The – Motor City

The City Fish and Bar is a small, unlicensed seafood restaurant in Motor City. Located behind Mir Amin in The Ribbon where Garden House used to be, its interior is uses red brick walls, wooden furniture and jute rope lights to create something of a rustic look with far less references to the sea than I expected. At the far end one can look into the part the kitchen where their brick oven is located; the glass enclosure still has the Garden House logo on it. It’s a warm, odour-free, almost inviting environment.

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I love fish and chips and will order it wherever I see it on a menu. My wife ordered the grilled seabass. To start we ordered Fattoush and Hummus, the latter of which was so bad we sent it back and insisted it be omitted from our bill. It was. Our food took a good twenty-five minute to be served. The fish and chips left much to be desired; its battered outer was not crispy and tasted peculiar and the fish itself was under-seasoned, overdone and dry. At least my wife seemed to enjoy her seabass which, incidentally, is served with nothing on the side. Thankfully she had the Fattoush.

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Our waitress was raw and untrained, and was better suited to her other responsibility of standing at the entrance waving a menu at passers-by to attract them in. I’m sorry for being so harsh about this but the market is so tough these days you really need to be on top of your game to make an impact. These guys simply aren’t. Want some cracking Arabic mezza and a great grilled fish? Well, take your pick from a half dozen restaurants within a two-minute walk of The City Fish. And as for a good, similarly priced fish and chips, try Jack’s Plaice in Sport City or take it up a notch and try Le Petit Belge across the road or The Maine around the corner. As things stand, I cannot recommend this restaurant. Consider other option.

Hey! Now read this –
Xerxes physically dines at, or orders from, each and every venue he reviews. He pays in full for whatever he and his companions eat, drink, take away or occasionally throw at each other. Xerxes accepts no money, gifts, discounts or free meals in return for reviews or favouritism. What you have read was NOT influenced in any way by the venue. Join me on Instagram @ravenousxerxes or email me on xerxes@dellara.com.