Rockfish Seafood Grill

So this based on my visit yesterday. We went in for a later lunch (1:30ish). It was relatively empty save for two servers and a handful of tables, so we were sat promptly.
Upfront I want to say the service was friendly and quick. They were a bit quirky, but good, so the 3 stars is not related to them. They’re actually the reason it isn’t 1.
The 3 stars is because of the food. I ordered an Austin Mule and my dining partner a Bud Light (Happy hour folks; we’re not always beer snobs. :))
The beer was fine, but a bit icy. The Austin Mule was a disappointment. It was supposed to be a Moscow mule using Deep Eddy Red Ruby Grapefruit vodka. It came to the table with regular vodka, that they attempted to mask with extra ginger. The lime was there too, but the drink tastes like a sweet ginger /​lime soda with some shelf vodka.
For appetizer we ordered the calamari. It was good, with a nice little spice /​flavor to it, and the dipping sauce was tasty. Then I got a piece that was fishy and disgusting. I stopped at that point.
Finally, our entrée arrived which was a Rockfish Platter of pick three (3). We did grilled catfish, blackened catfish, and fried crawfish tails. We swapped out the apple cider coleslaw and crispy fries for sautéed spinach and creamed corn. We kept the hushpuppies.
In order of what I ate:
1. The grilled catfish was drenched in oil, limited grill marks, and appeared pounded flat. I wasn’t expecting a puffy piece of fish, but not drenched in oil and grilled to keep it healthy. On top of that it was flavorless save that of fish and oil.
2. The blackened catfish was also drenched in oil, cooked to the same «grilled» nature of the first fish, but worth more spices so they burned and gave it a «blackened» look. It actually had flavor; spices, fish, and oil.
3. The hushpuppy was non-​descript, save for the soggy bottom and over fried nature of it.
4. The creamed corn was immediately fresh corn i.e. just chopped off the cob and out into in their unclear cream sauce. It was flavorless save the corn, which was thankfully fresh. It was a partial highlight.
5. Finally I came to the sautéed spinach. It was actually flavorful, and relatively fresh pre-​cooking. Mine was thankfully not drenched in the oil on the bottom of the plate from the fish.
In the end, my dining partner couldn’t even make it through the fish or touch the spinach it was so oily. If we had gotten potatoes (Starch) to combat the oil, it might not have been so bad. Then again, I ordered the relatively healthy fish I.e. not fried and it could have been with a little extra heat due to the amount of oil.
In the end, the service was good, the food beyond sub-​par. Having been there before and received good service and food, it was extremely disappointing. I hope they can recover one day.

good location, food, and service. crab cake appetizers were a proper size and so were lunch portions.
blackened fish tacos were a bit salty and the roumelade sauce even saltier. couldn’t at both at the same time. will try the fish fried next time.
chicken Alfredo pasta was runny and not the best nor traditional but not too bad. added ingredients (mushrooms, tomatoes, bacon bits and sliced onions) made it like a primavera penne pasta.

Working in the Mockingbird station it’s not easy to find a great lunch deal with such good food and options! They actually honor the lunch mention up until 4pm usually. Great service and the food is always on point. If you go to sit down don’t be surprised if service is a bit slower but the food comes out fast! I usually get to go and haven’t been disappointed. Love the blackened Salmon (not a spicy person either)!

Darnell and Clifton — ask for either of them at the Mockingbird Station location, and you will not be disappointed. I am trying to think of any other wait staff in this market who is better… and cannot. They are exceptional. The food is consistently very good, and if you want to catch the end of a game, there are plenty of tvs. We’ve had the grilled salmon, rainbow trout and the tilapia prepared Oscar style. We also endorse the harvest salad with grilled shrimp and also the crab cake appetizers, which my mom will pair with a dinner salad for her meal. The only dings might be the noise level (music was loud last time… and not sure what it was either!) and then the shrimp cocktail. It’s very good, but I swear they get smaller every time to the point now they get a little lost in the bowl! They are still very good and suppose the pricing is somewhat in line with the size… And don’t forget to ask for Clifton or Darnell.

Awesome! Had the trio app with calamari, Volcano shrimp, and spinach dip. Volcano shrimp was for sure the best of the 3. I had the snow crab legs that at were to die for! Hubby had the surf and turf steak and scallops with a side is shrimp. I tried a sample of the scallops and I can’t wait to try them again as a full order on my next visit. Rockfish rocked it!!!

Ok the ambience here is gross with the shiny wood tables & green vinyl booths, and the music is HORRID, but the food is pretty good. I as them grill scallops & put them on a house salad with shallot (instead of herb) vinaigrette. It was good. The grilled trout is very good too.
Please change the station & turn down the music, and this place might be bearable.

Let me preface with the only reason for a two star and not one star is that our server was very good.
I’d never been to a Rockfish before and had heard good things from friends. My wife and I decided to give it a go.
We were promptly seated by a friendly young lady. We were met quickly by our waitress Katelyn. We ordered two appetizers. The Jalapeño Hush Puppies and the Crab Cakes.
The Crab Cakes (3 @$ 11.99) were charred & bland. I suppose the griddle was too hot when searing. Overall — we weren’t impressed.
The Jalapeño Hush Puppies (the best thing we had all night) were great. Little spice and fried to a golden brown. Should have ordered more.
For our supper my wife ordered the «Surf and Turf» ($ 18.99) with the Flat Iron Steak and ‘jumbo’ Grilled Scallops. Steak was cooked to temp but was overall lacking in flavor & tough. Could have used a bit of salt and pepper. The ‘jumbo’ scallops were anything but ‘jumbo’ (the size between and nickel and a quarter) and way over cooked — not to mention you only get two. Very rubbery and tough. The cream corn was more like a soup and generally unappetizing.
I got the Seared Jumbo Shrimp & Scallops ($ 21.99). It came out with 3 shrimp and 3 scallops (I was expecting more considering the price-​tag). Like my wife’s scallops — they were way overcooked and rubbery. One of them looked like it had gone though a meat grinder and the chef tried to put all the pieces back together again on my plate. The shrimp weren’t any better. While they were good sized — they were also overcooked. They were dry, rubbery and hard to chew. The plate came with an herbed orzo. It was clumped together and tasted as if it had been sitting in a chafing dish or under a heat lamp since lunch the previous day. The best part of my dinner was the asparagus. It was fresh and prepared well.
As you can probably deduct, we were very displeased with our dining experience at Rockfish and will not return. The value for your money is definitely lacking especially when everything was overcooked. The ‘chefs’ at this location need more training. Kaitlyn on the other hand was awesome.

We were seated fast, as always. That’s one of the reasons I go when I’m in need of seafood in a hurry.
Our waiter was very accommodating. He did an awesome job making sure we had what we need asap.
The food was served hot and delicious!

If you’re in the mood for a good seafood this is the place, the Cajun combo are my Fav, the crawfish are good but to much salt… wonderful service very friendly staff… over all the food is wonderful. Give it a try.

Stopped by on Monday about 1:00. Suprised that this location wasn’t that busy considering it was still Christmas break. I’ve eaten at this chain at different locations. Between 3 of us we had catfish hoagie, pasta, gumbo and salad. Everything tasted good and service is always consistent. I have 2 other seafood restaurants that I frequent. Rockfish does just enough to keep me coming back when I want some spicy seafood.

I’ve always enjoyed this location. It brings back memories of when I first moved to Dallas back in 2010. This was my «go to» spot for drinks. I was new to the area and didn’t know anyone but my apartment was close enough to walk to Mockingbird Station.
I was shocked to walk in last night and see that the same bartender was still working there and just as friendly as ever.
Last night I enjoyed the blackened salmon, the best green beans I’ve ever had and the mashed sweet potatoes. This meal was absolutely delicious!
All of the employees including my waiter Dustin provided top notch service. Rockfish you have won me over once again and I see more visits in my near future.

I’m so happy to see that there is another review about Darnell on here because he was a great server! Soft-​spoken but very nice and he kept up with my boyfriend’s water refills (a scary task). Crab cake starter was my fav and my tilapia po boy was also pretty good. The location is great because it’s near mockingbird station where all of the shops are. Definitely give it a try if you’re a seafood lover! We will definitely be going back. As young adults who can’t drink yet, we sometimes get spotty service (I wait tables, I’ve been there) but that wasn’t the case today!

I was new in Dallas and found this place close to the hotel I was staying. The crab studded flounder is fantastic. I hear that this is a local chain, but this place never gave a chain feeling to me. I tried the crab cakes too and it was yummy. Will come again as I want to try salmon here. I recommend this place.

Food and plating is pretty standard. feels like something you’d make at home. The clam chowder is delicious though. probably the best I’ve had so far in Dallas. For you non-​pork eaters, there is no bacon in the chowder! The sides that come with the fish dishes are really underwhelming (barely seasoned and just steamed). The cole slaw is not good.

This review made possible by our waiter Darnell. Hubs is on a strict low sodium high protein diet. This can make eating out a bit tricky since he can’t have a lot of foods and spices. Our first visit we went in and Darnell was our waiter. He greeted us in a very friendly manner and took our drink orders. I wanted a beer, so, I started asking about the taps. For some reason I went into ADD mode and kept interrupting him with «do you have this? kinda questions. He ever so politely put his hand on my shoulder and said «well, I’m trying to tell you». I was like «sorry».
I shut the heck up and let the man do his thing. I got my beer, so, now it was time to order. Hubs started in with his «I can’t have this list». Darnell patiently listened then started making suggestions as to what they could do to accommodate. After a couple of minutes they have decided on Watermelon and Shrimp Salad. Excellent choice. Hubs devoured it. Which has been a rare thing since the surgery. As for me, with Darnell’s help, I went for the Salmon special. Darnell recommended I swap the white rice for Orzo. Man, he was spot on with that. The dish also came with two sides. I chose Asparagus and Rocking Green Beans. The dish was absolutely delicious.
Next stop in we requested Darnell’s section. We were very pleased to learn he was working. Now, I’m sure that the other waiter’s/waitresses are excellent servers, but, Darnell impressed us so much the first time, that we wanted to stay with him. He remembered us and our situation. Yes! We didn’t have to re-​invent the wheel with the «I can’t have this» list. This visit hubs wanted the catfish, but, it was breaded in a beer batter which is a no-​no for him. Darnell suggested the Panko breading instead. He assured hubs that he would probably like that better. Darnell was right again. I tried a bite, and, I agree with the Panko being better. I got the Spinach and Orzo Salad with Salmon. Darnell suggested I go lightly blackened on the Salmon. It was perfect.
I told the manager what a perfect waiter Darnell was. It’s rare that I get that impressed with waitstaff that I do that. Darnell went above and beyond. He was patient, friendly, professional, and, offered awesome recommendations. It was like he was not only our server, but, also our personal chef. Waiters this good can be hard to find. Some of you would say «oh, he was just doing his job». He did more than just his job. He put a passion into caring about our satisfaction, and, making sure our needs were accommodated. Next time I go in I’ll probably just have Darnell order whatever he thinks I’ll like! LOL.

Sometimes you’re lucky if you pick a great place for lunch and get praised for it for the rest of the week, but sometimes you make awful choices and accidentally pick a restaurant that really has no clue what it’s serving.
When we first came in here my boyfriend and I had a very open mind about the entire situation. We were both craving sea food and this was the first thing that came on the gps for seafood and so we rolled with it. Oh man, let’s just say we’re never going off on that again. While the service was nice and dare I say friendly, the food was not that great. The food was very bland, I really don’t recall tasting anything spectacular, My boyfriend at one point stopped eating completely because he detested his food that much, I was able to finish mine.
Eh… I’ve experienced better seafood. Sorry, this chain wont be seeing us again.

The Garden Salad offers menu choices of either shrimp or chicken. Go in a different direction and order it with grilled salmon instead. Oh yeah. There you go. Leafy greens, feta cheese, fresh apple, dried cranberries, underneath a nice little filet of Omega-​3-​rich grilled salmon: Slap-​yo-​mama good eats!
Also, they treat single-​party diners with the same prompt and friendly service as couples or group. This is a great choice for dinner after a movie at the Angelika Theater right next door.

Sometimes we have to make unfortunate dining compromises. I had a negative attitude toward this local chain from my last visit, but I let a friend pick our lunch hour spot.
The new menu has a larger type font.
That means one thing — two things — kids and seniors. In addition, the flat aqua background color and revamped item selection seemed more chainey — less interesting ingredients and more streamlined to a cattle call palette of the North Americas.
The food quality seems different for the worse, my cup of gumbo was practically tasteless (cardboard and glue with too much flour came to mind.) and my half grilled catfish po boy had a fast food lakeside feel, unlike it’s more previous slightly gourmet attempts.
My friends fish and chips were a bit better, even with it’s slightly burnt crust.
Key lime pie was sadly like Sara Lee.
Perhaps good enough for some, it was, on the whole, not enough to support a future visit from this picky guy.
Fried and grilled fish with a fast food feel.
Patio

If you are looking for a patio experience, I would look elsewhere. The patio is basically in the parking lot. However, eating inside is a good option. The menu is large and diverse enough that even if you have people in your party who don’t do seafood, there will be something for them to order.
I had the Asian salad with ahi tuna and was pleasantly surprised with the amount of tuna the gave me. Our waiter was very friendly and helpful, which is always appreciated.

I like places that do a dinner salad well. At Rockfish it isn’t an afterthought. Frequently I will build my meal from an appetizer and the side salad which has delicious candied pecans on it.
Rockfish has become my default everyone-​can-​order-​here restaurant. Its easy. You can eat light or heavy with salads and grilled or fried seafood offerings. There are chicken options and even a flat iron steak for non-​fishophiles. I really enjoy the mussels, the mexican shrimp martini is good, oysters are great and the tower is alright.
The specials seem well-​executed, but I have to warn… if you are averse to frozen fish (as I am) be sure to ask before ordering. I made the mistake of assuming that a fish restaurant would have fresh fish and had to send back an unacceptable tuna steak. Maybe I’m better off sticking to the salad and appetizers.