 This entry refers to a departed business that has closed or left town. All information here is for historical reference only. |
| Location |
| 2171 Cowell Blvd. #F, in Oakshade Town Center |
| Hours |
| Daily 11am-9pm, Fridays 11am-10pm |
| Phone |
| (530) 750-5000 |
| Website |
| http://www.finsmarket.com |
| Menu |
| Established |
| February 4th, 2008 |
Fins Market & Grill was a seafood restaurant that also offers fresh fish and seafood for sale. It is a small chain with four other locations in Sacramento, Fair Oaks and Roseville.
The new Davis location opened where Duke's Sports Bar & Grill and Fusions Asian Bistro used to be.
Fin's closed on August 5, 2008. A letter on the door claims that Davis could not support the restaurant, and requests that patrons visit one of their other locations.
While the logo is nice, a photo of what the actual restaurant looks like is needed for people looking for it, deciding to go or not, and also for a record of it after it is gone (not that restaurants ever come and go in Davis)
2008-02-13 12:32:52 Our family had dinner here during their opening week. The calamari strips appetizer was tender as was my entrée of crab cakes. The place was kid-friendly with a kids menu and crayons for them to color with. We all enjoyed the food there but it's not a place we would eat at frequently because seafood is expensive, you know! —LillianChow
2008-02-23 07:37:01 We checked out this place last night. Service was extremely fast and attentive. We were barely inside for a few seconds before we were seated. The clam strip appetizer is nothing compared to what one might get at Pier39/Fisherman's Wharf in SF, but for Davis, it's pretty good. The fish is ok, nothing spectacular, but for a Davis seafood restaurant, it's pretty good. Will go back some time. —JWu
2008-02-26 08:30:00 I have been here three times (two for dinner and one for lunch). The service is very attentive and on point. We tried two appetizers, the fried oysters and calamari. Both were very good. The fish is very fresh. Nothing fancy, but that is the point. Fresh and healthy because most of the fish is grilled. One of the diners at my table ordered the cracked crab and didn't enjoy that as much as the rest of the table that ordered the fish. For lunch I had the calamari sandwhich on the sourdough walnut bread. Perfect portion as it was not too big. Again, it was cooked perfectly.
The one thing I don't like are the side dishes. I think they need some work as they were all pretty bland and not intersting at all. But, that will not stop me from coming back. It is really nice to have decent place for a fish dinner in Davis. —NancyWilson
2008-03-04 09:37:11 The ONLY good part about Fin's is the fish. Everything else seems as if it is cheap and came out of a can. You don't want to see the Thousand island dressing, it is the color of bandaids. The grilled halibut was very nice... but for an entree it was so expensive! I could have bought the fish for less at Nugget and made a better salad. If you go to Fin's maybe get a sandwich. —mags
2008-03-07 02:22:33 I haven't been to the Davis Fin's, but I've been to one of their Sac locations a few times. So...their sandwiches are just bread mayo/tartar sauce and fish - no produce whatsoever and they don't even come with fries, only a little bit of cole slaw. However, their fish and chips are very good. —ScottStanley
2008-03-11 16:56:10 My lunch at Fins yesterday was very tasty. But as others have noted, the sandwiches are not much food for the money. When I finished mine, I wanted another! Personally, I liked Fins' cole slaw, which is made with viniagrette instead of mayo, but I wish the meal came with something more (and preferably not fries), like a soup or rice. At any rate, the fish was great and the service attentive. I was a little disappointed that they were out of some of the more exotic fish. —SugarPlum
2008-03-12 15:40:11 Finally checked out our local Fins for lunch yesterday with my girlfriend. While we had eaten at Fins many times in the past in Sacramento locations our experience had consistently being going downhill throughout the year. Poor service, undercooked food and reheated fries all were making the price and food choice of Fins unsavory. Given that the price of lunch for two is over twenty dollars we both had signed off and had not visited again over the last 3 months. With the Davis location finally opening and being located within walking distance of home, we were prepared to give them one last try. We sat outside yesterday and while the porch area could certainly use some improvement with more comfortable chairs and maybe some plants or more tables, I am happy to say it was a pleasant experience. 12:30 lunch time and the place was packed full. Their appeared to be plenty of servers and the service we experienced we great. I had a coupon for 1/2 off an entree and even though we ordered the non-entree fish and chips they honored the coupon when they saw in on the table. I really liked that the food came on a plate and was not stuffed inside the basket as in Sacramento. Additionally to slaw was very light on dressing and served on the plate instead of in a small cup that is too small to get your fork inside. While I do find their pricing to be a bit expensive given what you receive, it was fresh, great service and totally satisfied my craving. —loneshark
2008-03-15 15:35:04 I agree with the other users, this place is way too expensive for the cheap cheap cheap sides they give you. The fish is fresh and well prepared, but it's obvious that this restaurant does everything it possibly can to cut corners on anything else. The entire time that I was there, a woman that appeared to be the owner/manager just sat on a stool at the front bar drinking beer. She would greet customers as they came in and smile, but I think that was just the joy of the dollar signs flashing in her head. If you want good seafood, considered buying the fresh fish from their market operation or another grocery store (probably less expensive) and prepare it with simple seasoning and a hot grille or pan yourself, add one of those salad kit in bags, and you'll have a similar seafood dish and heck of a lot better side than the garbage Fins is passing off to you. —jcarr4
2008-04-03 00:54:08 We drove down from the Bay Area to try out Fins. It was probably the best dining experience I have had in a long time. The service was absoulutely fantastic, the food was delicious, the restaurant was clean. I was even impressed with the manager. The only thing that was a disapointement was the sourdough bread, it's better in San Fransisco. Overall experience was wonderful. I hope they build one closer to us. —j.aviles
2008-04-13 17:31:02 This restaurant serves various types of seafood that is not recommended by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch (http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/seafoodwatch.asp). For example, they serve Chilean Seabass, which is not a sustainable fishery and contributes to several deaths of endangered albatross (seabird). I would very much like to see a responsible seafood restaurant open in Davis. —ttkk
2008-04-15 18:48:00 So...I've been to fins a couple times and each time I've left more and more dissapointed. The service is always friendly but the quality of the food is sub standard. I recently went in with a friend and in addition to our meals we ordered a shrimp cocktail, what came out was obviously unthawed baby shrimp piled on a plate, honestly costco has better shrimp cocktails! People if your looking for seafood I would say drive either to Sacramento or to San Francisco this place is NOT worth it. If you can't afford to drive that far cook at home, seafood is easy to make and I've found Nugget to have a good selection of fresh fish. —sdlexie
2008-05-12 14:53:39 This place is fantastic! I took my wife there the other night and we had the best fish we ever had. It was just delicious. We had decided to try the maddies patties, they were not that great, so our waitress brought us a baked potato to try instead. It was soooooo good!!!! The service was great as well, everybody was nice. This place is definately worth trying! Just Excellent! —david78
2008-05-14 11:51:45 Fins is serving fish which are widely recognized as being non-sustainable and environmentally unfriendly. No real high quality chefs would serve Chilean Sea Bass, but at Fins it is a permanent staple of the menu. This non-sustainable fish is being illegally caught using bottom longlines, leading to bycatch. For more info, check out http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_factsheet.aspx?fid=13
Other questionable fish on the menu are: Swordfish, Halibut, Mahi Mahi, and Orange Roughy.
Be a responsible consumer and check out http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_regional.aspx before you eat at this restaurant.
- While I agree with Chilean Sea Bass and Orange Roughy, Halibut and Mahi Mahi can be sustainable if taken from a sustainable fishery. Pacific halibut is a "best choice" on the Monterey Bay Aquarium's list, and other halibuts and Mahi Mahi are "good alternatives." True, I doubt Fins is sourcing the more sustainable fisheries, but it's worth asking. —ScottLay
* I am not affiliated with Fin's in any way, never even eaten there. However, I am compelled to point out that Chilean Sea Bass is actually a trade name. While some methods of farming the Patagonian Toothfish are on the watch list, there are also many sources which are certified/licensed to sustainably fish and export "Chilean Sea Bass" to a number of countries. I feel it is highly inappropriate for you, "Selby" to critique Fin's choices without direct information from their seafood purchasing agent on how they source their fish. This is essentially a "FUD" (Fear/Uncertainty/Doubt) tactic to malign an establishment based on your assumptions of their purchasing policies. Please either cite specific verifiable information on their purchasing policies, or retract or modify your inflammatory and possibly inaccurate comment. Thanks. —ChrisLambertus
2008-05-15 16:45:07 To comment on the above, I like CHilean sea bass and high quality chefs do serve it in high quality restaurants. AND....When I was last in Fins restaurant they were not even serving Chilean Sea Bass, I hope they bring it back though, 'cause it tastes awesome. It's the best bass around! —david78
- Actually, it's not a bass. Try Patagonian toothfish. Just because high quality chefs serve something doesn't mean that it's not endangered and shouldn't be avoided. —ScottLay
2008-06-18 12:53:54 Went to Fins's to celebrate the end of a long spring quarter with my hubby. The clam chowder was okay- it didn't really knock my socks off. We both ordered fish entrees which were delicious!!! Everything was fresh and delicious except for "Maddie's Pattie" which tasted more like Yucky Maddie's Patties. Overall I would come here again for dinner but will steer clear of the Yucky Patties. —Magster
2008-07-12 10:08:43 In short, we will not return. Clam chowder is not bad, but not as good as Caffe Italia. Crab crabs are made with ground dungeness crab. If McDonalds served crab cakes, this is how they would make them. My Red Snapper was actually quite good but my wife's Opah was overcooked. This restaurant is infested with flys. We killed at least two of them and had to ask for extra napkins. Finally, we had a coupon which was not honored. Some nonsense about the fine print and it being Friday. Very unprofessional service not honoring the coupon regardless. —busthead
2008-07-20 01:14:17 I love their sandwiches and their coleslaw is pretty unique. Their shrimp cocktail wasn't enough though, I expected more. The service was pretty good, but they should've paid more attention to our refill needs. —cnk.midori
2008-07-22 14:20:28 honestly I am disgusted with the new management at Fins. The guy calls himself a chef and a manager and he doesnt appear to know how to do either. The food that comes out on my plate always looks terrible now, the waite staff does not look like they want to be there. I will only go on mondays now, that seems to be the only day that I get great quality tasting food. Probably the managers day off. THis place is really going down hill and fast, they really messed up by changing up the management. Bad Idea! This guy Sucks! —bobbyd
2008-07-23 10:01:25 My husband and I eat here often and love it. The food is good and the service is always friendly with a small town feeling. As for the post above I may have to agree a little bit. I watched the bald chef/manager kill flies with his hat and put it back on his head, totally unprofessional. And I also have to agree with some of the posters that the patties aren't that good, but, the slaw is the best I have ever had. All-in-all I really enjoy this place, the food and especially the service and will continue to eat here often and recommend it to others. —DavisNative
2008-07-23 12:24:00 I have eaten here about 5 times now and I always order their sandwiches. I am hooked on the scallop sandwich [huge sea scallops with no sand] (get it grilled!). The service is great and they are good about keeping my diet cokes filled. For the money, I think they should include 15 cents worth of lettuce and tomatoes on your sandwich, but they seem to think it is OK to charge $0.75. Alas, fresh fish is always surprisingly expensive, especially if you are paying for it in a restaurant. I like the restaurant a lot, but I would stick to straight forward fish dishes. My buddy ordered the fish taco and the cheese looked like shredded American and the salsa looked like Pace Picante Sauce....not worth it, and it tasted pretty awful (the fish was good on its own though). All in all id give this place a 4 out of 5 because the scallop sandwich is soooo damn good for 8 bucks. I recommend you try it, stick to the sandwiches, and tell your friends, as the dining room never seem to be busy. I would hate to see another establishment go under in this location. —dan.mayers
2008-09-01 13:44:33 So sad to see this place go. I only made it there once, but I was thoroughly impressed by the service and quality of food. I read the above posts and guess there line of fish isn't very consistent, because during my experience everything from the apps to the grilled mahi mahi and cajun shrimp was outstanding. Although, it WAS a ghost town when i was there so maybe we got their full attention. Slightly pricey but worth it for some decent fish in Davis. —TheDavisMarine
2008-09-01 19:40:53 Agree that it was sad to see Fins go but I can't imagine a business model that allows for seemingly 6 months of construction and preparation and what seemed like 4 months of operation to determine if the business is going to pan out. That spot is poorly designed and with both Fusions and Fins the bar area has made the entry an awkward corridor leading to a bad dining room area. Fins had some great dishes but some really poor side dish options and about a $1 to $3 too high on all dishes spelled its doom. I wish they would have gone for a more low key offering than their other locations that offered a more casual dining options high quality fish and an atmosphere that was comfortable and made you want to have more than one beer or glass of wine with your dinner. Too bad it went so quick. To me it seemed like a poorly executed expansion that was given a very small window for success. —loneshark
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