Columbus Fish Market is my new favorite restaurant for seafood! I share this opinion with many other Columbus residents, as the Columbus Fish Market just won the (614) Magazine's ColumBest award for "Best Seafood." CFM won with 39.22% of the votes, beating out Mitchell's Ocean Club and Bonefish Grill!
We ate here for the first time after Kenneth's White Coat Ceremony for Vet School last weekend. We had a large party with us (family and friends who came to support Kenneth) so we made reservations a few days prior. The White Coat Ceremony ended over an hour earlier than we expected and the staff at CFM were able to move our reservation forward by an hour which was fantastic!
CFM's twice daily printed menu and the freshness of their seafood are often touted as their best qualities, but I was most impressed with their gluten-free menu! The allergen menu at other well-known seafood restaurants (I'm looking at you Red Lobster) are helpful in that they show what allergens are in each menu item... but that usually just shows me how many items I can't eat! I usually have to order double of one side, like mashed potatoes, and plain fish. This makes for a satisfying and safe, albeit boring, meal. I actually had a hard time deciding what to order at CFM on Sunday because I had so many OPTIONS! It was awesome!
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| One of many gluten-free options: Grilled Shrimp and Scallops |
I ended up ordering the grilled shrimp and scallops, which came with fresh carrots, green beans, broccoli and mashed potatoes. It was delicious! The vegetables were crisp and fresh, the shrimp and scallops were cooked perfectly and the mashed potatoes were fluffy and buttery. I had an iced tea (unsweetened with lemon) with my dinner. I'm very picky about iced tea in restaurants and the tea on Sunday was great!
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| Blackened Tilapia |
Kenneth, who's only recently started to like seafood, ordered the blackened tilapia which was served with étouffée sauce, tasso ham red beans and rice, skillet green beans and cane syrup. Since étouffée sauce is made with a roux (a mixture of wheat flour and fat, usually butter), I didn't get to sample Kenneth's dinner, but he said it was fantastic! He also ordered a peach iced tea which I did sample - it was delicious! Sweet, but not overly sweet.
I didn't take notes on what everyone in our party ordered, but I know everyone really enjoyed their meals! My mom, who is vegetarian and rarely able to order an item straight from the menu at a seafood restaurant (at Red Lobster she orders pasta without the shrimp), got the Market’s famous house salad which had carrots, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, dates, pine nuts and a poppy seed vinaigrette. She'd prefer more options, but was happy that she could order an item on the menu without making a bunch of changes to it.
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| What remained of our crème brûlée and key lime pie before I remembered to take pictures! |
Even with all of the delicious food already in our stomachs, Kenneth and I managed to save room for dessert! I chose the (gluten-free!) vanilla bean crème brûlée with macerated strawberries and Kenneth ordered the key lime pie. Both were so lovely and delicious that I completely forgot to take photos! The crème brûlée had real vanilla seeds in it and the top layer was perfectly caramelized. Amazing botanical side note - did you know that vanilla comes from an orchid?
Overall we had a wonderful time at the Columbus Fish Market! My only, teeny tiny criticism is that the restaurant itself is dark - I think the only windows were skylights. The restaurant was well lit enough to see your food - it just seemed strange to not be able to see outside.
We will definitely be back again!
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