Little Fish (Philadelphia, PA)
I have always wanted to try out Little Fish yet somehow had never managed to make it over to the corner of 6th and Catherine. It had all the makings of a restaurant that I love – small, intimate, BYOB, with an attentive chef / owner in the kitchen. The restaurant’s proximity to the
The first word that came to both Kendra’s and my mind when we stepped into the restaurant was adorable. The dining room is extremely tiny and seats about 20 people, which makes it the smallest full service restaurant in
We arrived slightly early yet were still seated immediately. Our server apologized for not being ready for us and informed us that she would be with us in a few minutes. While we sat and waited, we enjoyed two particularly interesting events. The first was the handwriting and hand posting of the menu on one of the walls of the restaurant. Our server handwrote the menu on easel‑sized paper with a magic marker and then clipped it to the wall adjacent to the door. The menu was changing even while she was writing it out due to a boisterous phone call between Chef Tiplitz and one of his fish purveyors. Chef was hollering into the phone that the quality of the tuna that he received was unacceptable. He then hollered over at our server and the tuna was quickly removed from the menu. The phone exchange was entertaining and lasted over five minutes. During that time, our server apologized for the yelling. I immediately cut her off her and told her that I wished all chefs cared as much about their ingredients as did Chef Tiplitz. At the conclusion of the call, Chef reluctantly put the tuna back on the menu but cautioned his assistant chef that they would have to carefully cut the fish, discarding any poor quality pieces in the process.
Once the phone call ended, our server approached our table and took our orders. Kendra and I decided to split the mussels red. We both enjoyed the fresh, fragrant mussels and the bowl was quickly vanquished. I was thrilled with my asparagus and scallop polenta tart with truffle oil. Sitting atop a very creamy and delicate polenta were two enormous scallops. Unlike typical scallops, these were wide and thin. They were unbelievably soft and simply melted in my mouth. The truffle oil was lightly applied and did not overpower the dish.
I ordered the striped marlin with piperade and polenta after an overwhelmingly positive recommendation from our server due to the high quality and rareness of the marlin. The dish did not disappoint. The marlin was perfectly prepared with a nicely seared exterior and a tender medium rare interior. The peppers and polenta perfectly accompanied the fish. I was struck by the simplicity and the flavors of the dish.
Kendra’s swordfish paillard with olive tapenade and tomato salad was stellar. The heavily pounded swordfish took on a completely different character due to its dramatically different texture. It was surprisingly tender and refreshing, a contrast to its normal thick, steak‑like composition. The accompanying tomato salad was simple, refreshing, and nicely offset the blackened swordfish.
The only course that did not thrill me was dessert. We were only presented with two choices and settled on the warm apple crisp with whipped cream. The dessert was straightforward and enjoyable but I had hoped for more given how much I had enjoyed our previous two courses. Nonetheless, a few cups of coffee brought closure to an excellent meal.
Overall, I highly recommend Little Fish. The excellently prepared seafood is extremely fresh and the constant presence of John Tiplitz ensures its consistency. Reasonable prices and the ability to BYOB mean that a meal here will not break the bank. This restaurant is the very definition of a small, intimate, romantic, Philadelphia BYOB neighborhood gem and should not be missed.
The Facts
Name: Little Fish
Address:
Phone: (215) 413-3464
Cuisine: New American, Seafood
Price: Appetizers ($7.00 – $10.50), Entrees ($18 - $28), Desserts ($7)
posted by Mike at
6:00 PM
