The Fish Peddler Restaurant on Foss Waterway

Today I needed to make a lovely trip to Urgent Care for yet another “gift” related to the collision which has been the reason why I needed surgery back in December and go to weekly PT appointments.

After spending a few hours waiting for results after tests were conducted, I was ready for some real food. 3 packages of saltine crackers , 3 Tylenol and 2 cups of ice water didn’t quite cut it as a gourmet meal.

Fish and chips sounded good so Ray and I headed to the restaurant where I had read nothing but rave reviews. Unfortunately, there was no open parking for several blocks so that plan was scrapped for another day. A quick search brought up The Fish Peddler so we went there.

The Fish Peddler has a huge parking lot and is located right on the water. Today was gorgeous so we opted to sit outside. Normally the breeze off the bay is cold even on nice days, but today was perfect.

After being seated, our server brought menus. I ordered a Mai Tai and Ray ordered lemonade. It was hard to make a decision with all of the interesting menu items. I was really torn between the rockfish tacos or stay with the fish and chips. I decided to stay with the fish and chips. Ray ordered the rockfish and requested it blackened when offered.

Our food came up quickly. It was hot and made to order. Everything was delicious, of course I had to taste the rockfish and it was awesome!!!

We don’t always get to take time to relax. It was so peaceful we sat and watched the people walking their dogs and the boats going into and out of the various marinas.

When Ray learned there was carrot cake on the dessert menu, it was a given!!! I debated the 7 layer chocolate cake, but opted out. I stole a couple of bites of the carrot cake and was lucky to not find a fork in the back of my hand.

Once we finished our meal, we walked out onto the walkway overlooking the water and read about the lumber mills which used to be there. Then our relaxing day was over and it was time to head home.

We will definitely return. Our meals were a little pricey but definitely worth it.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I will never come back!!!! Got 3 clusters of 'snow crab' not dungies, not kings...got a pound of clams a burger and some oysters...tab came out to 340$....run away if you see this place...ordered a batch of calamari and the grease was burnt...the supervisor apologized for it being over cooked but I dont think she understands that its not over cooked!!! THE GREASE IS BURNT!!!! You know how many lbs of snow crab i could've done in my house!!!!!!!! For 340$ sausage, eggs. This was insane. 'DRAGONS CRAWFISH' CHECK EM OUT!!!! THEY ARE AMAZING!!!!!! FLAVORS AND PRICES!!!!!! MY GO TO EVERYTIME!!!!!

Loved it. So glad someone recommended this hidden gem. A little challenging to find, but worth the search.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Went to lunch with some friends visiting from out of town. Our dip came with molding bread. They sent out a new loaf. I ordered a half lb of Dungeness. They accidentally sent out snow crab. The snow crab was comped on our bill, but we still had to pay for the moldy bread. Lol. I usually love this place, but was alarmed because I am 7 months pregnant and mold can be harmful.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 2

Service: 2

Delicious food, with above and beyond service in a casual atmosphere, and easy midday parking. Cioppino is highly recommended. Complex flavors of both savory and subtle details are deeply satisfying. Made-from-scratch richness for your palate. Lots of crab in the combo. All the dishes we had were tasty and memorable. Even took home the leftover broth from the clams and from the cioppino for toast dipping at home. Wonderful. Anxious for a repeat visit on a future trip to the area.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I was starving and I had been walking around all morning exploring the city and I wanted somewhere good to eat and this place had four stars so I thought it must be really good. “They have a bunch of great reviews.” I was wrong.

The food was subpar at best. I ordered a smooch on the beach it was either $8 or $9 and it was disappointing. It was a mocktail so it didn’t have any alcohol only juice but a good mocktail does not need alcohol to be good.
I ordered fish and chips, which was $22 I think and I ordered it with halibut and the fish was delicious. They were two small fillets. It didn’t have any seasoning, which is okay because the tartar sauce paired wonderfully with it. The fries, though made me cry, by how awful they were. They were hollow. The fries were HOLLOW, I didn’t know that was possible. The coleslaw, it was plain no salt but yes pepper (?), and I squeezed the lemon that came with the plate on it and it was edible, but halfway through my meal I realize that the cabbage was spoiled. It was already withered to begin with, but the bite I ate was mushy and generally bad tasting.
I also ordered an oyster shot to try and I’ve never had oysters before but it came in a shot class. A third of it was the oyster and 2/3 of it was cocktail sauce so it was overpowered by cocktail sauce, but I could still taste that yucky shellfish.

The server was kind and attentive though. I sat inside but the outside patio views, beautiful.
With ($7) tip the meal, app, and drink for one person $50

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 4

Amazing people

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Maybe if you're a local and are used to poor service and gross food I can understand the draw, but if you're visiting and want fresh seafood, this place is a SKIP for sure. Our experience to follow: We were excited to try this place based on the positive reviews, and a hankering for fresh seafood on our trip to Washington. The atmosphere was decent and casual giving us false hope. But the service was poor and the food was even worse. Our food came to us cold and tasteless. It is really saying something that we didn't enjoy it, because we were starving. The price is extremely expensive and you get very small portions and such low quality. The lobster roll was on a burnt bun that was so crunchy I couldn't focus on anything else other than the pain it was causing my mouth. The blackened fish had no flavor and was cold. The sides were cold as well. The lobster roll was luke-warm at best. The Mac and cheese was alright, 4/10 and was basically the only thing that was edible. Our server forgot about us multiple times and I had to walk up to the counter to ask for the check. He caught me up there and snorted at me that he would bring us the check when he can and to sit back down. We were already done eating (which was likely a surprise to him because he never came to us) and with a baby were ready to leave. We think that the food had been sitting out for a while and the server never bothered to bring it out. Our server was the middle aged guy with lightish blonde looking hair and we ate Wednesday Aug. 27th around 5:30pm. We were extremely disappointed with this place and I can't understand how they could still be in business with such poor service and disgusting food. The business owner should be ashamed for putting their name on such a poor establishment. Unless they're just in it for the money, which seems to be the case.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 1

When my husband and I moved from Seattle to Tacoma, we were warned we would miss the food in Seattle, that Tacoma didn't have the same standards for restaurants. Boy were they right. We've been looking for a year now for some favorite spots and have come up mostly empty handed. The Fish Peddler is the standout exception! It is hands down the best food I've had since being in Tacoma. The wait staff is awesome and we sat out on a lovely patio enjoying the cool of the water on a hot summer day. I highly recommend this place for anyone longing for an excellent meal.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I had the wagyu burger and it was delightful I decided to spend another birthday there this year.

The food was very good. A bit too pricey for what you get.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 4

Food was not up to their standard, unfortunately. Cold/old fries, stale chips, the driest fish tacos I have ever had… hope they improve. Bonus is the deck is dog friendly.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 5

Went by due to the high reviews, and were excited for a bit of seafood in the area. The clam chowder was a solid start, but it didn't go up from there. The restaurant was mildly busy, with most tables outside, but there were still 4-5 servers on the floor. We ordered 2 Maine lobster rolls, which were of solid quality but were overpowered by the chives and the french fries were limp and lukewarm at best. Flagging down our waitress was nearly impossible as I made eye contact with her several times in an attempt to get our check, and she didn't acknowledge me at any time. She checked on us once at the very beginning when our food had just been dropped off but not again until after I had stacked our plates as a signal that we were done. I'll give the benefit of the doubt thst she didn't see us due to her dark sunglasses that she wore the entire time.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 2

We sat on the patio and it was so nice. We started with the seafood dip with bread and it was delicious. Lots of seafood chunks. We ordered the mussel pasta and the shrimp Louis salad and both were amazing.
Our waitress was fantastic and took care of every detail of our meal.
I would highly recommend this restaurant.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Excellent food with decent portion sizes. Nice atmosphere.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 4