Treat this place like a stinky dead fish lying in the sun, and just keep walking.
Taking the pomp out of seafood, Fish & Co is a light-hearted restaurant that serves up fish with the flavours of the world. This is a family-friendly place where you can have a more upscale meal while still being able to munch on childhood favourites like pizza and french fries.
Ambience & Amenities
Fish & Co has a prime corner location on the concourse level near the elevators by the Padini. It’s brightly lit, so you can easily see the playful, sea-themed decor from the outside. There are all sorts of fun, quirky pieces around the dining room: plastic fish, model galleons, and information boards about different species of fish.
To sit, there is a mix of wooden chairs and booths. Be warned of the booth seating closest to the entrance. If you’re sitting in the regular seat (not the booth), it can become a tight squeeze as there is a boundary rail behind you. There’s not that much space for anyone to pass behind you even if you’re fully tucked in.
There is no toilet or handwashing station in the restaurant. To get to the closest washroom, exit Fish & Co and walk along the path in front of the Padini and Brands Outlet. Head down the corridor next to Old Town White Coffee and turn left at the escalators so that you’re walking behind the Brands Outlet.
Menu
Fish & Co’s inspiration draws from many corners of the world. You’ll see seafood seasoned with Japanese teriyaki, Louisiana cajun, Portuguese peri-peri or Malaysian sambal. If you’re not keen to eat something that came from the sea, your options are severely limited. You can count on one hand the number of pasta and pizzas that are vegetarian or made with chicken.
Click on menu pictures to enlarge
Food
Mark inexplicably enjoys it, so he ordered a Lime Juice (RM7.95). He said that this was one of the worst lime juices he has tasted. He likened it to bottled lime juice that had expired. Ha. Lime juice that’s gone off. What happens? It gets sourer? I didn’t dare to taste it myself since I can’t even stand “good” lime juice so let’s just take his word for it.
On the opposite note, my Cranberry Float (RM9.95) was delicious. You never see floats made with cranberry soda so I had to try this. Despite it being cranberry, the soda was not too tart. The ice cream was surprisingly very smooth. The mall/restaurant must have been blasting their air-con because the ice cream never fully melted into the drink until I forced it to. I was able to eat half the scoop normally, before submerging the rest into the soda, creating a creamy sweet beverage.
The Danish Fish & Chips (RM24.95) boasted “oozing mozzarella cheese.” Don’t expect thick, gooey strings, because what was underneath the breading was a skimpy amount of liquidy cheese that didn’t even cover the entire fish surface area. Most bites I could barely tell there was any cheese at all. There was also supposed to be a bit of chilli spice on this but I didn’t taste any. These two ingredients were supposed to make this dish “unique” from the other fish and chips, but since they were barely present, this ended up tasting like basic fish and chips.
The Bombay Fish & Chips (RM22.95) was certainly the most out-there fish and chips we had ever seen. We were so curious to try it. You never see fish and chips with those kinds of spices (and a curry mayo dip), even at a dedicated fish and chips restaurant.
Even though the Danish fish and chips was lacklustre, it was still better in comparison to this. I tried to find some good qualities to the Bombay fish and chips, but I just had no desire to eat this after a couple of bites. The batter is different from the Danish version. This breading was way too dry, delicate and didn’t adhere to the fish. It separates and crumbles into a million little pieces when cut, so you’re stuck eating a bite of naked fish followed by a forkful of breading bits. The lime, when spritzed on top, did not match the flavours of the fish – it just made the fish worse. Even the curry mayo dip was a bit sour and I preferred simple ketchup over it.
Saturday Worthy?
Unless you’re completely ignorant of what proper fish and chips taste like, you will regret ordering them here. If you’ve been to, say, Cor Blimey and had a decent plate of the stuff, you will know that Fish & Co prepares their version poorly. The fish in both dishes was too soft and almost mushy. The fish itself had no hint of its own flavour – all the taste was in the batter and dipping sauce. They’re also just messy, unattractive pieces of fish. If you’ve seen pictures of better fish and chips around KL, the batter is a uniform coating with no cracks. There should be no “tendrils” of nothing but batter (you will see this in the above photo of the Danish fish and chips, along the left side of the fish). Maybe the other fish dishes at this restaurant are better, but judging from their Facebook reviews, it doesn’t look like it.
I will admit that the fish and chips at Fish & Co are the most affordable price that I’ve ever seen. Fish and chips in Kuala Lumpur are typically RM30 to RM45 for a plate, whether it’s at a dedicated fish and chip shop or a restaurant that happens to have it on their menu. Even though it’s cheaper than normal, you’re just throwing your money away on atrocious seafood by eating here.
Price for 2 Pax: RM72.00
Danish Fish & Chips: RM24.95
Bombay Fish & Chips: RM22.95
Cranberry Float: RM9.95
Lime Juice: RM7.95
10% Service: RM6.21
Rounding: (RM0.01)
(6% SST already included in listed menu prices: RM3.72)
Fish & Co.
Lot 53, Concourse (CC) Level, Paradigm Mall, No. 1, Jalan SS7/26A, Kelana Jaya, 47301 Selangor
Opening Hours: Daily, 10am – 10pm
Alcohol Served: No
