Great place. Outstanding food for a very reasonable price. The servers where really well informed on the different dishes and provided good suggestions from the menu. I will definitely be visiting again. read more

I was at Happy Fish yesterday 21 June to celebrate my birthday and from all of the restaurants in Tampa, I picked that one. Unfortunately, the service was horrible! I asked for a Pisco Sour and tasted old and too sour. I asked them to please bring me another one and they did. Also, The waitress asked me to give them another try and he brought a different one and it was worst than the other one. I told them it was also bad or worst and they were not happy with me and rude about it.. After that , they refused to give me a refund for a drink I could not consume. Then a different waitress who was super rude came and told me they couldn't refund me because my friend tasted as well. Granted we only sipped on it. I asked my friend to taste it because maybe I was wrong. And yes it was horrible. The waitress proceeded to be rude and told us that because we were drinking it, she was not going to refund us. It was my birthday and I was treated horrible for a $8 dollar drink...Additionally, the food was burned and not good at all... at this point.. I am not sure if it was on purpose. Worst Peruvian restaurant I've ever visit! Please train your waitresses on customer service. They are rude and uneducated. read more

Loved the steak a la pobre it was super juicy and flavorful. My husband had a chicken dish which was also super good. Reasonable prices and portions. Highly recommend! read more

Food was good, but it was luke warm by the time I picked it up. Got there 5 mins after them calling me to pick it up

If you visit Tampa, this place is a must. Huge portions and super fresh seafood. Ask for whole fried snapper! And we had the great server, William. He took care of us well and was super fast and friendly. read more

I am Peruvian and I have tried Peruvian food all over the place and this has nothing Peruvian flavor in it.. asked for delivery and they didn't even bother to put hot sauce in the bag or anything. There are far better Peruvian restaurants with amazing real Peruvian flavor. read more

The food was very good, the plave is cozy and clean. They give you Very Healthy portons and the food was good (did I say that already?) But I didnt rate it at 5 stars because 1. They claim Peruvian style food and they didn't have the rotisserrie style chicken that is a staple od Peruvian food. 2. The server acted like he didnt know what I was talking aboit when I asked for the chicken and kept suggesting things that are not chicken, so IF they had it he didnt tell me they did. 3. The server didnt understand much of what I was saying when I aske for 3 boxes to go and the check split up 3 ways. Its almost like an Asian Peruvian fusion... read more

Happy Fish - Chicken and fried rice - Peruvian Near Me - Tampa, Florida

Peruvian perfection. Calamari was not tough-- seafood dishes fresh and not drowning in sauce. Best place in the area. Service was great too.

Visited this place while vacationing in Tampa. The ceviche was very good. The bistec al pobre not so much. The steak was dry and flavorless, but edible. We had some good wine too. The service was very good. Friendly staff. One might say even a bit over the top. Waitress came and checked on us a bit too many times. I think they were ready to close since we got there at 7 pm because there were mops and brooms in the middle if the restaurant. You could smell the pinesol around you. All in all, the place is a good choice if you're looking for Peruvian food in Tampa. read more

My wife and I have been here many times. This place does not disappoint! The food & service is great every time. The ceviche & pescado a lo macho is fire! Soo good. It's a low key place found in a strip mall that I probably wouldn't frequent, but Happy Fish is worth the visit! Can't wait to go back for some mouth watering Peruvian food! read more

Just had another wonderful family dinner here, and all enjoyed including 2 not usually comfortable with foreign foods. Once again had the superior ceviche, both mixto and shrimp, also lomo beef and grilled chicken dishes. The jalea provided enough seafood for 2 more meals at home. Calamari and papas huricaina apps were a good start with the free chips and tiger sauce, and the Peruvian donuts with caramel left us with a sweet taste. Very reasonable and tasty sangria. The manager Kevin visited out table several times to meet and assure satisfaction, and provided a flan dessert for our birthday girl. The place is popular and crowded. We had reservations at 5, and filled the last tables. By the time we left, there were a dozen waiting outside. Be sure to make reservations, esp on the weekend when they have (cramped) entertainment. read more

Wow!!! That's all I can say. I come from a Midwestern state, so for a seafood lover like me, this place is paradise. The food here was way beyond my expectations. It was a smallish restaurant in a somewhat unsavory area, but the experience I had went way above other similar places. We had the seafood paella, seafood soup, and mussels. The lime and seasoning was perfect and the seafood was fresh. Surprisingly, their portions were huge. We were really full at lunch and we were able to bring enough home for a full dinner too. Try this place! Your tummy & wallet will thank you. read more

First time I went there was ok . Second time , the food was super salty , it was impossible to eat the food so we asked the person in charge and he did not like that we return the food . He brought the two dishes back but they were still very salty . I will never go back . Not only the food but the attitude of this person . read more

Great family restaurant. Only wish fish quality was better. Veal heart was the best, as well as fried yuca.

Shakespeare once asked ""What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Hummm. I do believe that somehow the name we were given might determine a bit of how we approach life... after all--throughout one's life everyone reinforces that word every time they speak to you...or about you...or call you. Could destiny be engraved in our names? Happy Fish would have never ever being a choice I would have made for this incredible restaurant because I found it misleading. I did not want to go there. A Peruvian place with an English name??? PLE_ PLE_PLE_PLEASE! A couple of my fabulous friends had recommended it consistently, but I kept my Mona Lisa smile and nodded my head fully knowing there would never come a time in which I would go. I am inconsistent often. Luckily. Happy Fish is a place I would return to plenty of times. The quaint corner place in the side of a shopping center deceives you. My GPS kept repeating "You have arrived at your destination" as I caught myself mouth wide open and left eyebrow rose in mocking incredulity. I became immediately skeptic, but as I opened the door I saw the place was packed with Latin American foodies. I breathed and returned smiles welcoming us. We were lucky because we took the very last table available and then a line began to form outside. People did not seem to mind the wait. The little place is decorated with colorful murals or Peruvian landscapes. The music was perfect too. We were greeted by the owner, Kevin, who cleaned, served, cashed, ordered, greeted and waved goodbye. He is on top of this very busy and wonderful eatery. Even when waiters had assigned tables they moved around and asked and served whoever needed anything. Of course we had Ceviche. We ordered two of them: Fish and octopus. Fresh seafood like few around here... The Sangre de Tigre (the white sauce of ceviche made of a tad of evaporated milk, tons of lemon juice, garlic, fish stock and onions) became the perfect gravy for the tostones (crunchy fried plantains). We could not have enough of this sauce. We asked Kevin what we ought to order and he recommended Peruvian usuals: Jalea de yuca (a huge platter of calamari, shrimp, oysters, fish topped with Yuca smothered with onions and lemon juice), Pargo frito (the best red snapper I have had since I moved to Tampa from Puerto Rico), and Arroz Chaufa (Peruvian style fried rice.) Please refrain from eating anything since the day before so that you can try to finish any of these dishes... We ate as if the Apocalypse was near; and we brought a lot of food home. We had seen our neighbor's dishes and were cautious with our ordering. There were five of us. We ordered for four... and Kevin has not realized how much money he could save if he was a tad less generous. Costumers would still flock regardless of the size of the portions. The seafood is so fresh. The taste so unique and truthful. As I roughly shook the glass sangria jar to enjoy my last glass of it, I pondered about the name... Happy Fish. I should have asked Kevin... or maybe not. I would use my existential probing as an excuse to return. Come to think of it, my seafood was perfect and it made me happy... then again Pescado Feliz does not sound as cute. read more

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After hearing so much about this place from my Yelp friends, I was really excited to try it. I tagged along with some fellow Yelpers for a taste test. I am not really familiar with Peruvian cuisine and had never eaten at Happy Fish. As an avid Yelper, I of course scrolled the reviews to make decisions about what to order. There were so many things on the menu that looked appealing based on the written descriptions. A few of us decided to order several items and share; this was perfect for me because it allowed me to sample many of the items on the menu. We ordered the Ceviche Mixto (Seafood Ceviche), Chaufa de Pollo (Chicken Frid Rice), Bistek a la Pobre (Palomilla Steak), and Lamb Special. The ceviche was good. I enjoyed it and thought it was a good balance of seafood. The citrus was spot on and the seafood was tender but not overdone. The chaufa came out and we were all blown away by the portion size. It was a massive amount and big enough to share with the whole table. The fried rice was different from what I am used to receiving at the local Chinese restaurant. Although my table mates enjoyed it, it was too heavily seasoned with sesame oil for my liking. I would not order this entrée again. The steak was very bland. I do not like spice so I could not use any of the sauces to enhance the flavor like my friends. The best part of this entrée was the white beans and rice served as a side. The steak was not a good grade of beef and as a result was tough; definitely not my fave. I will say one our friends ordered a steak dish that was much more flavorful. I liked that much better. The lamb was ok. It was tender but crispy on the ends. I would have liked more gravy on the lamb shanks to add some moisture to the well cooked meat. This special was also served with the white beans and rice which we all loved. Even though we were all pretty full, we couldn't resist ordering dessert. We ordered the picarones and each had one. These were similar to fried doughnuts or funnel cake that you would get at the fair. It was served with a cinnamon sauce. It was not overly sweet and a great way to end the meal. Although the food was not impressive to me, the service definitely was. Sheila our server was absolutely amazing! She was patient, warm and hospitable. She was attentive and anticipated all of our needs. Any requests were fulfilled immediately. All of the staff was very friendly and accommodating. I wish I had liked the food more than I did because I cannot see myself returning any time soon. read more

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Small intimate space that makes you feel close to the action, and to others enjoying their meals. The portions are great, enough to share meals, and live music was excellent. read more

Happy Fish - Had a fabulous time for my wife and sisters birthday! The seafood soup was absolutely delicious, and made me sing and dance!.lol - Peruvian Near Me - Tampa, Florida

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The food here was amazing and the service as well. We ordered one Lomo Saltado ($13.99), one Lomo Especial ($17.99), and a seafood dish (I forgot the name and the price). The Lomo dishes were the best in my opinion. They just had such a great flavor! And our waiter was very nice, attentive, and helpful with explanations of the food. read more

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The place is decent. When we were having food they started cleaning the restaurant and the place started smelling like Lysol. Completely ruined the appetite.. had the Ceviche, Macho and the seafood fried rice.. all food was good but nothing to brag about. read more

Fish happy, me happy. I usually say that I will come back to the place at the end of my review, or at the end of my meal. I knew I needed to come back when I saw the menu at this place, it's so diverse that I can't really rate the restaurant comfortably. The personal attention of the owner and the helpful attitude of the staff was very inviting and made it easy to understand my options. It's great that there is a book with a picture of every dish. I'm Colombian and we are close to Peru, still they have a very unique cuisine that I'm yet to master. They are very famous for their ceviche so I went with it. I thought it was very good but I'd prefer it as appetizer instead of being the main course. In my opinion it's to acidic fro a large portion. I would have had three bites and it would have been perfect. They served it with a side of potatoes with the famous "salsa huancaina" and I liked it (I added some salt). The fish ceviche was served with some toasted puffy corn... interesting, it help me offset the strength of the citrusy red onions added to the fish. I'd have it again, as an appetizer shared with one more person. I liked the fried noodles they give you when you get in and they serve it with a green creamy sauce. I had a "chicha morada:" Wikipedia says: "Chicha morada is a sweet Peruvian beverage made from purple corn, a variant of Zea mays native to the Peruvian Andes, and spices. Non-alcoholic, it is a type of chicha usually made by boiling the corn with pineapple, cinnamon, clove, and sugar. Its use and consumption date back to the pre-colonial era of Peru, even prior to the creation of the Inca empire." Pretty cool huh! Yes, I will be back with a group of my skinny friends so I can try many dishes next time. They have a lunch menu and I saw most their dishes here under $10. read more

I've been dying to eat at Happy Fish after having heard so much about it. Unfortunately, I probably will never go back. My friends and I ate here on a Sat late afternoon. The plaza of which HF is located is super crowded, lots of people parking, leaving, sitting in their cars, etc. Be sure to park far away from the crowd if you don't want any scratches and dents on your car. The restaurant is of decent size and has a mom and pop feel. The menu is of decent size and I'm guessing lots of non-Latinos eat here because there's also a photo album of the different dishes offered, which was very helpful. I went there already knowing what I'm going to try, the ceviche. 4 out of the 6 of us ordered the Ceviche Mixto (fish and shrimp), the other 2 ordered pork chop and steak. I think most of us enjoyed the ceviche, except me. Either I don't know what real Peruvian food is, or it really is just not good. Not that it was bad; it was just mediocre. I've definitely had better ceviche elsewhere, ie. Terra Sur Cafe and a place that is now closed in the plaza at Hillsborough and Sheldon. I miss that place. Oh, and I definitely can better ceviche. Why didn't I like the ceviche. For starter, I think the fish is too cooked. Perhaps it was marinated in the limes/lemons too long? Maybe that's how Peruvian ceviche is? I don't know; all I know is that I don't like it marinating too long. Biting into it I can tell there was no part of the fish that is raw. Second, I had ordered it spicy, but it was not spicy. We asked for the spiciest sauce available and I poured it on, but it wasn't spicy. And third, there was too much chopped onion. Yes, the onion was on top of the ceviche so we could push it aside, and all of us did just that. What I did like were the side items. Love the giant kernel corn (hominy), yuca and sweet potato. Wish I had some plantains though. Unfortunately, by the time I wanted to add it, the server said it'd take way too long because there are lots of orders ahead of me. The Ceviche Mixto is $14 and the portion is pretty decent. Most of us had a little bit of leftover to take home. My friends who didn't order ceviche expressed disappointment in their dishes as well (pork chop and steak). One of my friends ordered the beef tongue appetizer and gave each of us a taste. Disappointingly, no one liked it because it tasted like either it was cooked in vinegar or soaked in it before/after cooking. I've had beef tongue at another local Peruvian restaurant and it did not taste vinegary. Once again, maybe this is how it should be? I just know that I don't like it. Let's talk about the service. It was good that our server had enough patience for us because we did take about 30 min to decide what we want to eat. However, my friends asked multiple times for a certain sauce and was forgotten all of those times, until a friend who speaks Spanish asked. Unfortunately, the sauce finally arrived after we were all finished with our meals. The food came out one dish at a time and a couple of us had to wait a very long time to get ours, I was one of them. We were beginning to think they had forgotten us. One dish that was supposed to be for another customer was given to us, then got taken back after our friend had already started eating it. A waitress who only speaks Spanish thought we wanted to order a dish when we asked her what the dish was. Maybe that was our fault for asking. At the end of our meal, it took forever for the waiter to bring us the check. In fact, since we waited so long and no check, I thought it might be like a deli where you walk up to the register and tell the employee what you had ordered and he takes your payment. But no, we were supposed to wait for the check. Which finally came after about 10 min more of waiting. To sum it up, 3 out of 6 of us were disappointed with Happy Fish's food and all of us were disappointed in the service. I'm positive the 3 of us will never come back. My search for good ceviche continues... read more

Happy Fish - Ceviche Mixto, just okay - Peruvian Near Me - Tampa, Florida

Their food is super tasty and the staff is really friendly. I wish they were open later but I recommend this place for sure! read more

Happy Fish - Peruvian Near Me - Tampa, Florida

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Food was delicious and everything was very fresh and well made; great ambiance and superb customer service; I wish they were more stars in the rating system because they really deserve it. read more

This is a cheerful little spot with warm decor and even warmer staff. The ceviche looked delicious, but we were taking the food to go and couldn't eat it promptly, so we had to focus on cooked food. Unfortunately, the three entrees we got were just alright. The steamed fish in tomato broth was solid, maybe even into "4" territory, but the mixed seafood stew with potatoes was kind of tough. The lomo saltado was also fairly chewy, of course, but that's the way it's supposed to be. Still, some fresh herbs and vegetables could have done a lot to liven up these dishes. To the people who said that their ceviche was "tart": it's ceviche, of course it's tart! That's the way you do it. read more

Excellent customer service, the owner greeted us soon as we walked in and answered our million questions lol everything on the menu looks good and tastes amazing. Prices are mad reasonable too. Oh and the portions are huge, most you can feed 2-3 people with. read more

Happy Fish - Peruvian Near Me - Tampa, Florida

Food and service is phenomenal! They have HUGE portions so I really recommend sharing. Their green sauce, I can't remember the name of it, its spicy but really good. Can't wait to go back. read more

Delicious authentic Hispanic food, great service and prices. Food is fresh and comes in large quantities. Try the veal hearts for appetizer they're delicious. Closest thing to my abuelas cooking I've found. Also to drink try the mango juice, both sweet and refreshing. Definitely recommend to anyone who comes visit us and we've been back multiple times read more

Happy Fish - Peruvian Near Me - Tampa, Florida

The ceviche, fried anything and service is on point. Every time I've visited this restaurant the food has been enjoyable and the management caring. It's a small place but seems to always be busy. I've seen where some always ask to go lite on the onions. But I LOVE the raw onion salad they put on the seafood. I've tried replicating it at home and it never turns out as good as this place. Even the fried fish is done to perfection. A must try for classic Peruvian dishes. read more

Staff is friendly and helpful. Very personable. I looooooovvvveeeee their various ceviches. I have had the ceviches both mild and super-duper hot. Total YUM either way. :) Recommend asking for fresh cicha. They run out of cicha, so get it if it's available. Cicha is a sweet, refreshing Peruvian drink that is made from purple corn. Many of the meals also come with a bowl these large kernels of corn that are either toasted or fried. Definitely worth a taste. *Since, I may have hidden a serving of the corn kernels for myself* :D read more

Honestly, not sure how this place has garnered such a high rating here. For my wife and I the experience was average. We started off with the calamari that was overcooked. The owner offered us another but we declined since our entrees would be arriving soon. Yes, you get a ton of food here, my mixed seafood with chicken and steak could have easily fed a family of four. The issue, the rice was clumpy and overcooked and most of the meat/seafood items was diced up into such small pieces they were indiscernible. They also added way too much cumin to the plate almost to the point of it overpowering all the other flavors. This restaurant does have fantastic service and the wait staff and owner are all friendly and aim to please their customers. For the area of West Tampa my experience is average. read more

So far I've only been here once..... and I loved it. I had " Pescado a lo macho and it was amazing! I would definitely recommend this place! Small place but the food is worth the visit!!! read more

The ceviche mixto is excellent and the prices are very reasonable. The service was really slow on the Friday night that I went.

Very lovely restaurant. Great service! The food was fabulous. We both loved our dishes. It was our first time trying Peruvian food. Loved it.. read more

This was my first time ever trying true Ceviche. While here we tasted the Shrimp Ceviche, which was awesome and super fresh. The Ceviche is served on a huge platter and definitely enough to share with a group. In addition to the massive mound of fresh shrimp ceviche the dish was also served with yummy dueling corn's, one pile of crunchy corn and one pile of puffed marinated corn (yes I know... this sounds weird... but it was good). The platter also was served with dueling starches of sweet potatoes and yucca. We also ordered pitchers of sangria which was really tasty and economical :) read more

Happy Fish - Ceviche - Peruvian Near Me - Tampa, Florida

I always get cerviche pascado. It never disappoints. I have had cerviche elsewhere and it's not nearly as fresh. I have also tried cerviche mixto and it comes with fish, shrimp, and octopus. In my opinion, it's not as good as cerviche pescado but I think it's based on my taste. Try both and make your own decision. The reason 4 stars is because in the past, I call ahead for take out and when I arrive, I still wait 10 to 15 min. For order. Other than that, staff is nice. read more

Happy Fish - Medium spicy cerviche pascado - Peruvian Near Me - Tampa, Florida

This is my favorite Peruvian place in town. I stick to the basics like Lomo Saltado and Ceviche they're both freaking amazing with their green and red sauces. I'll have to try the other items people are raving about on here. I love and appreciate that they are willing to substitute different things and never screw up the orders. Everyone who works there has been really pleasant each time I went so it just adds to the experience. read more

This is where I tried Peruvian food for the first time. I was CRAVING Happy Fish ceviche! We ordered 2 ceviches to go but just before we got there we decided to stay. They had our plates ready at the bar since it was so busy. We had asked the Ceviche be a mild spice because I can't handle a lot of spice in a dish. It was a bit more spicy than I could handle and Kevin, the owner, was super helpful for me to get more lime in the ceviche. It came back was overly acidic in taste. I felt super bad asking him to neutralize it with the milk but he reassured me it was no problem. It was perfect! We had leche volteada for dessert. Freaking fantastic. If you like flan, you will love this! The owner is super nice, great service and I can't wait to come back!! read more

Wonderful experience. We were going to leave because they closed early on Sunday and our group was late but the owner, Kevin, came by and reassured us that his food and service to his customers is his number one priority and we turned around and stayed. And it was definitely a great decision! The food was beyond amazing! I had the pitcher is sangria with a friend and you could taste the fruit (definitely homemade) it was amazing!! And the food... Well... Just amazing! Definitely coming back! read more

A group of 5 of us decided to try this restaurant, solely based on previous reviews and we loved it! We each ordered a different entree and everyone enjoyed their meals. The Lomo Saltado was delicious. I had no room for dessert. I would definitely visit again and try another item from their menu. read more

Visited Happy Fish with our friends on Sunday around 3PM and was able to be seated immediately. First impressions of the restaurant it was intimate and comfortable and clean. Service was immediate and friendly. Our waiter was Wilmer and he was fantastic. He immediately suggested specialty drinks that were regional to Peru. We had an appetizer-that wasn't on the menu - also suggested by Wilmer and was delicious. I let him pick my meal and was perfect. It was pesto and steak. The rest of the table did fish dishes. Nothing was greasy and tasted fresh and delicious. The portions were plentiful...plenty for sharing. The restrooms were very clean. We appreciated Wilmers suggestions and great service. We will definitely return. Very reasonable prices also. 4 meals, appetizers, drinks, and shared desserts about $100...can't beat that. read more