Went here a few nights ago for a family gathering with a party of 11 people. Fishbones seemed like a good choice for a large party, with long tables set up to accomodate big groups and a wide-ranging menu with something for almost everyone. (Well, almost everyone- pure vegetarians might be hard-pressed to find much to eat here.)
The breadth of the menu was pretty staggering. It was one of those menus that takes a full 5 minutes to read through once and at least another 5 to finally settle on something. There were a variety of traditional seafood options, a pretty full sushi menu, a range house-aged steaks and chops, prime rib, duck, etc. There was also a children's menu with children's entrees for $5.99.
The prices were a little off-putting (entrees were mostly $25 and up, with many in the $35-$40 range) but the quality of food was very good and the portions were enormous. You will definitely rack up a hefty tab at Fishbones, but you will also likely have enough leftovers for lunch the next day. Or you could definitely split an entree, making the prices much more manageable.
I ordered a platter of oysters for an appetizer, featuring 2 each from Maine, Florida, Texas, and British Columbia. They all tasted extremely fresh. The presentation was nothing special- wedges of lemon and lime with run-of-the-mill cocktail sauce. They were reasonably priced, however at $13.95 for the 8 oysters (or $1.95-2.50 each if ordered individually). On the sushi menu, they also had some different styles you could choose from (with variosu sauces etc.), but I kept it basic. One of the BC oysters came out looking a little skimpy (like maybe part of it had fallen out during shucking?), but the waitress happily replaced it when I mentioned it to her.
The entrees came with a large house salad. I sampled my wife's and it was quite good. I upgraded to a huge caesar salad which was quite good. The dressing was fresh and full of flavor, and the lettuce and croutons were perfectly crispy.
I also sampled some other appetizers, including the spicy tuna roll (excellent quality tuna but the spicy sauce was a little over-mayonaisy for my taste), the DELICIOUS, spicy calamari with peppers and onions. It was perfectly tender and wonderfully flavored, with a nice spicy pepper aoli dipping sauce, and the fried alligator (a bit chewy but nicely breaded, with citrus overtones).
For the entree, I ordered the tuna mignon, and it was the biggest tuna steak I have ever been served. It was seared on the outside, crusted with sesame seeds, and served with soy sauce, wasabi, and ginger. Nothing fancy as far as the presentation but the enormous quantity and high quality of the fish made the dish a winner. The only thing I didn't enjoy was the side of bland steamed squash. Nothing wrong with it, it was just kind of an unspired pairing.
The bar here was well stocked as far as liquor goes (excellent selection of scotches!), and the wine list was excellent. The draft beer selection wasn't great (I settled on Kirin Ichiban) but much better than the nearby Harvey's bistro, with at least 5 or 6 beers on tap. Several in my party ordered martinis which were very good and STRONG.
I sampled some other entrees which were all quite good, including the filet mignon oscar, the swordfish oscar, the roasted duck (it looked great but the person who ordered it complained that it was a bit dry), and the seafood trio (red snapper, grouper, and stuffed shrimp-all excellent), and the all you can eat fried shrimp. One person in my party ordered the prime rib, and it was the biggest serving I have ever seen. I didn't try it, but the person who ordered it seemed pleased.
The desserts were a little bit of a letdown. I had the coconut sorbet, which was fine but really nothing special. The slices of cake that others ordered were HUGE. They were tasty enough but somewhat plain and unremarkable. I ordered a Glen Morangie and got a Gran Marnier instead, but again the waitress quickly replaced it.
No complaints about the service. Although the restaurant was quite crowded throughout the meal, the waitstaff was attentive, and everything we ordered arrived promptly.
Definitely make a reservation if you want to come here on a Friday or Saturday. Not sure about during the week, but it's probably a good idea. Someone in our party had shown up previously without one and encountered a three hour wait. Fishbones was quite good, but definitely not good enough to wait three hours for.
In short, I would describe Fishbones as a great restaurant for a special occasion or large gathering of any kind. One of the better restaurants I've been to in the Orlando area (WAY better than Harvey's Bistro in the same shopping center, where we went the night before). read more