The Fishwife

Really great seafood!! Highly recommend coming here. We had calamari to start delicious and then I had cioppino and my husband had seafood fettuccine. It was all so excellent and the seafood cooked to perfection. Still drooling even though I’m full.

Genuinely the best service we’ve had in portland in years. We got a reservation for a Friday night, our first time in and we get it fishwife lives up to its reputation The food was fresh, tasted amazing, presented well and time between dishes perfectly. It’s been a long time since we had this quality of dining experience and we will definitely be back.

My neighbor introduced me to The Fishwife this last fall. What wonderful food. I have been there 3 times since, brining my sister and her husband as their anniversary gift, my son, for his birthday and once on my own. Everything we have ordered has been top of the line GREAT. Congratulations to the Chef and the kitchen crew. Thanks for the great service from the wait staff. And the restroom was immaculate.

Being here took me back to my childhood, incredible service and family friendly atmosphere. Make sure to get at least a cup of the clam chowder with whatever you order, so rich and creamy but relatively light, amazing. My Margarita was generous and came in a pint glass; delightful. Left feeling full and happy; can’t wait to come back!

In my hometown of Windsor, Ontario we had a couple of really great, old time, English style fish and chip places. With vinyl and chrome kitchen chairs and Formica table tops it was like gathering at your aunt’s place in Halifax East Coast for a family visit. The Fishwife has recreated that same comfy feel and comes complete with FANTASTIC tasting seafood. I know good cod and this was GREAT cod. My Mother-In-Law lived for a good period on the Chesapeake Bay, and she was really impressed by the Seafood Combo she had. Wait Staff is super friendly, and prices are reasonable. Now they just need to add a dinner roll to the basket meals, and either sweeten the creamy coleslaw or preferably get a good eastern style vinegary type slaw. That would be worth the 5 fifth star!

This place needs a new direction. Feel like it could be a stellar gem/ hole in the wall type place. Hire a real chef… Being from Massachusetts, it’s easy for me to identify fresh seafood. This is not that. The shrimp were clearly pre frozen. The tuna special, although not seared through as advertised, was not vibrant pink. Highly recommend skipping Fishwife until they hire a real chef.

So I was just walking through the neighborhood and I love fish and chips. So that's what I ordered. The fish like your normal fried fish and chips. But chips are the cross cut fries. Interesting but they cooked well. The fish on the other hand. Like no flavor to them. You most definitely need all the tatar sauce. And vinegar that was not provided. Don't know if they have any there but it was a to go order and I should have asked. Also I didn't get any napkins at all. So that's nice.

Wonderful food, friendly staff, just an all around good place. We had the chowder and the seafood combo basket, I really liked the batter on the fried food. Happy to have stumbled upon this place, will definitely be back.Food: 5/5

Fried seafood when done right, is a sublime experience. When it's not, it's so not worth the caloric intake. The Fishwife knows what the hell she's doing in that kitchen. The pan-fried oyster appetizer may have been the star of the show. Dusted in...fine cornmeal?...these were not the usual donut-with-a-mollusk in it, but the perfect execution of the notion of a pan-fried oyster, like a crab caked that's actually, you know, crab. I ordered cioppino, being an SF guy. My date ordered the Fishwife platter, fried, and even with a different treatment a bit more breading, nothing got in the way of the seafood's nature. The cioppino contained excellent seafood, but the base was less inspired than others I've had. Good carrots though. Great service, too.

Hadn't been to The Fishwife since before COVID, so when an old friend came to town and wanted seafood, we headed there for dinner. You don't come here for snooty-class dining elegance, you come here for the food and friendly people. It's got wharfside diner ambiance, you can see into the kitchen over the low wall and watch them making your dinner, dishing your soup, etc. The patrons look like family, and everyone's here to EAT. I had a spooky strawberry lemonade with vodka to start delicious, not too sweet, with a bonus pink "spider" in my ice cube and fresh-caught local salmon with steamed red potatoes. The salad dressings were obviously homemade. Perfect. My dinner companions had salmon and the scallops in a tasty broth. We shared a fried calamari appetizer that was the only downside to the meal: Too salty, and a little overcooked. But it was easy to overlook, given the great experience otherwise.