where jess ate

While we were in Hawaii, I just wanted to eat seafood for every meal. After realizing that our resort in Kaanapali was a stone’s throw away from the Fish Market, we made a beeline over there for our first lunch.

It’s a pretty casual little spot with limited seating – a few stools inside with a handful of tables outside. So, I suspect a lot of people take their food to go. If you’re in the mood to cook, you can also pick op some fresh fish in the other half of their storefront.

The Fish Market’s menu consists of tacos, burritos, fish market plates (served with rice and mac salad), deep fried offerings (including calamari and coconut shrimp) and sandwiches with most prices hovering around the $12-$15 range.

We ordered several tacos and the first one I got my hands on was the Baja Fish Taco – deep fried in light tempura batter served with cabbage, pico de gallo and light cream sauce ($4.75). It was definitely one of those “OMG” moments. It had a perfect batter – light, not too greasy and wonderfully moist on the inside. Each bite was packed full of flavour from the pico de gallo and cream sauce. I wish we had ordered more of these instead of the regular tacos which followed.

The other two tacos we ordered was the Fish Taco & Shrimp Taco – served on double corn tortillas with cabbage and homemade pico de gallo ($4.50 each). The fish and shrimp were well cooked but they just didn’t have the same flavour punch as the baja fish taco.

I really wanted to try one of their sandwiches and went with the Grilled Fresh Fish Sandwich – today’s selection served with lettuce, tomatoes, caramelized onions and homemade tartar sauce on a herb bun ($13.99). Today’s selection was mahi mahi, which was quite firm in texture and cooked all the way through.

The caramelized onions were a nice touch but I felt the sandwich could’ve used a bit more tartar sauce. Overall, it was a decent fish sandwich but nothing particularly memorable. I probably should’ve gone for the seared ahi sandwich that everyone seems to order!

Another dish we shared was the Calamari Steak Plate – served with rice and mac salad ($12.49). Even though it was called “calamari steak”, I was still surprised to see it arrive in this manner as I’m accustomed to seeing calamari in rings. Since they were in such thick slices, I was worried this would be really chewy but it was some of the most tender calamari I’ve ever eaten. Nice and crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. I’d order this again in a heartbeat.

The last dish we ordered was the Fish & Chips ($13.99) which came with three panko crusted pieces of fish. The crust was crispy without being too greasy and the fish was still quite moist. And let’s not forget about the fries… they were very addictive!

Overall, we had an enjoyable experience here. While I wouldn’t say everything was memorable, there were some definite stand-outs of the meal including the calamari steak and baja fish taco. If you’re staying in Kaanapali, the Fish Market is worth a visit!

At a glance:

• Seafood joint selling cooked food as well as fresh fish
• Located close to the resorts in Kaanapali
• Limited seating: some stools inside, several tables outside
• Highlights: baja fish taco and calamari steak

Ratings (out of 5):

• Food: 3.5 stars
• Service: 3 stars
• Atmosphere: 2 stars