Sockeye City Grill

Since we were heading to Richmond because there is only one optical store that sells a certain brand of sunglasses, we decided to head down to Steveston after for a late lunch (since Langley is too far). Oh yeah, on Canada Day? Crap. I do not even like going to Steveston on a weekend! When we arrived, we decided to pass on Pajo's because the restaurant tends to be inconsistent; either good or horrible as in soggy batter and dry fish. Having said that, another option for fish n' chips was Blue Canoe.

When walking towards Blue Canoe, there was no line up and a couple of hostesses were talking about how empty the dining room was; as we stood in front of their faces for a while with no acknowledgement. Of course if they were talking about something important or a training protocol, it is fine. But come on, say "one moment" or something. Shortly after a few minutes of complaining amongst eachother the patio is more busy than the dining room, one of the hostesses greeted us with "hi" and we asked how long it would be for a patio seat.

After hearing the wait is thirty minutes, we decided to try out Sockeye City Grill. Well... it was more like the lack of acknowledgement and basic customer service skills when there was no line up. So, walking up to Sockeye City, a friendly hostess mentioned there is a half hour wait for a patio seat. During the wait, we took the time to check out some fresh seafood at Fisherman's Wharf.

Sockeye City is located right on the boardwalk in Steveston, and the restaurant is fairly large. The seating arrangements do not seem cramped inside and the restaurant has two patios. After ordering, we waited half an hour for our food and everything arrived at once.

SEAFOOD CHOWDER LOADED WITH FRESH SEAFOOD, BOWL ($9.00).

The seafood chowder tastes very light and the salt must have been forgotten. Asides from the slightly bland flavour, there is a nice creaminess along with a fair amount of fish and clams.

HALIBUT, COATED WITH HOMEMADE BEER BATTER AND SERVED WITH FRIES, TARTAR AND COLESLAW, LARGE ($24.00).

The halibut is moist as well as flaky but unfortunately, also oddly slightly gooey. In addition, the batter is very soggy (inside as well as out) and slips off the fish! For $24.00? This is pretty expensive for a poorly executed dish. As for the coleslaw which tastes quite fresh, there is a nice sweetness from the addition of raisins. However, I find one bite more than enough because the coleslaw started to taste a bit too sweet after (personal preference).

As for the french fries, most are limp while a few taste crisp. Personally, I did not care for the fries and wanted good fish. As for the tartar sauce, there is a light tanginess and I would have preferred more dill pickles for a tangier flavour.

PEI MUSSELS, SAVORY CLAMS, COD, HALIBUT, SALMON, JULIENNE VEGETABLES AND SPINACH IN A WHITE WINE, FENNEL AND TOMATO BROTH SERVED WITH GARLIC TOAST ($19.00).

As we were waiting for the dishes earlier on, I was eyeing the table next to us while at the same time; regretting that we ordered the seafood bowl because it looked very… unappealing. As for BF, he gave me shit for thinking that and mentioned not to judge a book by its cover. Well, when the seafood bowl arrived, I was right; it did look very appealing. Furthermore, it did not taste good!

The consistency is very watery and there is no hint of a seafood flavour, not even the slightest, and neither fennel nor white wine. In addition, the broth resembles a watered down salty tomato soup. As for the ingredients, everything is overcooked! The small mussels along with the fair size clams, to the rubbery small scallops and extremely dry fish; everything is overcooked.

Every piece of cod, salmon and halibut; tastes extremely dry, stiff and chewy. The flavours along with the textures, resemble canned tuna. Furthermore because the broth is very thin and watery, none of the fish adhered to it. At first, I thought to suck it up and go through with finishing everything in the bowl, but; everything is just so damn dry. Everything makes canned tuna with mayonnaise sound like a luxury.

The seafood bowl also comes with a side of bread and when the waitress was bringing it over, she dropped it by accident and said "oh shit". Also, she apologized for her language which I thought was very professional, considering "shit" is not a very strict profanity to most. As for the toast, it is soggy and does not even appear to be toasted at all. I am a huge fan of carbs and was very hungry since really, what was there to eat for lunch? But, the soggy garlic spread was not appealing.

TOTAL: $57.70 + TIP $10.30 = $68.00.

Overall, our waitress was friendly and followed up on us a few times. As for the food, the bland chowder along with the watery seafood bowl which consisted of extremely overcooked ingredients? Also, the $24.00 fish n' chips? Yeah, we were very disappointed. Steveston is not known for many good eateries and well, we were stubborn and assumed some of the restaurants should be decent, despite the negative reviews. 

To make things worse, we took a look at the menu outside and noticed the take out menu is $5.75 cheaper for fish n' chips! Is there a charge for dining in? Wow, if anything, some restaurants charge a small fee for take out to cover containers… not the opposite. Why is there a price difference? Our portion certainly looked exactly the same as everyone who grabbed take out and it is ridiculous having to pay extra just to dine at the restaurant. If we had known, neither of us would have ordered fish n' chips because we do not support dumb concepts. Plus, it is not just a couple of dollars different, it is $5.75 per order which adds up.

POSITIVES

- Friendly staff

- Located on the pier

NEGATIVES

- Below average food

- Food does not match the price

- Costs more to have fish n' chips at the restaurant, despite the same portion

LITTLE THINGS

- Prices are pricier in general

- Food should have been better on Canada Day to take advantage of potential new clienetel

Food: 1.5/5 (seafood hot pot 0.5/5)

Service: 2.5/5