Out to eat: Mt. Adams Fish House

Erik Ogburn and Michael Hengst dine at the Mt. Adams Fish House in Mt. Adams. (Credit: David Sorcher | Metromix)

For as much as the bars rule at night in Mount Adams, there are a couple of places that remain better known for their food - and Mt. Adams Fish House is definitely one of them. Its location at the intersection of Pavilion and St. Gregory streets is in the thick of one of the city's most popular nightspots, but the Fish House is an understated place better suited for an artistic or romantic evening, rather that one involving Jäger bombs and pulsating techno music.

Subtle sophistication

Brown and green are the dominant colors in the cozy main dining room. Rounding out the interior is the sushi bar, a star attraction where fish, octopus, squid, eel and other specialties are carved up fresh daily.

Adding a little light-hearted fun to the restaurant is its friendly staff; don't be surprised if you happen to suddenly find a sketch of yourself on your table.

Something's fishy

If you like seafood and sushi, it's a place you might want to visit - as long as you reel in your expectations.

Having enjoyed dining at the Fish House twice before, I was hoping my third visit would turn out to be yet another charming one; our visit, however, found us navigating through some rather choppy culinary waters.

Since my friend was not interested in trying one of the evening's appetizer specials, a delicious-sounding tuna and scallop combo ($15), we decided to go another route. She opted for a pretty sizable crab cake served over seared greens with chipotle mayonnaise and sliced peppers ($8), which she said tasted as good as it looked.

I opted for a a bowl of crab and corn chowder ($8), which was larger than I expected. Ever felt that a dish seemed quite tasty at first, but became less so the more you ate? That's what happened with my soup, as the sauce combined with the corn and became blander as I consumed more.

My friend described the taste of her ebi (shrimp) sushi roll ($4.95) as unfortunately "soapy." Thankfully, her glass of Cakebread Sauvignon Blanc ($12), house salad ($6), and eel and cucumber rolls ($6.95 each) had a more pleasing taste.

For my entrée, I selected the curry sea bass ($28) after our waiter suggested skipping the tagliatelle (red pepper and spinach pasta tossed with shrimp, bay scallops, mussels and crab in a garlic cream sauce, $24). The fish was chewy, and the scallops and shrimp with it were average; the sauce did its best to camouflage the situation.

While this outing wasn't as good as I remembered, the charming nature of the Mt. Adams Fish House should give you hope that your own experience will be enjoyable.

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