SEAFOOD STILL REIGNS AT ATLANTA FISH MARKET!
Whether it’s your first or 100th visit to Atlanta Fish Market, as you dig into whatever you ordered, there’s an inescapable pang of regret that you didn’t get here sooner. The dining destination on Pharr Road since 1993 packs its lunch, dinner, sushi, lobster, happy hour and drink menus with so many temptations that choosing just one meal almost guarantees you’ll make a silent promise to return and try what you had to skip. More than cravings can lure you back. Atlanta Fish Market offers multiple dining spaces, each with its own spin on the restaurant’s theme. Grab a stool at the bar and nibble on sushi, choose an umbrella table on the outdoor patio and crack a lobster, slide into a booth in the spacious main dining room facing the kitchen and dig into a mound of shrimp fettuccine alfredo, or sit near the display of seafood on ice and feast on a seafood tower.
Friendly, attentive servers aim to please guests throughout the building, which was designed to mimic the character and charm of the historic fish markets in Savannah, the hometown of Pano Karatassos, founder and CEO of Buckhead Life Restaurant Group, Atlanta Fish Market’s parent company.
To create the illusion that the property evolved over time, the bar is styled as an earlier structure off the main dining room while the elevated platform suggests a later addition, though it was all constructed as a single project. In front of the building, a 65-foot-tall patinated fish appears to leap from the ground. In the main dining room above the kitchen, a mural by Atlanta artist Lee Bivens is packed with famous Georgia faces and places. Details like live lobster tanks and brass bulkhead sconces throughout reinforce the design’s overall intent.
Executive Chef Ian Bailey’s menus change seasonally and are tweaked weekly to showcase available fresh seafood, though classic signature dishes are always available. Menus boast that the restaurant offers “Atlanta’s largest selection of fresh, wild caught fish.” All seafood arrives 18- to 36-hours out of the water for optimal freshness. Diners who prefer to avoid seafood can dig into steak, chicken, salads and numerous veggie sides.
The top section of the menu has enough variety to order something different every day for more than two months. Take your pick among 16 types of fish and then choose whether your center-cut filet is sautéed, broiled, blackened or prepared Hong Kong style—the most popular choice. It became the restaurant’s signature dish in 1996 by presenting fish with sherry soy broth, scallions, ginger, spinach and basmati rice for a delightful merger of sweet and umami flavors.
Two long-standing signature items are available as either an appetizer or entree: The jumbo lump crab cake gives dense, sweet meat a tangy kick with lemon and grainy mustard emulsion, while the lightly fried South African cold water lobster tail is served with honey-mustard aioli and drawn butter dipping sauces to tingle your taste buds.
The popular gumbo is packed with sweet seafood nuggets, savory sausage bites and a zippy spice blend; a scoop of basmati rice helps soak up every drop of the rich broth. Pecan crusted salmon trout coats a tender fish filet with delicate crunch. Swordfish steak crusted with cashews and cracked pepper adds a buttery/spicy crunch to the succulent fish. Can’t limit yourself to one type of seafood? Consider the signature stuffed flounder casserole that’s packed with shrimp, crab, scallops and mushrooms in a white wine sauce; the dish makes a good case that sophistication is edible. Lobster mac ’n cheese is a decadent side option that’s both gooey and toothsome.
Happy hour in the sushi bar offers sit-at-the-counter camaraderie and the best version of sticker shock: lower than expected prices. Every Monday through Friday from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. select beers, wines and cocktails are priced so low you might wonder what year the menu was printed. Bar bites range from nibbles to snacks; order several to make a meal out of a deal. Featured fourpiece sushi rolls include the fresh, light and slightly sweet California roll plus the mildly spicy super crunch roll. Calamari, oysters, fish tacos are among the other options.
For a satisfying lunch, fish or shrimp can be blackened, fried or grilled then tucked into three soft taco shells with lettuce, tomato pico and spicy guacamole. Grouper can be sauteed or fried before it’s slid into a bun, topped with tomato, lettuce and mayo then plated alongside expertly cooked fries.
Desserts like toffee crunch pie are worth the calorie splurge but so rich with deep chocolate flavor that after a few bites you might decide to pack up the rest for a later treat.
Before heading out, stop by Pano’s Food Shop, a takeaway market that offers daily cuts of fresh seafood, as well as steaks, sides, signature ingredients and desserts. Stocking up can help quell hankerings before a return visit.
Atlanta Fish Market
404.262.3165
atlantafishmarket.com
@atlantafishmarket
Prices: Entrees, $20-$56; platters, $50-$57; iced seafood tower, $22-$92; sandwiches, $20-$38; soups & salads, $12-15; sides, $8-$39; happy hour bites, $8-24; sushi, $9-$16; desserts, $9-$10; cocktails, $8-$25; wines, $8-$35/glass, $48-$150/bottle.
Recommended: Super crunch roll, seafood gumbo, jumbo lump crab cake, fried grouper sandwich, Hong Kong combo and toffee crunch pie.
Bottom line: This Atlanta mainstay offers a bustling vibe, multiple dining areas, eye-catching works of art, attentive service and skilled preparations of high-quality dishes and drinks.
PHOTOS: Erik Meadows
