My favorite dish: The Japanese Wasabi Rice Bowl

YELP | SITE

NEIGHBORHOOD: MARINA

WHAT TO ORDER:

The great part about this restaurant is that as long as everyone in your party enjoys seafood (fish in particular,) everyone is going to find a dish they like. From sushi, to rice bowls, to fish and chips, to sandwiches to tacos, there is something for every fish lover. For those of you who like raw fish, I recommend that you try something with poke in it, or have one of the rice bowls. The Japanese rice bowl with crab salad is featured above.

Shown below are the calamari appetizer and their Pacific poke dish. The calamari has a fantastic batter and sauce (with a few fried lemon slices as well for those of you who are into that,) and my boyfriend mentioned that the poke dish was great too. It features raw tuna, avocado, seaweed, and tobiko roe with chips for scooping. What’s great about this menu is that the dishes are filling, but will also leave you feeling light thanks to the ingredients. So feel free to try it after a long day of working out at a gym that once used to be a local movie theater. (She’s got jokes.)

WHEN TO VISIT:

This location is great to check out at all hours. During the afternoon it’s a trendy lunch spot to visit as you shop Chestnut Street boutiques, and at dinner service it’s great to take in before you take off to the Marina bar scene…if you know, that’s your thing or whatnot. Expect lunch or dinner rushes and to wait outside for a bit until your name is called. Also the venue is very tight and can only accommodate small groups. So if you and your ten closest homies want to grab food before you hang up your neck sweater and fist pump the night away, maybe try a different eatery. Ok I’m done with the Marina jokes…for now…

SIDENOTE:

Pacific Catch also has a sister location in the Inner Sunset. When it comes to service and location, I personally prefer the Chestnut Street restaurant, but the menu and quality of food is always consistent at both . The Inner Sunset establishment is the size of your standard suburban sit-down restaurant and can accommodate large groups as well. It’s also got a warmer environment that seems more appropriate for a formal dinner or a night out compared to the more casual setting of Chestnut Street’s squeezy atmosphere.

STORYTIME:

When I say I prefer the service at the Chestnut Street service, it has nothing to do with how kind or unkind the staff was. I’ve gotten friendly and sassy service at both locations, but never bad experiences. I just believe I’ve gotten slightly more attentive and speedier service on Chestnut Street

Once at the Inner Sunset location, my waiter said something that made me squint my eyes tightly at him. It all started when I ordered a poke dish from the menu.

For those who don’t know, poke is a refreshing salad made of raw fish, seaweed and other garnishes and sauces that is typically served as an appetizer in Hawai’i. It is pretty popular and trendy nowadays and is recommended for anyone who loves Japanese food or raw fish. My family as well as the people of Hawai’i pronounce the “e,” so phonetically, “po-kay.” It’s undoubtedly the correct way to pronounce it; however, I don’t mind that the rest of America seems to pronounce it like the English word “poke.”

Only thing I did sort of mind was the fact that when I ordered a poke dish and pronounced it “po-kay,” our waiter corrected me by holding his hand up and telling me: “You want the what? Oh, you mean to say that you want the poke.” *Insert hilarious joke here about a guy assuming I want the poke.* But yeah, he wasn’t a bad waiter…just don’t correct me when I know what I’m talking about, fool. Don’t make me sick Pele on you.

Two rice bowls, one with crab salad and one with Hawai’ian “poke” at the Inner Sunset location. Featuring: My girl Claire’s cocktail, nails and necklace

Pacific Catch | A Foodie Review