Tony's Fish & Oyster Cafe - Vancouver

Stopped in with some friends. The place was full but we decided to go ahead and wait. It's real small. Only seats about 25 people. It took about 15 minutes to get a seat which wasn't a bad wait. The menu had a good selection of items. My wife and I both had the butterflied prawns and our friends each had the fried cod which was the special. Everyone thought the food was very good. One waitress did all the serving very efficiently and was very friendly. We asked for a little extra on the condiments and even though she was very busy it was service with a smile. We always like to eat at locally owned restaurants while on vacation. This was another of those times we were all very pleased.

There was a long queue outside the restaurant during lunchtime. I waited at least 20 minutes for a seat. The portion of the fish and chips set lunch was a bit too big for me. The clam chowder soup was delicious but the deep fried cod fish was a bit too oily and salty for me. Overall it was still good value for money as I paid less than CAD16 for the set and a pot of Earl grey tea.

This quaint and small restaurant was a real treat. No nonsense and good food. The fish And chips for 12 dollar, very good. The portion are certainly big enough. With a few moves the restaurant is changed to a place with bigger or smaller tables. The kitchen is quick and the owner is very friendly. If we lived there we would go back there.

Do not go during their busy months. Staff seemed extremely stressed and bitter. After reading 4 signs posted by the restaurant recommending patrons to order food to go as the restaurant is very small, we decided to give it a try. The signs even explained that they had an agreement with the coffee shop across the street to allow patrons to use their tables. We went inside and asked to place a to go order and was very rudely informed that they weren't taking to go orders. No apology or explanation as to why. She just walked away. We were in shock by how they treated us.

So, this is a little hole in the wall. It is very small. But it exceeded my expectations as far as food goes.The place was full when we got there and put in our name, but we only had to wait about 15 minutes before we were given a table. The staff is extremely busy but definitely very friendly and attentive to your needs. I had no complaints about the waitstaff at all.Both my wife and I were very pleased with what we ordered. I had calamari and she had fish and chips. One thing I was pleasantly pleased about, was the fact that it appeared that there oil was very clean. That is a pet peeve of mine to have dirty, greasy looking food and that was certainly not the case. The price was just about what I expected it to be for the type of restaurant that this is. This is not a fancy sitdown restaurant, but rather a flip-flops and shorts type of a joint where you just want to get good seafood. And remember, what we initially thought was "expensive" prices wasn't really the case: we forgot to convert from Canadian to US dollars, in which case, the price point was just right. I would definitely recommend to friends and I would return again if we get back to Vancouver. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that I reserve those ratings for places that really "wow" me. (I try to be accurate and consistent in my reviews). I think most fish eaters would enjoy this place.