Bay Park Fish Company

I guess it's about time that I did a post on Bay Park Fish Company, since we live 2 miles from the place. BPFC, is a nice little neighborhood eatery that is a welcome addition to the area.

A portion of the area is utilized as a fish market, the rest as a Restaurant and Bar.

I would call the restaurant design as sort of "industrial-chic", with cinder block walls, corrugated metal siding, and high ceilings with an exposed duct system. Sportfishing photos, and "sea  creatures" adorn the walls.

Recently, Bay Park Fish has started a Happy Hour, though the hours are quite early starting at 3pm, and ending at 5pm, the Happy Hour is offered 7 days a week. The Happy Hour covers menu starters(25% off), $2 Fish Tacos(mahi-mahi), and draft beer(5 types, quite pedestrian selection like Amstel Light, Widmer Hefeweizen).

The Missus was very happy to see Her favorite menu item the Smoked Fish Plate( $7 - $5.25 Happy Hour) being discounted for Happy Hour.

This fairly large portion of "fish salad" hits all the right notes for us. Lightly smoked fish, mixed with just tad of mayo, is neither fishy, nor gloppy. Minced jalapeno adds some heat and the kernals of corn add a bit of sweetness. Mix in the pico de gallo, and the avocado, scoop it with a tortilla chip, and it is delici-yoso!!!

The Missus has been having this twice a week during the recent hot weather.

On this day, being very hungry we ordered the Deep Fried Calamari($6 - $4.50 Happy Hour).

A very generous basket of Deep Fried Calamari was dropped off on our table. We enjoyed the panko crust, though the calamari was slightly on the tough side. The aioli, with a layer of olive oil really didn't bring much to the calamari. Just a squeeze of lime was fine, strangely, I like malt vinegar on these as well. I'll have these again.

I also ordered a "small" side order of Fries($2):

Actually a not-so-small basket of shoestring fries. I really enjoy the slightly crisp, nicely salted fries. They take me back to childhood; I used to love those canned shoestring potato snacks, though these are miles ahead.

But we weren't done yet. The Missus's intention was to take home most of the smoked fish salad, and have some fish tacos. Which is just what she did.

A trio of a Grilled Halibut Taco($4), Fried Shrimp Taco($3), and a Grilled Mahi Mahi Taco (Happy Hour - $2).

The Mahi Mahi Taco:

Too much white sauce killed the fish taco for us. The fish, which was a bit on the over-cooked side still had a nice flavor. The corn tortillas were moist and had the distinctive corn taste that decent corn tortillas should have.

The Grilled Halibut Taco:

This was one killer piece of perfectly grilled, moist and flaky piece of fish. While a bit pricey at $4 a pop, it was very good.

The Fried Shrimp Taco:

The three little pieces of fried shrimp, no matter how good were totally lost in the sauce, pico de gallo, and shredded cabbage. Also, we really didn't care for the "hot sauce" provided with the tacos.

Compare those with this Grilled Halibut Taco we had on a later visit:

With a squeeze of lime; perfect simplicity.

The menu at Bay Park Fish features a limited, but varied menu, along with specials of the day. The Specials usually include several different tortas, and other items.

Here's the Yellowtail Torta($8.95):

A nice slice of grilled Yellowtail, avocado, tomato(very good tomato), and lettuce, in large Bollilo type roll. Though the Yellowtail was a bit on the over-cooked side, it tasted very fresh, with the flavor of black pepper coming through. The coleslaw was a forgettable ramekin of vinegary mixed cabbage, though a large order of shoestrings were also provided.

There was an item on the appetizer specials that caught my attention.

It was the Ahi Poke Appetizer($12). 12 bucks for Poke seemed to be a bit much, but I decided to try it anyway.

A large goblet filled with cubed Ahi, garnished with green onions, sesame seeds, and wakame, lay on a layer of mixed greens, and topped with WonTon Chips. The flavor of the Poke was not my cup of tea, the fish was marinated with a oyster sauce-shoyu-sugar(could be mirin) mixture, which is fine for stir-frying, but the overly salty, sweet, and assertive oyster sauce flavor over-powered everything.

During the meal, I mentioned the flavoring to one of the Servers, a really funny, and nice guy named Jeff, who told me that several variations of Poke had been tried, and this was the most popular with the "regulars". So, I guess it's different strokes....

In our opinion, Bay Park Fish is at it's best when the fish or the other seafood is presented front and center, and simply prepared.

Here's the Smoked Fish Sandwich ($8):

Shared with the Missus, along with a Fish Taco, and 2 Ice Teas, a very generous meal. And still under $20.

The service at Bay Park Fish is very nice and friendly, though like many neighborhood eateries, there are occasional hiccups, like sauces forgotten, or sometimes mistakes in preparation(we ordered our taco without white sauce). Still, we are very happy to have Bay Park Fish close by in our neighborhood.

Bay Park Fish Company
4121 Ashton St
San Diego, CA 92110

Comments

[dietchilicheesefries]

whoever invented happy hour should have won the nobel prize...

if everyone was at happy hour there would be no more war, just a bunch of drunks eating $2 fish tacos!! not sure which is worse though...

[dietchilicheesefries]

yum, calamari looks pretty good there...

kirk, once had fish tacos at a "local" place in ensenada... off the charts man...

haven't been able to look at fish tacos here the same way since... too bad i could never find that place ever again... ;(

[dietchilicheesefries]

i just wanted to make it 3 posts in a row cause i could... so thats a new record for me... hello missus!

you guys never order onion rings man... whats up with that?

[Passionate Eater]

Wow, after reading DCCF's posts, I have no idea what I was going to write just now. Umm...

I agree with you that there was "white sauce overload" on those tacos, but holy guns, there are a whole lotta fries there! I agree with DCCF though, where's the onion rings!

[Kathy]

I'd like to see what the "large" fries look like!

$12 does seem a bit much for poke, but at least it came in a goblet, lol, I can't think of any place back home that serves their poke in a goblet :)

[Justin Lo]

Mmmm, fish tacos!!!

[Candice]

That smoked fish salad looks great and those fries are calling my name! Have you had the fish tacos and sandwiches at Blue Water Grill? How do those compare with Bay Park?

[mizducky]

This is the place in the same block as Siesel's, right? I too am digging that smoked fish concoction. I grew up loving smoked fish salads, though from an entirely different culinary universe. I'm talking lightly-dressed finely-chopped smoked whitefish, as served in New York-area Jewish-style delis--there's a lot more to Jewish smoked fish than just lox! :-) Perhaps because of that background, I've never met a smoked fish I didn't love. Any guess as to what type of fish Bay Park smoked for their salad? Or I guess I could always wander by and see for myself ...

[Maureen]

I love this place and go frequently. I do agree that there is too much sauce on the fish tacos but knowing that I now ask that they put less when I order. Their grilled fish over salad greens, though pricey, is excellent. A friend loves their oyster shooters. Their fresh seafood from the cold case is always good to take home and fix for dinner.

[Kady]

The tacos and fries look really yummy. If I'm ever in that neighborhood I'll have to check it out. Although I'm sorry to hear the ahi had a not-so-satisfying flavor. I love a good poke stack/salad.

[Ben]

You know, all "small" fries ought to be that small. I like small fries!!

[Jack]

Hi Kirk,
Great pictures, another solid, informative post. It astounds me how prolific you are. I know you have a full time job. Do you ever sleep?

[Rachel]

Wow!! What a great neighbourhood joint. If they had places like that here in Aus I would have falen in love with fish a long time ago. Here fish is usually just battered or crumbed at neighbourhood shops. Sometimes grilled with a small side salad. Guess its from the English tradition of fish and chips. Sydneyhas a few fancy restaurants with seared tuna and stuff like that but they start at about 29 dollars a dish upwards, certainly not this unique, affordable fare. Gotta love fish snacks like those fish tacos!! I just can't get over how good it looks! I am someone who eats fish only coz I know I have to ... but that could really make a difference...

[toisan]

thanks for the heads-up on BPFC! i've gotta try it. and it's just around the corner from my fave, Baci.

[Kirk]

Hi DCCF - Three strikes and you're out, Buddy! We love onion rings, but it's hard to get good ones. BPFC doesn't have 'em on the menu....bummer, could go for some good beer battereed rings.

Hi PE - You got me thinking; don't know how much the fries are at Mickey D's, it's been so long; but this was just $2. I guess it's a bargain.

Hi Kathy - This is the third time I've had "poke" served in a goblet; seems like the thing to do with it in San Diego.

Hi Justin - double mmmmm!!!

Hi Candice - Everytime we've tried to go to Bluewater we can't find parking. So hopefully we'll get there before the next decade......

Hi mizducky - I believe it's albacore. Make sure you check them out between 3-5 for Happy Hour prices for the smoked fish plate.

Hi Maureen - We tend to enjoy the simpler dishes at Bay Park Fish, where the good quality of the fish comes through. We've had +/- experiences with the fish counter, but more pluses than minuses.....

Hi Kady - BPFC is worth a try especially if you're around during Happy Hour.

Hi Ben - I agree 100%

Hey Jack - I usually sleep after I eat. ;o)

Hi Rachel - You have a choice of battered or grilled fish. But why batter and cover up good fish? Though I do enjoy good Fish and Chips!

Hi Toisan - No problemo! Give 'em a shot.....the prices for most items are quite reasonable.

[nhbilly]

to bad there isn't a food market worth mentioning around here.

[Kirk]

Hi nhbilly - Doesn't Santa Monica Seafood have outlets in Orange & Costa Mesa, or maybe Marukai in Costa Mesa? I like both of them.

[Ed]

Mmm - fried squid. (Sorry, I'm old school - none of this "calamari" business here...) Here in Santa Barbara, my favorite sushi haunts has a great appetizer of battered squid with a nice drizzling of a soy sauce/chili oil mix. The surprising thing is that the squid is not crispy at all (although there are hints of it) - it's actually "soft and creamy". A nice surprise - I think it actually works. Now if only we could have fried squid with an adobo-like dipping sauce with the squid ink...

[Kirk]

Hi Ed - Sounds very good. Now how about Deep Fried "Squid" with a spicy lechon sauce.......

[Ed]

Lechon sauce - alright, for that, the squid has to be extra crispy!