Last month, my friend celebrated his Bday so we took advantage of the specials at the Five Fishermen Grill. For the whole month, the Grill offered a 'no corkage' option as well as a $5 lobster tail!! Who wouldn't want to make this a dinner destination with these offers on board?
I dropped off our wine earlier in the day to keep it chilled, and we arrived for dinner at 7:30 with another bottle in tow. The staff was super-friendly and sat us in a mammoth booth for about 6 people, but we still took up the whole table with our orders. Along with a glass of white and the irresistible bread basket, we took in a plate of the Calamari. I've had these suckers before (and loved every lick of them - see here), but it was my friend's first time here, so it was nice to watch him discover this new, mysterious flavouring from both the Hoisin and the 5-spice on one of his favourite dishes.
Calamari
Flash fried, Hoisin-glazed w/ 5-spice aioli
Once our entrees came, I was already feeling almost satisfied, so the fact that I finished my entree and still had room for dessert still baffles me to this day. My friend ordered the 10 oz. Black Angus strip steak; a huge piece of meat, and a great value at just $24. It was beautifully cooked - better than I've tried in some steakhouses. Grilled to a medium rare, it was served with richly seasoned mashed Yukon Gold potatoes, steamed spring vegetables and a hearty peppercorn sauce. I don't normally go for a big steak in a resto - especially a seafood-based one, but I would certainly come back specifically for this dish, and I've recommended it to several people.
My salad was unbelievable; talk about a protein plate!! The Seafood Cobb Salad consisted of grilled shrimps and scallops a piece of hot maple smoked salmon, crumbled bacon, egg, 1/2 an avocado, corn salsa & tomatoes and a generous portion of Stilton cheese. Believe it or not, there was lettuce at the bottom of the bowl as well.
And if that wasn't enough of a treat, the 5Fish featured a $5 lobster tail w/ drawn butter as a special as well. Needless to say, I got more 'Surf', while my friend had a bargain "Surf n' Turf"! The lobster meat was succulent and tender and we finished every bite.
Since a pal of mine was the manager of 5Fish at the time, and caught wind of our Bday celebration, dessert was on the house, and we couldn't say 'no'. A 'Field of Carrots' cake was his dessert of choice, and it was decadence to sum it up. 5 layers of moist and spicy cake was topped with a rich, but light w/ cream cheese icing and sprinkled with walnuts. A lovely creme anglaise and caramel sauce kicked the indulgence up a notch. It was a bit much for me, but the Bday boy sure was happy.
Two bottles of wine, some cocktails, sweet and savoury later, we closed down the resto and stepped out in to the crisp March night. Though normally I would have called for a cab, I needed some serious movement to walk off my food baby. The 5Fish Grill could easily be one of my favourite restos in Halifax. Though some may think of it as a tourist trap, I think it's precisely the opposite. Sure, tourists flock to this destination, but it offers quality like no other seafood resto on the waterfront does. The quality is consistent, and there is a focus on local product, wine in particular.
