Ghadir Fish Restaurant
Ghadir Fish Restaurant is the seafood counterpart to Ghadir Meat next door, the latter known for their butchery and amazing shawarma.
Part fish market and part dine-in restaurant, the concept here is similar to the one next door but with seafood instead of meat.
You can choose from menu items, or come in and get one of the fresh fish on display of your choice, cleaned, marinated, grilled or barbecued, and served with bread, lemon and sauce. All barbecued items are grilled over all-natural charcoal.
Jumbo shrimp ($19.99) is one of three signature barbecued dishes, two skewers served on a bed of three sides of your choice.
The marinade for all signature items starts off with extra virgin olive oil, garlic and lemon, for shrimp further lightly layered with black pepper and cumin so the juicy seafood can shine.
Tilapia fillet ($17.99) is another signature, a 340g portion seasoned with a house blend of Egyptian-style spices again served on a bed of sides. We do relatively basic rice and fries with both, opting for earthy baba ghanouj with the tilapia and batata hara (potato marinated with garlic, coriander, onion and sweet pepper).
The salmon fillet ($21.99) is given an extra kick with a more Mediterranean-style seasoning, delicate and flaky. For this one, we accompany batata hara with veggies and hummus.
Fresh seafood delivered four times a week from the Mediterranean and the States is priced by the pound, with additional charges for frying and grilling.
Whiting, mullet, porgy and tilapia are on the lower end at $3.99 a pound, prices reaching up to $7.99 for sea bream or sea bass, to $9.99 for beeliner and $11.99 for baby red grouper.
Everything here is served with obligatory house markouk, and you’re meant to eat the seafood here in a similar fashion to the meats and shawarma next door.
Tear off pieces of the cracker-y but pliable markouk, grab a fluffy piece of fish and drizzle it with nutty tahina. A more rarely seen serving method, the combination works almost unexpectedly well.
This is especially effective with bone-in grilled and fried fish sold by the pound. Tear the meaty white flesh away from the spine, careful to remove any small bones, assemble with markouk and tahina, and enjoy.
Sea bass and sea bream are flavourful and smoky grilled, and crispy skin is delicious on fried yellowtail, red snapper and beeliner. All are served with pita fried in the same oil as the fish.
With long tables capable of seating large parties and supporting massive feasts, you’re encourage to allocate more than an hour to meals here as opposed to the quick grab-and-go that’s available next door.
Hector Vasquez