"Head to this seafood market, cafe, and raw bar in Poncey-Highland to purchase fresh-caught fish, shrimp, and oysters. Owned by chef Nhan Le, Skip Engelbrecht, and chef Bradford Forsblom, Fishmonger features a cafe menu in the afternoon filled with dishes like a Gulf shrimp salad roll, shrimp Louie, a tuna melt, seafood chowders, and a super popular grouper sandwich. The grouper even received a presidential seal of approval in 2022. The location on Howell Mill has closed and is expected to reopen nearby. A new Fishmonger location has debuted in Nashville." - Molly Harris
"After you order at the counter of this North Highland youngblood, hunt for a seat, musical-chairs style, during prime lunch and dinner hours. The small space only has a few seats indoors along with a few small patio tables on the sidewalk outside, which are always filled with dog parents on social catchups. The menu may change a bit based upon the day’s catch, but anytime ceviche and seafood chowder are available, consider them must-orders. There’s another ceviche-based place right across the street, but Fishmonger is our winner in the (imaginary) street battle, because you see ingredients like rock shrimp, mango, avocado, and chili prepared right in front of you." - demarco williams, juli horsford, nina reeder
"We’ve eaten meals on planes that had more elbow room than this tiny Poncey-Highland seafood spot, but you won’t find a blackened grouper sandwich packed with this much spicy char anywhere else in the city. Fishmonger specializes in fish sandwiches ranging from lobster rolls to a fresh (not-canned) tuna melt, which is served cold despite the melted cheese stuck to hearty sourdough bread. And their seafood chowder and citrus-sprinkled ceviches are just as good as the bready dishes. Order at the counter and fight for one of the 10 or 12 seats inside the cramped room. Luckily you don't need tons of space to eat oysters and chow down on the city’s best fish sandwiches." - nina reeder, juli horsford
"It's part fish market, part casual restaurant here, where a single communal table and stools lined up at the windows await guests. Order at the back counter from a compact, seafood-focused menu listing oysters, crudos, sandwiches and soups. This is not your typical fried fish shack, though, and many of the dishes have a Southern slant to them. Peel and eat shrimp is a good standby, while tuna melts level up. Specials are always a good bet, but the house staple—the blackened grouper sandwich—is a winner. A thick piece of generously spiced, blackened grouper is draped over a buttered, toasted seeded bun with Florida sauce, pickled peppers, ripe tomato and lettuce for something far from fussy but totally spot on. Gumbo is flavorful and hearty." - Michelin Inspector
"When you’re maneuvering through a thick crowd, you don’t want to be worried about spilling food down your t-shirt. Go for a good handheld, like a fish sandwich from Fishmonger. And if it's on their festival menu, we highly recommend the locally loved juicy blackened grouper sandwich, which is still just as good as it was back when Obama made it nationally famous." - jacinta howard, juli horsford