Anthony's Fish Grotto (La Mesa) -revisits

Thank you for stopping by to read this food blog, mmm-yoso!!! Kirk is still very busy with work and Cathy is writing another post.

The Mister and I have had a vacationing relative with us for a few months and we've enjoyed showing her around.  She's not very food-adventurous, but does enjoy simple meals.  I showed her my first,  second, third and fourth Anthony's posts and she wanted to try lunch here. We've now been here twice. 

 There's a tall sign you can see from the interstate, but the parking lot dips down to the magnificent entrance of Anthony's. 
 Walking to the front door, you sort of feel as though you are under water.
Once seated inside, the feeling remains. 

 There's a small Fish Market area to the left of the entrance door, where you can pick up items to take home and cook, or even order "To Go" from the menu.  It's open 11 a.m.-8 p.m. daily. 

 There's also outdoor seating along the man-made lake (dogs are welcome).


 We ordered from the lunch menu (bottom of this post) and soft, warm roll and garlic butter was brought out.  These are wonderful. 
The simple Quick Catch Fish and Chips ($12.50) was quite large and  perfectly fried, fresh and tasty. 
The Quick Catch Shrimp and Fish (with slaw) ($12.75) was just as perfectly fried; the fish and the shrimp were large, meaty pieces. The dressing is on top of the slaw and you can mix it in or not.
  The Wedge Salad with Bay Shrimp ($11.95)  was surprisingly large and the Bay shrimp were quite meaty.  The Louis dressing brought all the flavors (there were hard boiled eggs, chopped tomatoes, avocado and bread crumb 'croutons') together. 
 The Cobb Salad ($15.25) was (of course) seafood based: Bay Shrimp, albacore and salmon were the proteins on this.  The usual 'Cobb" ingredients (tomatoes, carrots (multi colored), cheddar, bacon and avocado) were present and the choice of Blue cheese dressing (made in house) was just excellent.  We did enjoy the flavors. 
 The chilled Tuna Salad sandwich ($10.25), served on a large (soft) French Country roll with lettuce and tomato.  The tuna salad is made with albacore and is mildly flavored and unique. It ended up being disassembled after the first half was consumed; a bit large in the bread department. 
The Quick Catch Chowder Combo ($10.95) was a wonderful surprise.  I wanted the famous clam chowder (of course)(and it was great; creamy, clam filled with diced potatoes). There was a choice of a chilled tuna salad sandwich or a petite tuna salad.  Since we had ordered the sandwich, I chose the salad.  It was just that- a salad: lettuce tomatoes, carrots, cabbage and a lot of shredded fresh albacore tuna.  This was probably my favorite 'Soup and Salad' combo I've had all year.  

Another few great, memorable meals. 

Anthony's Fish Grotto 9530 Murray Drive La Mesa, CA 91942 (619)463-0368  Website Sun-Thurs 11:00 a.m.-8:30 p.m., Fri-Sat 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

 

Comments

[Kirk]

That is quite an entrance.

[caninecologne]

The wedge salad and Cobb look good. Wow, I've never seen the Anthony's in La Mesa. They really took the "grotto" theme literally! There used to be an Anthony's Fish Grotto in CV (off the 5 offramp to E St) but it is now defunct.

[Cathy]

It's quite beautiful and I'm sorry I never showed it in any of my prior posts, Kirk. Another thing I 'took for granted'.

Even the bathrooms are within the decorating theme of the restaurant, cc. The food here is fresh, consistent and really good. I remember that Chula Vista Location!

[Caninecologne]

yeah, it became a,thankfully, short lived strip club called Eye Candy. The space is now empty.

[soo @ hungryones.com]

I like to visit for the fish and chips. :-)

[Cathy]

Well, now cc. It must be the location and not the business...either one should have thrived right there off the 5.

Always great food here, Soo-they do know how to fry properly.

[kat]

the entrance, wow!

[caninecologne]

From what i remember, the owners lied about the nature of the "business", which they billed as a comedy club, but it was actually an illegal strip joint (complete with tiered fees for doing...stuff). they also violated zoning and building codes (near a school, etc). I was bummed that Anthony's left. It was one of the few nicer seafood places down south.

[Cathy]

The entrance is but a small hint as to the interior and lake behind the restaurant, Kat. It's fun to step inside and see the continuation of the decorating theme. The food is a bonus.