Red Fish, Blue Fish | Victoria | 1006 Wharf St.

[G-Man]

I personally think that the Ocean Wise thing is a scam. I mean it is up to the consumer to choose to not buy certain species.

[m0nkyman]

What's wrong with abalone and dolphin burgers?

[lushka]

Checked this place out the other day. There was a group of us so we tested a few thing - scallop tacones, tuna tacones (my fave), cod tacones, fish & chips (way, way better than Barbs, thankyouverymuch), and curry chips. Everything was fresh and delicious. And I love the Dwell-esque architecture and the zero-waste techniques. I will definitely be going back. I didn't think it was too expensive when compared to other fresh, unique, inspired lunch spots (of which there are few in town).

[gumgum]

Their photo on the [url=http://www.redfish-bluefish.com/:bc38e]home page[/url:bc38e] of their website is cool.

[Holden West]

Red Fish Blue Fish's local fare a tasty catch

TOM HAWTHORN
The Globe and Mail
September 19, 2007

Special to The Globe and Mail

VICTORIA -- Two plastic blue bins are wheeled along a wooden dock. The product is as fresh as the day's salt air.

Kunal Ghose, 35, pops a lid on the first bin before casting a studied eye on the contents.

"This coho looks absolutely impeccable," he pronounces. "That's sushi grade right there."

Indeed, the salmon filets are a brilliant reddish-pink. He pops the lid on the second bin. "That's my halibut," he said. "Fantastic."

Organic produce arrives in another shipment, as well as some herbs for chai tea, a new item on the menu at Red Fish Blue Fish.

The waterfront takeout eatery is the newest addition to Victoria's Inner Harbour. It is found on the Broughton Street Wharf, tucked behind the red-brick Malahat Building, the former Customs House that is a national historic site.

All the seafood on the menu comes from local fisheries as part of the Ocean Wise conservation program operated by the Vancouver Aquarium.

The restaurant serves cod, oysters, scallops, wild salmon and albacore tuna from local waters. Steve Johansen, the commercial fisherman who brings in much of the catch, is a partner in the restaurant. He trolls for salmon aboard the Black Heart.

On Tuesday, Mr. Ghose wore a T-shirt beneath his apron with the title of the Dr. Seuss children's reader that inspired the restaurant's whimsical name. You won't ever find the likes of Chilean sea bass or other threatened species on the menu for a reason.

"I want my children's children to be able to enjoy fish," he said.

Mr. Ghose's workplace is a kitchen built inside a freight container.

It is 20-feet long and 10-feet wide, spacious enough for a grill, a deep fryer, a dishwasher and two burners along one wall with a pop cooler and two prep tables along the other.

"You can fit about six in here," the chef said, "although there's a bit of butt-rubbing going up and down." With a ceiling height of 9-feet 6-inches, even Yao Ming could work here as a short-order cook should the basketball thing not work out for him.

The Vancouver architect Barbara Houston, a partner in the venture, handled the design, which included cutting portholes to open the interior of the steel crate to the public. The round windows have been marked thusly: 1: Order; 2: Pickup; 3: Recycle.

A garden has been planted on the roof, which is easily viewed from the ramp leading to the wharf from the street. It includes thyme, lavender and a variety of sedums, hardy perennials that require little care.

The soil acts as an insulator, keeping the container cool in summer and warm in winter.

The restaurant was founded with the idea of leaving as little an environmental footprint as possible. Waste is converted into compost, or otherwise recycled.

The container that houses the kitchen had been used to transport a Hummer. The new owners enjoy the irony of "upcycling" - transforming a disposable item into something more useful - a steel box for a gas-guzzler into an eco-friendly restaurant.

The owners had hoped to open in the spring, but negotiations with the city and the harbour commission lasted so long as to have some jokingly call the proposed restaurant Red Tape Blue Chef.

Fish and chips is to Victoria what the croissant is to Paris and the cheese-steak sandwich is to Philadelphia. A city not known for the subtlety of its political discourse can also be hotheaded in debating the best fish 'n. Some swear by Hyland's, or Fish on Fifth, both in Sidney.

Others prefer Barb's Place Floating Restaurant on Fisherman's Wharf. The neighbourhood joints - Willows Galley, Fairfield Fish and Chips, the Haultain Fish & Chips Cafe - have their diehard supporters.

The latest entry in the fish wars takes an epicure's twist on traditional British fare. The only peas on the menu are mushy edamame (green soybeans), while the chowder consists of chipotle, coconut milk and sweet corn in a white-fish confit.

The restaurant reviewer for Monday Magazine pronounced Red Fish Blue Fish "a mandatory pilgrimage spot for foodies."

Mr. Ghose began working in restaurants at age 13, when he was hired as a weekend salad chef at a Sirloiner restaurant in the Steveston neighbourhood of Richmond. He learned to cook at home, where his parents - an Indian father and an English mother of Greek, Scottish and Chilean ancestry - enjoyed a diet of mix-and-match cuisines. Their son has spent more than half his life as a chef and consultant, including several years at Go Fish on False Creek in Vancouver, which inspired this latest restaurant.

Like many restaurateurs, his business ambitions are no less limited than his culinary ones.

He envisions lunchtime deliveries to downtown offices, car-hop service to the nearby parking lot, perhaps even a second location in Victoria. He'll be discussing such matters with business manager Simon Sobolewski, the fourth partner, and April Ollen, Mr. Ghose's wife, who manages the restaurant.

For a newspaperman, the joint has one other thing to recommend it.

They do not use day-old newsprint as packaging for takeout orders. At least at one seafood joint, this morning's news is not this afternoon's fishwrap.

tomhawthorn@gmail.com

[Ms. B. Havin]

Heh, this bit is too funny:

The owners had hoped to open in the spring, but negotiations with the city and the harbour commission lasted so long as to have some jokingly call the proposed restaurant Red Tape Blue Chef.

:-)

[PandaBaby]

Originally Posted by osmich

Considering RFBF has full recycling facilities right there, they use bio-degradable serving & take-out containers, and they are associated with Ocean Wise amongst several other great qualities (besides the microwave), part of what you are paying for is an innovative solution to being nice to your environment.

There is always a Filet O Fish from the world leader in environmental concerns and not too far from RFBF next time your in the mood.

I appreciate the sarcasm, osmich. I am a dedicated composter, recycler, and conserver of energy. I walk 4km to and from work every day (8km roundtrip). And I am not paying $15 for two pieces of fish.

[osmich]

Don't forget that taxes are included in all of their prices. By the way Barb's Fish and Chips (which are just okay) are $17.50 for two pieces. I will endeavour to price out others for you soon.

[Caramia]

I ate here last night before closing. The halibut was delicious, but it was the mushy green peas and the Bengalese chai that I ended up swooning over. Actually, I may go for the mushy peas alone when I only have a twonie in my pocket some day. You think I am mad? Try it. I dare you.. mushy, buttery goodness... yummmmmm

[Holden West]

RFBF is profiled in the famous Dallas Morning News:

Victoria's fish-and-chips shop of a different color

12:00 AM CDT on Sunday, April 13, 2008
By MARY G. RAMOS / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News

This isn't your national-chain fish and chips. Here, you get wild Pacific halibut, salmon or cod coated with a light tempura batter and fried until it's crisp outside and moist inside (about $10). The potatoes are hand-cut and fried twice.

Grill-seared tuna is served rare, as at four- and five-star restaurants. Salmon is grilled to medium. Sides are equally upscale. The traditional English fish and chips side dish, "mushy peas," is made with edamame (green soybeans) rather than mashed green peas.

The only drawback that we could see is a lack of comfy seating. Because tables are forbidden on the dock, Red Fish Blue Fish provides stools for waterside dining.

[gumgum]

Which reminds me.
I took me a picture a last weekend.


Been there twice now. It is excellent.

[Rorschach]

When will the fresh halibut begin showing up? They have been serving last season's frozen stuff -- still tasty -- but I'm looking forward to the latest catch. This place is a tasty bargain: $11 for a one (large) halibut piece and chips.

No complaints from this chronic complainer. We have it so good in Victoria.

[Audrey]

Their thai chowder is amazing. I've been craving it for over a week now. We also tried the curry fries, and I pine for those too. I think this place is going to be my guilty pleasure for a good long time to come.

[amor de cosmos]

I went today & the food was pretty good but I didn't like the wooden fork they gave me. It worked better as a spoon. I think I'd still go back though to try some of their other stuff.

Originally Posted by Rorschach

When will the fresh halibut begin showing up? They have been serving last season's frozen stuff -- still tasty -- but I'm looking forward to the latest catch.

Fresh fish definitely makes a huge difference.

[Mel]

I had the scallop tacones and i thought it was a total bargain. To me, buying amazing local, sustainable seafood out of a shipping container on a wharf of a beautiful city does not get any better. a foodie's dream.... magical! (should i go on or do you get my point?)

[amor de cosmos]

sweet jebus I had their tempura'd dill pickle on the weekend & I swear it's the best thing I've had downtown in ages. & only $3.50 That scallop tacone (aka wrap) sounds good; maybe I'll give it a go next time I go down there....

[julienne]

Ah yes, that battered pickle. They've finally got the right ratio of batter to dill - love them.
At the mo, Red Fish also have the seasonal spot prawn tacones on the menu in addition to all their other goodness - mighty fine.

The comment upthread about the price of "fi and chi." You are right, it is expensive and I've noticed the price increase for this once cheap n' greasy fix at at most places around my nieghbourhood - that's downtown, Fairfield and James Bay.

[amor de cosmos]

I just saw this place on Eat St. No youtube clip yet though. Got to check out the Food Network this week.

[aastra]

Crazy lines there today. Is that normal or is it because of the spot on the Food Network?

[gstc84]

The lines are always crazy during summer. I'll go occasionally during spring or fall during non-peak hours. Though for lower price and equivalent quality of food I'd rather go to Haultain Fish & Chips. Only missing the oceanside view.

[RPPB]

The Eat St. episode is on again tomorrow at 9:30. 3:00 and 8:30 and then Mon. Aug. 1 at 6 am.

[Mr_E_Squirrel]

Was talking about the long lines at work today and someone heard there is a chance they could be opening a location on the Selkirk/Dockside green area?

[dirtydeeds]

Met Mrs Deeds for lunch at 11:30 2 weeks ago (my first time there)and had a 40 min wait in line to order food? It was excellent but with all the food choices around I don't thnk I would wait in the line again for that long. I think they will lose the Govt lunch crowd (if havent already) if they can't speed it up or open another location?

[Baro]

The lineups are insane, you'd think it was the only fish place in the city, let alone downtown. At least it's better quality and not such a punch in the face rip-off as barbs. You're mostly paying for the setting.

[Holden West]

They should probably consider a second location. Although there's the risk of diluting the brand (recall talk of the Noodle Box's "good old days" before expansion) if they don't expand they also run a risk of invoking the Yogi Berra paradox: "Nobody goes there anymore--it's too busy".