[Laguna Beach] [Seafood] House of Big Fish and Ice Cold Beer

House of Big Fish and Ice Cold Beer
540 S Coast Hwy #200
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
(949) 715-4500
http://www.houseofbigfish.com

We saw House of Big Fish and Ice Cold Beer's menu while walking down Coast Highway a while back. They have happy hour Monday through Friday from 2:30pm to 6:30pm. The price for each dish goes from $2.30 to $5.30 as the time gets later. Dr. P had a Friday afternoon free, and I thought of happy hour at House of Big Fish and Ice Cold Beer.



We got to the restaurant around 2:45pm. Happy hour is first come first serve at the bar area. Seemed like everyone knew about the cheap hour hour at 2:30pm, and the place was packed.




We grabbed the last two seats by the window, and dined with this giant fish friend.



There were 8 items on the happy hour menu. It's limited to 3 items per person, dine in only, no doggy bags, and everyone has to order a drink. I think that's reasonable because at $2.30 per item, I really don't think they make any money. Besides the 8 dishes, they also offer $0.25 shrimp & wings, and $1 oysters. What a steal!


Ballast Point Big Eye ($5.00) / House Chardonnay ($5.00)

Dr. P got a beer, and I got a house Chardonnay. He liked his ice cold beer, and I liked my ice cold wine.


Oyster (Raw, on the 1/2 Shell) (6) ($6.00)

First up, half dozen of kumamoto oyster. The oyster was super fresh, and tasted sooooooo good! Oyster, beer/wine, and beach view. What a Friday afternoon!


Salmon Piada (Italian Flatbread Taco) ($2.30)
Pan roasted salmon, tomato-basil salsa, arugula and garlic sauce

Someone who appeared to be the manager took our order. He recommended the Salmon Piada saying it's a must-try item. Yup, it is! The salmon was so flavorful. And that garlic sauce with all the fresh veggies was ummmmm sooo good! This guy who sat near us had one, then ordered another one after he finished it.


Mussels Rockefeller ($2.30)
Green Lip Mussels with spinach, bacon and cheese

Mussels Rockefeller was good, but it didn't taste unique.


Spicy Tuna Handrolls ($2.30)
Wasabi dipping sauce

Spicy Tuna Handrolls were big. They really gave us a lot of spicy tuna. The wasabi dipping sauce was sweet so Dr. P didn't like it. He liked just plain soy sauce with wasabi. But I thought the sauce was good since I like sweets.


Crispy Chicken Rice Bowl ($2.30)
With coconut curry sauce, cilantro and green onion

When the waitress brought us the Crispy Chicken Rice Bowl, we were really surprised how big the bowl was. The regular price for this curry rice bowl is around $8, and I think that's very reasonable for the amount of food you get. But for $2.30, how do they make money? There were about 8 big pieces of crispy chicken tender. Lots and lots of veggies, with creamy delicious coconut curry sauce. We loved the cilantro and green onion, too. This bowl of rice got us really really full. If you go between 2:30pm to 3:30pm, just order a glass of wine and a bowl of this. $7.30 will get you a really filling and yummy late lunch with wine!


BBQ Ribs ($2.30)
Guava BBQ Sauce and coleslaw

What? Half rack of BBQ Ribs for $2.30? Are you kidding me?!?! And not just any ribs, melt in your mouth & fall of the bones kind of ribs! I love this BBQ Ribs. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you would know my love for ribs. Next time I want to order 2 and eat it all by myself!



Halfway through our meal, the ladies who sat at the ocean view window seats left, so we switched to this prime spot. Ahhhh.... ocean! It was so relaxing sitting there just sipping wine and staring at the ocean.


Mango Margarita ($5.00)

I was enjoying the afternoon too much, and ordered another drink. Mango Margarita was girly and yummy.


Oyster (Raw, on the 1/2 Shell) (6) ($6.00)

Dr. P was enjoying the afternoon too much, and ordered another 1/2 dozen of oyster.



When our waitress brought us the bill, we were like... huh???? Why was it this much? Somehow she charged us $6 for each dish. But on the menu, the most expensive price was only $5.30? Well, she did took off $1 for the happy hour beer. So we told her about it, and she took the bill back to correct it.



A few minutes later, she brought the bill back and apologized. We looked at the bill.... uh... she brought us back exactly the same bill again? We told her about it, and she brought the bill back again.



This time she did gave us the happy hour price, but in the wrong time slot. We got there at 2:45pm, and she gave us the 3:30pm price. So the waitress took the bill back for the third time. The lady who sat next to us said they didn't have any problem with their bill, and they also came in around the same time we did. She said they did that maybe because we were foreigners. Hmmm.... Now that made me think....



Finally she got it right!

We really enjoyed the food, and the super cheap price. We found out this place was also owned by the same owner of our favorite restaurant, K'ya Bistro. The lady who sat next to us told us the chef had been a chef in Hawaii for many many years. We seriously love his food. This happy hour was seriously a steal!



On our way home, we saw this adorable passenger on bike. Awww.... Hey, he's not wearing a helmet.