I absolutely love my hometown of Philadelphia. The history is amazing, the scenery is stunning, the people have character and the food is sublime. During my most recent visit home I got a bit of all of it. During this weeklong trip I ate at several places I had never been to, let alone heard of, as well as some oldies but goodies. My favorite meal of the entire trip was at a cozy B.Y.O.B. called Little Fish.
My girlfriend LL and I love to eat, we’ve been doing it at some of the best places for years. Since she lives in Philly, I always defer to her and she never steers us wrong. Little Fish was no exception. Hands down this restaurant was the finest meal I ate in my week back east and perhaps one of the finest meals I’ve eaten in months.
The restaurant is small, like 10 tables small. Reservations are not easy to come by, at least if you want to eat after 6pm and before 9pm. We arrived early, unheard of for the two us, and had to wait about 10 minutes to be seated. Once we were seated we were given a small hand written menu. I asked the sever what on the menu was gluten-free and she replied, “everything.” Don’t you just love hearing those words? Even though the menu is small everything sounded great and I had trouble choosing. LL and I decided to share our dishes so we would have more options.
Dinner began with appetizers, of course, which were absolutely incredible. We had the scallop with foie gras and rhubarb puree, my personal favorite, and the octopus with chickpeas, marcona almonds and piquillo picholine. I love scallops and I adore foie gras, but together the flavor combination and the texture on my tongue were out of this world. The octopus was tasty too, but next to the scallop I have a little more difficulty remembering it as well.
After all but licking our plates clean our entrees arrived, a spectacular striped bass with artichokes, favas, fingerling potatoes and ramps, and halibut topped with uni (yum!) and served with sunchokes, shiitakes and asparagus. The striped bass had a nice crispy outside and moist inside. Each item on the plate had its place and paired perfectly with the fish. The halibut arrived and it was stunning! I frequently find halibut to be dry, but just like all the other dishes we were served it was prepared perfectly. Separately each bite was delicious, but together it was to die for. I am reliving the taste as I type this review.
We finished dinner, but needed a little something sweet to finish things off. Dessert is often a dish I am unable to enjoy, but again Little Fish had me covered. No it wasn’t sorbet, ice cream or fresh berry with cream, it was way better than that. Dessert was chocolate pot de crème with a crumbly orange marmalade on top. Oh yeah baby, that’s what I’m talking about! The only issue I had with the dessert was that it was too small. I could have eaten the whole thing myself and ordered a second. When the spoons were no longer able to scrape the sides sufficiently, we used our fingers.
We left this hidden gem satisfied with our meals and not so stuffed we were on the verge of feeling ill. It was perfect and I loved it! I will without a doubt want to go back during my next visit.
Little Fish BYOB
746 South 6th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19147
267-455-0172
Mon thru Sat 5:30pm – Close
Sunday Tasting Menu – $33
6:00pm & 8:00pm Seatings
5:30pm & 8:00pm Seatings – starting in Jan 2012
