Third Floor Fish Cafe - restaurant review

Sunday night dinners with the madre never fail to leave me full-stomached. Since they are so few and far between, we like to do it as big as we can. Tonight was no exception bill-wise, but the food just wasn't what we'd expected. We went to the Third Floor Fish Cafe down on the Kirkland waterfront, a spot we'd been to a few times before that usually serves high-quality meals, and we left fairly unimpressed. The restaurant has a view, an atmosphere, and a menu that fits the upper-echelon eatery criteria, but was it really worth it? We'll see:

Kirkland:




The mid '90's neon /etched glass art that is frequently spotted at waterside restaurants:



The front desk:



The open kitchen: As previously stated, most upper-echelon places have open kitchens so that the patrons don't feel as though they are getting dog-chow as a beef substitute:



The view: The view that the TFFC has to offer is spectacular, if you are lucky enough to get sat right by the window. We were. I highly recommend going here during the winter at about 5-6pm so that you can watch the sunset while you eat or guzzle down some high-priced cocktail. The restaurant overlooks a marina with some pretty nice boats, so you definitely get the feeling that the posh atmosphere is carried out even outside the restaurant.

6:00pm



6:30pm



The food: I ordered the organic greens salad as an appetizer and didn't bother taking a picture. It was good, I guess, but nothing to write home about (I recommend getting the same salad at Joey's, it's fantastic). For dinner, though, I ordered the Alaskan King Crab legs, and they were fan-taste-ic. The meat was sauteed well enough that I didn't have to douse it in the creamy butter-wine sauce that accompanied it, but it was still there just incase I ran out of water and needed my food to slide down efficiently. The veggies that came with it (halved baby red potatoes, chopped green beans, onions, and red peppers) were heavily oiled, which was kind of mushy at times, but they were aiight. The meal was filling, and it was actually quite satisfying - unlike the salad and the mojito (made with fucking Monarch, yeeech). To go with dinner we ordered a Cake Bread Chard, which also wasn't the best. It tasted and smelled very corky, like it had been served before its time or was counterfitted. For an $80 bottle, it fucking sucked, to be completely honest. The drinks / appetizer combo really ruined the beginning of the night, as we did not get what we'd paid for. Dinner was good. Not good enough to cancel out the Monarch in my mojito, but it was good. Here's the crab:



The view at night:



Although my dinner was good, the rest of the accoutrement was so-so. So-so, however, when you pay $365 on a 3 person bill turns into "fucking shitty" real damn quick-like in two raises of a dog's leg. The service was exceptional - they poured our wine for us and got us whatever we wanted - but the goods could've easily been better, thus I give the Third Floor Fish Cafe a 6/10. Most of the rating has to do with the Monarch in the $10 mojito, but the salad, for instance, could've easily been more than just "edible". Come here to get a cheaper glass of wine than the Cake Bread and some Oysters, and you'll be in good shoes. Come here for a 4 course meal with all the bells and whistles and you're gonna be one pissed off motherfucker. My best bet: come here, grab a drink and an appetizer, then hit up Baskin-Robbins for some ice cream. Afterwards, take a stroll on the beach and watch the sunset there. That routine would be much more appropriate for you, your date, and your wallet. Peace.

May the force be with you.