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Flying Fish of Little Rock
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Lunch
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
20 reviews for Flying Fish of Little Rock
half dozen fresh raw (or fried) oysters for $7? Check
fried oysters come with fires and HUSHPUPPIES (fried cornmeal balls)? Check
1 lbs of steamed shrimp for $12.75? Check
large beer on tap for $4? Check
place to relax and enjoy terrific food? Check
I think I found a home in Little Rock
First off, I didn't want to like this place. While on a biz trip I found myself along the Little Rock Riverfront, wanting to try local eats. A menu full of fried items seemed so - exotic (humor me, I'm from the Rocky Mountain area, where fried food is endangered). So I joined the long line out the door and the locals generously coached me on the whole Flying Fish experience. Got the fried shrimp/catfish combo (complete with plastic basket), and key lime pie and greedily ate every single bite. The batter was light, the fish fresh and the key lime pie just the right notes of sweet and sour. Even the margarita was decent!
loved the ambiance and my chicken po' boy! delicious comfort food. my friend's salmon looked good too.
I suppose me going to Arkansas and rating Southern food would be like someone from Arkansas coming to San Jose and rating Chinese food here.
With that said, I greatly enjoyed the Flying Fish. As I mentioned in my other review, that place gets packed, so be sure to either come a little early or not be already starving when you arrive.
One cute / obnoxious decoration they have are those Billy Bass fish (you know, the gag gift you would love to give is you didn't care about your own dignity) all over the way, except, of course, they have added wings to them. There are also other fishing related decorations they have up on the wall to include rods, boats, and a propeller.
The main reason why I chose this place was to introduce normal dining to my boss. He lives quite the high life, so it was nice to take him down a notch and introduce normal-people's food. For example, me and my other coworker got Coronas to go with our catfish sandwiches. The server gave my boss the drinks plus the limes. He hands us the beers, but mistakingly keeps the limes to himself.
When we sit down, I lean over and say "I'm just going to take these" as I grab the limes.
With a confused look on his face, "What are you going to do with those?"
"Uh, they go in the beer" as I take the slice, squeeze it a little and shove it in the bottle.
"What does that do?"
At this point I really admire my boss. Though we live completely different lifestyles, he still wants to learn about the addition of lime in a Corona while he sips his individually packaged Chardonnay.
Like I said at the beginning, I am no gauge on the quality of Southern food, but I really liked the catfish sandwich I got. Adding some hot sauce really kicked it up a notch. The meal also came with a couple hush puppies. I wish I could substitute my fries for more hush puppies because these little battered miracles were delicious.
Now that I'm back in San Jose, I am on a quest to find a restaurant to find hush puppies like that ones I found in Arkansas. Wish me luck.
I don't know what everyone else is thinking.... this place rocks! I work down the street so I've been here many times. Food is ALWAYS fresh, fast and tasty! The atmosphere is so much fun!
If you like spicy food, make sure to order your "SNAPPY!"
The hush puppies are great and so are the kabobs.
This is one of the best eateries in downtown Little Rock!!!!
And there is some rumor involving you donating one of those annoying billy bass fish things and they give you free food. you might want to ask about this if you actually own one of those HIDEOUS things!
As we drove through the great state of Arkansas for a Southern Roadtrip w/girlfriends -- we heard/read this was the place to go to in Little Rock. So, we ran in ... and found every single possible fishing sign and plastic fish you could ever imagine hanging on its wall. It's a total local hangout ... people hang out here after a game for dinner or grabbing a pint after work. It was CROWDED so we had to wait in line to order. The cooks were helpful in deciding what to order ... of course, it's all fried and the orders are pretty big -- so prepare for an expanding waist by wearing elastic.
Overall, it was a pleasant experience ... not the best food but it wasn't bad. The joint has character ... it's been "lived in" and shows ... old, festive, local ... not bad and worthwhile if you're in town.
The catfish, okay. No where as good as my gold standard: Catfish Cabin in Memphis.
The Mexican Cocktail, interesting. The sauce it was in tasted like a Bloody Mary mix, so I fished the shrimp out and left the avocado's and other stuff alone. Kinda hard to eat my $$ out of the dish since I really hated the flavor of that sauce.
The oysters in the hubbie's order were nasty tasting.
Place was packed but that probably is because there is nothing open in downtown Little Rock on a Sunday.
I stopped by for a quick dinner with some friends. The place was crowded, which I took to be a good sign. Upon entering, you walk to the counter at the back of the restaurant to place your order off the ridiculously large menu of fried foods (ranging from fried catfish to fried oysters to fried shrimp to fried chicken livers to fried okra). Basically, they'll take any food item in existence and batter and fry it for you. I got a combo basket with 2 catfish fillets and 6 fried oysters, and I asked for it "snappy" (meaning "extra spicy"). They gave me a coaster/buzzer and I went to find a table.
The plastic basket of food was okay. The fish looked a little overcooked, but apparently the "snappy" request includes a lot of black pepper in the cornmeal mix which gives the food an almost burnt appearance. It was tasty, but not the best fried catfish I've ever had in Arkansas.
Basically, if you're doing a pub crawl in the River Market area and want some fried food swimming in your stomach to help absorb all the alcohol you're about to consume, this is a decent choice within stumbling distance.
For years, we'd been hoping for a simple, unpretentious seafood joint, something like the late lamented Aw Shucks Oyster bar on 12th Street, near Fair Park. (It's been too many years.)
The Flying Fish comes closest to the Aw Shucks experience, but with far more entertaining kitsch.
When we first visited the Flying Fish, not too long after it opened, we were a little shy of the corny fishing paraphernalia festooning the walls, and the jokey signs on the restrooms. But we overcame our uptightness when we had our first tastes of the fried shrimp, the fried oysters, the French fries and the hushpuppies. These proved to be our stalwart mainstays on repeat visits. We tried some broiled fish--o.k., but kind of boring; a not-very-good-gumbo; and a Mexican Shrimp Cocktail. On the latter, amigos, gracias, pero no es lo mejor. It's just an approximation of a good Mexican shrimp cocktail.
(This is a really good Mexican seafood cocktail)
http://www.pbase.com/p...
Only once did we have a meal of FFV (Favorite Fried Foods) that wasn't up to standards. But every other time, they were just what we wanted.
We used to go on Sundays for their 25¢ each oysters on the half shell. I wonder if they still offer that. The oysters were pretty good, and were great with your choice of the spicy condiments provided at each table with which you could kick up your kocktail sauce. The tartar sauce is fine, also.
(I also want to say that the catfish was fine. It wasn't too salty, and the fillets were thick, not skinny. I've had much worse catfish at some semi-famous places around the Greater Little Rock Area.)
I remember the Flying Fish with fondness.
(By the way, one time when I brought my laptop there I discovered a free, high-speed Wi-Fi network. I don't know if that's still available.)
I'm a regular to this place. I've only had one bad experience with the food out of countless visits and one bad experience with the people who work here. Don't expect friendliness - or even politeness - and you won't be disappointed.
Came here in 2004 when my father and I were driving around the country. We got to Little Rock late and this appeared to be the only non-expensive restaurant still open. I ordered the seafood kebabs and they were very good. I'd never had seafood kebabs before and the flavors were excellent. The kebab included jumbo shrimp, some veggies, and scallops. Not overcooked (still juicy) and plenty of that grilled taste.
Nowadays, when I get the chance and the budget allows, I try to create seafood kebabs like this place.
It isn't a fussy place but the prices are definitely not low.... If I remember correctly, the kebab was about 10 bucks.
I'm a huge fan of the Flying Fish and every time I go home to Arkansas I make it a point to grab a bite to eat here. Set in a garage-like environment in the River Market district, they provide fresh seafood daily and the menu is huge! Tons of great items to choose from. I highly recommend grabbing some of the boiled shrimp, oysters, and crawfish (when in season) - they are outta this world! Fun environment and fabulous food - don't miss it!!
People seem to think they can shoehorn any old crap into the River Market and that somehow turns a glorified Captain D's into the Elysian Fields of Arkansas seafood.
Not so fast, my friend.
It was way overpriced for what you got. I distinctly remember agonizing over the menu because nothing sounded good ...especially for the price. I ended up ordering what could easily have passed for the jumbo fish platter at Long John Silver's (arrr, matey ...you'll take your RiverMarket fish and LIKE it!!)
When I lived in Little Rock my friends and I would go here before a night out in the river market. I took my parents there today when in town and we all enjoyed some "Snappy" (cayenne pepper added) catfish filets. So tasty. Great down-home southern atmosphere, always something to look at the walls. It gets a bit backuped in the kitchen, and took probably 30 minutes for our food to come up, which seemed long for a walk-up joint. Anyway, good southern fair.
I love this place. Great seafood, fresh shrimp, tasty platters, good prices and a fun atmosphere. A downtown must eat.
I come from Massachusetts where we pride ourselves on our amazing fried seafood. I didn't go in expecting much and I didnt get much, but I wasn't thrilled with what I got for the price. It's noisy and crowded and hot. Maybe thats all part of the charm, but I wasn't into it. I think I was forced to eat here because City Year wouldn't let us venture down past the bar that sells ice cream or go into any bars without a chaperone. I WAS 22!!! Anyway, this isn't about City Year...Eat some place else and then let me know what I missed.
I had the distinct pleasure of dining at this establishment twice: once, because I didn't know any better, and the second time because there was nothing else open in downtown Little Rock on Sunday. Apparently, God doesn't want you to eat on Sunday. The food is all fried, which is fine. When in Rome. But it's not particularly good fried food. I ordered the catfish extra spicy, and I sware, the "hot" sauce consisted of a squirt of ketchup. The batter was bland. And the fish wasn't all that great.
I ate here in April 2007 while participating in the World Swat Challenge. I had the Crawfish chowder and grilled catfish. The chowder was great and so was the fish. The grilled zucchini is also really good as a side. It was only like 12 bucks for both of them. It seemed like a good place to eat to me and the line was out the door waiting to eat. My whole team thought the food was good, we liked the plate of boiled crawdads.
Let me start by saying this. In the south, if it's not fried then it is usually in liquid form. If we could fry water, we would. The concept of this eatery is well constructed however, the layout of it isnt. When the line form, and it always does, because it is the only thing open on Sunday nights in the River Market and the Kick Ball crowd needs a good meal after running the bases dressed up like bozo the clown. Anyway, the line forms and runs right beside at least 10 table. Not very welcoming when someone's butt is eye level. The menu is harder to read than a newspaper if you were Helen Keller and it offers fried everything with a 'snappy' option. When something says or means 'cajun' I usually run from it beause it is usually nothing more than hot sauce added to it. That's not cajun. I am not sure how they get away w/ self serve beers stations that children are allowed to reach into and get a soda. The ABC should have not allowed that but they are still doing it. After telling you the poor design of the restaurant adn the menu, I will tell you this. Their oysters poboys are some of the best I have had outside of Louisiana. They are runny, fresh and the right amount of mayo and sauce and the juices from the tomatoes mixes with the make and form what cajuns call the 'po-flo'. It starts on your hand and runs down your wrist and I usually catch it just shy of my forearm. The frog legs are a bit dry but tasty. They bucket o beer is always a treat. I like getting six and having a good time with my friend and talking the night away. It's good food w/ a bad design. Well worht the wait if you want the po-boys. I dont like the catfish however... Seems to be overcooked.
A Little Rock favorite. Mostly fried, mostly good. The shrimp kabob is a good non-fried option. The fish tacos are excellent. I am not sure why the menu is hard to read for some reviewers, but it is extensive. Good choice of beer. The layout is annoying, especially if you have to sit by the entrance. Overall, good value, good food.
