No Nemo, but finding Fish & Co.

My three sons are regular carnivores.
Whenever we seek out a restaurant for Sunday lunch or dinner, the basic requirement will swirl around where the best steaks or lamb chops will be found. While salads and soups, and sushi and tempura can and do play a role, they take a supporting role at best. When push comes to shove, because we’re famished, it’s that dream chateaubriand or carre d’agneau that will make us decide on a specific resto. So, they had wary expressions on their faces when I announced that we were heading for Fish & Co. one Sunday lunch.

Quintin, the eldest, is always ready to try something new, and when I mentioned Caesar salad with smoked salmon, he was mollified. Teo is actually the exception, ready to go on a fish-y diet, as long as mussels and steamed lapu-lapu are on the table. But Luca had his eyebrows knitted in cable stitch fashion, already insisting that we first had to drop by Häagen, that he wanted his ice cream before lunch!

Fish & Co. is at the third floor of Greenbelt 3. A concept that began in Singapore and has since spread to countries as diverse as Malaysia, Australia, the Middle East and China, it has been brought to Manila by the same team behind such established eateries as Outback, TGI Friday’s, and Italianni’s. Regular visitors to Singapore will surely have seen the restaurant chain in the malls. There are branches at Suntec City, Wheelock Place, Orchard Road, and Park Mall. A "minimum frills but great food" concept, founder and managing director Ricky Chew was here for the first of the Fish & Co.’s that will dot our urban landscape – and a welcome addition they are.

It is an ideal family dining location. Luca was completely disarmed, and his frown left his face (for good) when the staff brought a wind-up fishing game for him to play with while waiting for his food. All of a sudden, he was beaming, enjoying the attention of the staff, and game to try the as-advertised Best Fish and Chips in Town – rechristened Captain Hook in the children’s menu. This kiddie menu is a feature in itself. The sweet and sour fish nuggets are called Fish Tales, and the calamari rings are dubbed Mermaid’s Rings. They’re all part and parcel of making every member of the family feel right at home within the environs of Fish & Co.

As for the eating we had that day, the boys were stuffed to the gills, and called themselves happy fishers. The Best Fish and Chips come in two variants: regular Best and New York Fish and Chips. Using John Dory fillets that are succulent and really soft, the New York variant has Parmesan cheese added to the batter. Along with the Caesar salad with smoked salmon as his starter, Quintin had the New York and declared himself ready for a return bout very soon.

Teo eyed the mussels with garlic and lemon butter straight away and was really surprised to find them so fat and meaty. The Prawn Trellis, deep-fried prawns wrapped in vermicelli served with a spicy mango vinaigrette, also became an immediate favorite. The grilled seasonal catch that day was Pollock, and it was grilled to perfection, served Cajun-style with bountiful grilled vegetables and rice on the side.

One of the house specialties, the Peri-peri Prawns, was my choice. The term peri-peri refers to the sauce, slightly spicy but one that definitely adds flavor and zest to the prawns that have been butterflied and grilled. You can have it with fries or with rice. Like most of the dishes at Fish & Co., it’s served on a pan or skillet.

The baked salmon and teriyaki salmon also looked really appetizing (the people at the next table ordered them), and if you’re sharing, the seafood platter is the one for you. A deadly combination of the seasonal fish, calamari, prawns, and mussels, a creamy garlic and lemon butter sauce is served on the side and the platter is said to be good for three to four people.

Fish & Co. has two signature drinks that can be served in one-liter mugs. The Kola Tonic is a special concoction that comes all the way from South Africa, and Quintin loved it. The passion fruit drink is a Slurpee at heart, a shake that’s both healthy and refreshing. There are also alcoholic cocktails specially prepared within the premises, and while allergic to alcohol, the Lava Guava, a mix of guava juice and tequila with a dose of honey, caught my eye.

Price points for Fish & Co. are at par with dining at Italianni’s (P400 to P500 per person for a full meal). For some, it may still be pricey, but given the generous portions and the quality of the food, it is still value for money, especially when you share. Open for lunch and dinner, Fish & Co. also hopes to enjoy brisk after-dinner hours given the well-equipped bar that stands at the center of the restaurant. They close at 12 midnight.

Truly global in concept, Fish & Co. spares no expense in bringing the freshest catch and quality fare. In order to maintain ideal and consistent weights, the shrimps and prawns come from Thailand. The pollock is harvested in Alaska, the dory from Vietnam, the mussels cultured in New Zealand, and the salmon from Norway. While the search is on to source as much as possible from our own waters, the Singapore office deemed it advisable to first use the seafood that supplies all the Fish & Co.’s all over the world. On the day I ate, there were even some girls from Singapore who were on hand for quality control and supervision.

Fish & Co. did not give my boys nightmarish flashbacks to Finding Nemo, they didn’t expect their fish and chips to start talking to them in an Ellen DeGeneres dory voice. Instead, it opened new vistas for them, providing excellent fare for when they do have a meat-free meal. This is something I always encourage. Luca even took home the wind-up fishing game and declared himself "hooked." <