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    What a Catch Fish Bar

    3.2 (159 reviews)
    Open 11:30 am - 7:30 pm

    What a Catch Fish Bar Photos

    WHAT A CATCH FISH BAR ATMOSPHERE

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    Hipster
    Casual
    Touristy
    Moderate noise

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    Kids fish and chips.
    Sean A.

    A year ago I gave 4 stars. The fact saw 40% to 50% increase in less than a year makes it not worth it. Especially for a walk up place Kids meal was less $8 now $12 (okay $11.99) That is 50% up charge and now no drink that used to have. The dishes that were $11.99 are now $16.99. If I wanted these prices I'd go to a nice sit down at Fish Peddler for better food and full service

    Alaskan Halibut and Chips
    Sean Anthony P.

    My wife and I come here every time we're in Ruston. It's a little pricey, but their halibut fish and chips are the best in town. Perfectly cooked and very well seasoned. If only it wasn't so pricey. Regardless, I'd recommend it to anyone and everyone.

    Eddie J.

    If you're in the mood for some fish tacos in Tacoma, then head over to What a Catch Fish Bar in Point Ruston. Located next door to the Wild Fin restaurant, the counter service fish bar also has a couple fish & chips options including Alaskan Cod & Alaskan Halibut. Recommendation: Order the crispy fish tacos and enjoy them outside by the waterfront.

    Calamari and Chips
    Smaly K.

    A nice, quick, and convenient place to grab food when you're hanging out in the area. I was with my cousin and her two kids, and my dog, so it was nice to grab food and enjoy outside without having to find a restaurant to dine in. I got the Calamari and Chips, and it was good and pretty fulfilling.

    Alaskan Cod and Chips
    Hayleigh L.

    Yummy quick grab & go fish & chips. Perfect place to grab a quick bite from then go sit by the water with a nice view. Service was good and fast. Would eat here again.

    Fried Crispy Cod
    Sophie S.

    I love that they put up a casual fish stand right outside of Wildfin! This place is perfect for a quick casual lunch, and has a good variety of options! I really enjoyed my fried cod, and the French fries were good too! The packaging gets bonus points, I'm a sucker for good presentation. I'm holding back of 5 stars because they didn't have lemon or salt, which was weird for a fish shack. Also, we had heard that the chowder was a specialty but upon sample it was cold, so we had to miss out there. I have to give a special shout-out to the blackberry basil lemonade, it was perfect for the sunny day and fried lunch. I would definitely come here again!

    Storefront
    Sara S.

    I got my husband Alaskan Cod and Chips and Clam Chowder to go. I sneaked a couple of his fries, and they were so yummy. I had to throw everything in the air fryer and microwave when I got home, but it heated perfectly, and he said it was delicious!

    Michael C.

    This is revision to my first review, today while in the area I stopped and they were finally open! I have to say this was TOTALLY worth the wait! First, the young lady answered all my questions and was knowledgeable about the best choices for what I wanted. The menu was small but in a good way, they do fish, and they do chips, I saw a chowder and like one or two other things on the menu, GOOD, play to your strengths! The fish tasted fresh, and we watched them hand batter it, I went for the four piece because usually these places skimp a little, NOT HERE, I was stuffed after the second piece! I want to give a shout out to their fries too, these are exactly the kind of fries I love, and they are fresh and well seasoned. Last the vibe was Poppin, this whole little area reminding me of L.A. very vibrant and full of life, people hanging out, socializing. This is the kind of place I moved back to the city to be part of. I currently have "what a catch" tied with first place for my favorite fish and chips.

    Alaskan Cod and Chips Calamari and Chips Blackberry Basil Lemonade
    Jesse R.

    The sun is definitely out today, so we decided to take a walk around Ruston! This place caught our attention and I've been craving some good fish and chips. It is just a little shop, with a few workers so I could imagine it being busy. I wouldn't go here if you're in a rush though because they do cook and prepare your food by order, or is what it seems. It took like 15 minutes for our order. The girl taking our order was very friendly, and quick! We got the Calamari & chips, and also the 3 piece Cod and Chips. The fries are seasoned to perfection! I was not a fan of the cod because it didn't have much taste to the batter, and it was fried, crispy enough. It didn't even really taste like it was battered. Looking at the photos, the definitely didn't batter mine... As you can see in the photo, it still has some white on it. The size of the fish was REALLY small for $17...The calamari was pretty good though. I could tell it was fresh, the taste and the batter wasn't for us. It didn't really have the crispness that it should've had. The drink we got was the basil lemonade and it was just over powering in sweetness. I would give this place a try again one day, maybe they just didn't have a good day.

    Fish taco
    B253 ..

    Was very disappointed with our order today. Co Pared to previous summers, they've cut their portions by more than half. As you can see in my photo, there is barely any fish, and the fish that's in there is just scraps. It's mainly sauce inside the tortilla. And the price- I understand that there is a markup because it's on the waterfront, but even with that taken into consideration paying that much for this is outrageous. I don't know if this is just because these teenage boys were not properly taught how to make a taco or what, but pending some major change we won't be coming back anymore. Major bummer.

    Overcooked, bad quality cod 2 piece and greasy soggy fries from 'What a Catch'
    Michelle B.

    So sad, this place used to be one of our fave places in Ruston to grab a bite to eat outside while enjoying the weather and views... I actually laughed at the size of the fish in my two piece fish n chips for $12.99... Not much bigger than a nugget from McDonalds and to make it even worse the fish wasn't flaky and white, the batter had no flavor and was so unbelievably greasy that's all I could taste. I usually love the fries dipped in the yummy aioli sauce but the fries were also a soggy greasy mess. After waiting 10 mins for them to refill the aioli container they were inedible... So glad I didn't spend an extra $5 on the halibut. I would have been livid! Come on "What a Catch", you're right on the water with fresh fish and a very limited menu... You literally have one job to do and you are not getting that right anymore! I won't be back or referring anyone there until they step up their game!

    Two piece Alaskan Cod and Chips
    Christine S.

    This spot always has a line out in front and I always thought because Point Ruston is always busy on the weekends and full of people and I was assuming Wow they must have amazing fish and chips. For the record their fish and chips are very good. The beer battered fish had the pow factor flavor and the fries were the slightly battered type and delicious. Portion size was on par for an average person. The service was just ok. I was slightly annoyed that everything besides the fish and chips were unavailable when my friend tried to order extras. I was even more annoyed that this wasn't marked on their chalk board menu. I mean how hard is it to use a piece of chalk to cross out an item?

    Fish Alaskan Cod and Chips

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    1 year ago

    This place used to be decent. They just served us burnt fish. The pieces were small and tough. Won't be back. So disappointed.

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    Page 1 of 4

    Ask the Community - What a Catch Fish Bar

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    I have lived in Tacoma almost all my life and for whatever reason, it took me this long to finally…read moretry the Lobster Shop. I will get right to it. The restaurant itself if beautiful and has wonderful views! Such a perfect spot for Summer Happy Hour. Everything we ordered was absolutely delicious! The portions are just right and the flavors and quality are outstanding! I couldn't wait to leave just so we could come back again! I would also like to mention (I wish I could remember her name), our waitress was so knowledgeable and helpful! Obviously we wanted to try a little bit of everything and she definitely steered us in the right direction. I will be coming back over and over again!

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    My little brother wanted to come here for his birthday and he wanted our dogs to partake in his…read morebirthday festivities so we called to ask if the patio was open that day and luckily it was! We arrived around 4:30-40ish on a Sunday and we were seated quickly at the patio. They had plenty of seating in the patio and even had umbrellas in case the sun was too much. Luckily it was the perfect weather with a nice little breeze. The hostess offered us waters for our dogs and even asked if they needed one or two bowls. We opted for two bowls just in case as our male dog drinks a lot. We love that the menu was concise and that they had their specials on a little display on the table. I decided that I wanted to try out more of the menu and orders a strawberry lemonade, steamed clams, Bang Bang shrimp, bowl of clam chowder and a S'mores cheesecake to share with everyone. For the entrees, we ordered two of the smoked seafood fettuccine, kickin' chicken burger, and the Connecticut lobster roll. It did take some time for our entrees to arrive so I'm glad I bought the appetizers as we were hungry. However, the drinks were all refreshing and the food was perfectly seasoned and cooked. My only gripe is that the coleslaw was a bit off for me but at least I know to get fries or another substitute. The cheesecake was also a good size and I love that they toasted the marshmallows. Everyone, including the birthday boy left full and satisfied. I also was able to use their new Toast reward system with no issues. Our server Dallas was very professional and friendly with us. She would check in at appropriate times despite how busy the patio was getting. She even handled an extremely rude and entitled guest with precise professionalism.

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    I love the $35 dollar deal! Great bang for your buck. Great quality. Seasoned well. Absolutely…read moredelicious. Shout out SCOTT for being the best server we have had to date!!!! He went above and beyond. Can't wait to come back!

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    What a Catch Fish Bar - fishnchips - Updated September 2026

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