A year-ish since our last visit to the Culver City location of California Fish Grill, and the mental alarm bells were going off again. It’s absolutely essential that we keep up to date with any additions to their menu, or simply try anything that we have yet to try. With that mind, we ventured over the Westfield Mall, midweek at a time when the stores inside the main mall building were closing. Teenage child in tow, we ordered our food, and then say and ate.
At this point, California Fish Grill has 50 locations, mostly in California but with a few in Nevada and Arizona. “We only serve seafood that is rated Best Choice or Good Alternative by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program or Eco-Certified by a third party,” they say online. “Our wild-caught fish are harvested through the least invasive means possible, to ensure the ecosystem is preserved and to avoid catching unwanted species. We insist on methods that limit untargeted bycatch.”
That’s good to know; ethics are important and, ultimately, will result in a better quality product anyway. Obviously, we wanted to make sure that we had a different dish from the last time. A year ago, we had the Fried Catfish plate. A generously sized piece of the meaty fish was coated in a seasoned breading and fried to a golden brown, we said back then. The crunch of the coating is perfect, as is the snap of the very mild spices in the crumb.
On this occasion, two of us split the fish and shrimp plate, and chose kale slaw and fries for the two optional sides.
Let’s start with the slaw, because on the surface kale slaw doesn’t sound particularly exciting. Kale can be a tough and extremely bitter leaf. Here though, it’s paired with other shredded veg and the traditional mayo dressing, and it’s delicious. A sweetness counters the bitterness, and the flavors blend magnificently. It ends up being a stellar side dish.
The fries were simply great fries: hot, crispy and flavorful. What more can anyone ask from fries? When paired with the fish and shrimp, it’s a classic treat.
The fish is amazing. Flakey swai fillets (a sort of catfish) are battered to perfection. Crunchy on the outside, not at all chewy inside, the cooks know what they’re doing. The shrimp are better still. Plump and juicy, and coated with crispy breadcrumbs, they’re awesome.
We also split the Ahi Poke: “Pole and line caught sashimi grade ahi, tossed in our spicy poke dressing & avocado, topped with a cilantro cream drizzle and served with house-made tortilla chips.” Dipping the chips in poke is fusion dining at its best, and the combo worked beautifully.
We certainly know that we’ll be back.
California Fish Grill is located at 6150 Slauson Ave., Culver City 90230. Call 310-586-3242 or visit order.cafishgrill.com/menu/cfg-culver-city.