even my son likes fish at Spike’s Fish House

My feelings towards Spike’s Fish House is this — even if I didn’t like them, I would LOVE them simply because my son, who never eats fish, ate everything we ordered. But then again, if it wasn’t good food, my son would not have eaten it in the first place, so that was a moot point.

The restaurant is casual and serves well for both lunch and dinner. The best part is the freshness and variety of fish available daily. You order at the counter and when your food is ready, they bring it out to you. The setting feels like quasi fast food, but don’t let that fool you, the taste is anything but that.

One of my favorites are the Lettuce Wraps (range between $2.95 and $3.50 depending on fish) which are crisp lettuce cups filled with your choice of fish — my favorites are the snapper or mahi mahi — topped with a slaw and the Spike’s special sauce made with Greek yogurt. Each wrap is less than 150 calories but so packed with flavor you won’t be able to stop at one. My son at first didn’t want it, but after a bite of mine, he wouldn’t give it back.

Fish Tacos ($2.95) are always a hit and when you can choose basa or snapper, essentially, you can have a different taco every time you eat here.

Delicious Sliders ($2.95) with fresh lettuce and Roma tomatoes are a great snack to tie you over between meals. I like mahi on the sliders.

On one occasion, I was not wanting to consume a lot of carbs so I ordered the Swordfish & Mahi Skewers ($10.99) over vegetables with a side of coleslaw instead of rice. So awesome!

The Coleslaw ($1.99) is very tasty, a tad too sweet for me, but I added a squeeze of lemon to it to balance out the flavors.

If you like nachos, you will like these Nachos with ahi poke ($6.49) or with ceviche ($5.99). During happy hour, you can get Basa Nachos for only $3.95! The basa is panko crusted and served with chips and pico de gallo.

I find the Fish House Plates (between $9.99 and $12.99) the best thing when I’m eating alone. You get a plate of white or brown rice with seasonal vegetable and a 1/2 pound of fish. You can choose panko crusted tilapia, cajun or panko basa, salmon, yellowtail, snapper or even shrimp. 

If you’re a chowder fan, the house Chowder ($3.49 cup/$5.99 bowl) is pretty good, but I always tell them I want it scorching hot. It’s a mixed fish chowder and my son devoured an entire bowl on his own. I like mine with some fresh lemon juice spritzed over it.

Fish & Chips ($9.99) were so delicious my son ate one order and wanted another. I’m just tickled because he never eats fish when I cook it. I prefer the sweet potatoes over the regular fries, although the fries aren’t bad.

And last but not least, here’s a tip for you. Order one of the Bowls (ranging between $7.99 to $12.99 depending on fish) and substitute soba noodles (add 50 cents) for the rice. The soba noodles are tossed in their poke sauce and I can eat these alone they’re THAT tasty.

Five dipping sauces are available: Spike’s Sauce, Pico de Gallo, Chimichurri, Poke Sauce and Lemon Pesto Aioli. You can request any of these to be served with your fish. I highly recommend the Spike’s Sauce, Chimichurri and Poke!

There are currently two locations, one in Rancho Santa Margarita and another in Laguna Niguel. If only they would open one closer to me, then I can get my son to eat fish twice a week. Yeah, wishful thinking.

I have a $25 gift certificate to Spike’s Fish House to giveaway to one lucky winner. Leave me a comment with your full name and email address telling me what your favorite fish is and how you like it prepared for a chance to win. Double your chance by, “liking” diary of a Mad Hungry Woman’s Facebook fanpage. Entries close at midnight Sunday, March 25. Winner announced Monday, March 26.

Spikes Fish House
30465 Avenida De Las Flores
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688
Tel: 949-766-3382

27020 Alicia Parkway
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
Tel: 949-448-8488