The last time I dined at Tommy Bahama’s Island Grille was for a work Christmas party and I spent most of the meal waxing poetic about their freshly baked bread and honey butter.  I felt it had been far too long since I had eaten at Tommy Bahama’s, so when I was invited to come in and try the Tommy Bahama Fish Fridays menu, I jumped at the chance.

The idea behind Tommy Bahama Fish Fridays was to create a more extensive seafood menu for patrons during the Lenten season.  This special Fish Friday menu includes an updated version of Fish N’ Chips (battered in Stone IPA no less), Blackened Fish Tacos, Teriyaki Grilled Salmon and New Zealand Mussels.

For our meal, the Englishman and I decided to order a couple of dishes off the Fish Fridays menu as well as some seafood dishes from their regular menu since Tommy Bahama prides itself on offering sustainable dishes from local resources.

We started the evening with some drinks, including the Spring Fling Cocktail, which was one of the specials on the Tommy Bahama Fish Fridays menu.

The spring fling is made with gin, aperol, grapefruit, simple syrup, lime and rosemary and is a delight.  I don’t normally gravitate towards gin-based cocktails but this was light and refreshing.  The rosemary sprig was an excellent touch.

While we waited for our starters to arrive we were presented with the famous bread and honey butter.

And yes, it was just as delicious as I remembered and I had to restrain myself from eating the entire loaf once again.  Seriously best bread and butter in town.

Our first appetizer was the Seared Ahi and Kale Salad.  I had notified Tommy Bahama of my allergies beforehand, so this was prepared without the corn and the dressing on the side which I appreciated.

The tuna was seared to perfection and paired nicely with the kale.  I don’t normally order seared ahi at restaurants because it is generally overcooked, but this was done perfectly.  If you are looking for a lighter dish, definitely go for this one.

Next was the Kobe Beef and Scallop Sliders with crispy fried onions.

You can’t really go wrong with Kobe beef so this was of course delicious.  I also liked that the scallop slider contained two fresh scallops so the Englishman and I could share.

For entrees, we had to order the Stone IPA Battered Fish N’ Chips.

This dish was probably my least favorite of the evening only because I felt that the fish was almost dredged in too much batter.  The batter was incredibly flavorful, but it seemed to overpower the fish too much, and I found myself eating mouthfuls of batter and not much fish.

Next up was the Blackened Fish Tacos with crispy plantains.

I loved this dish – the fish was nice and crispy and the chipotle aioli had just the right amount of spice.  I didn’t eat the tortillas due to my allergies but I enjoyed the fish and slaw instead.  If you are looking for delicious fish tacos, Tommy Bahama’s version definitely hits the spot.  Plus you can’t go wrong with the crispy (cinnamon!) plantains served on the side.

Last but not least was the Peri Peri Dusted Halibut with fingerling potatoes and brown sugar glazed carrots which was my favorite dish of the night.

The halibut was light and flaky and paired nicely with the carrots and potatoes.  This dish is served with a hearty piece of fish but not too big so you feel overstuffed after.  The good news is that this dish part of Tommy Bahama’s regular menu so you can enjoy it all year round!

We somehow managed to find room for dessert so we ordered the Pineapple Creme Brulee and the Malted Chocolate Pie.

The creme brulee was to die for.  It was served inside a fresh pineapple and the vanilla bean brulee had chunks of pineapple inside of it.  I will definitely order this dessert again when I return to Tommy Bahama’s.

I didn’t get a chance to tasted the Malted Chocolate Pie but the Englishman had nothing but wonderful things to say about the dessert.  And since we both licked our dessert plates clean, I think it’s safe to say it was a resounding success.

Thank you Tommy Bahama for hosting us and letting us try your Fish Fridays menu!  Everything was delicious and just reinforced the fact that I need to go to Tommy Bahama’s more often.  I also have to give a shout out to our waiter Emerlito – he went above and beyond to make sure everything was perfect and steered us in the right direction when we were deciding what to order.  If you have dinner at Tommy Bahama’s, be sure to ask for him.

The Tommy Bahama Fish Fridays menu is available now through Easter.