I am always excited to go out on a date night, who doesn't want a few kidless hours to kick back and relax. However, when you combine that precious time away, with amazing food, now your talking. Hubby and I were very fortunate to get to sneak off for dinner and a movie on Friday evening. In my house, back to school means sports, music, homework, and way more chaos, so I'm currently in the process of doing a series of date night reviews. With hectic back to school schedules and all that entails, parents really need to make some time just for themselves.
So after an afternoon movie, hubby and I were thrilled to get to check out Coconut's Fish Cafe, located over in Chandler’s Ocotillo neighborhood. I had driven by it many times, and heard great things about it from friends, but this was our first visit. It's a very casual restaurant, that is open and bright, the patrons ranged from the elderly, to young couples, and families with children. Now this is a date night review, and we aren't going to focus on children, but I couldn’t help but notice that they had a great kids' menu.
From the minute we walked in the door, we were welcomed by smiling faces, ready to take care of us. We got our drinks and hunkered down with the menu, let the decision making begin. Well, Hubby and I couldn't decide on one appetizer, so we decided to share two, and I am so glad that we did. We ordered the calamari and the Ahi poke, and both were fantastic. The calamari was perfect, it had just the right amount of crispy batter, and was not rubbery at all, just hot and fresh and served with a house made cocktail sauce. Now the Ahi poke, was outright amazing, and we’re still talking about it a week later. I think we have told everyone we know, that have to go try it. The fresh chunks of Ahi were marinated in garlic, soy, and green onions, it just melted in your mouth, and was absolutely one of the best dishes I have had at a restaurant in as long as I can remember! The Ahi was served with Taro Root chips, they were light and crispy and so yummy, they held up to the weight of the Ahi much better than a tortilla chip would.
After debating back and forth over the menu for awhile, we asked for suggestions from the manager Brian, who was more than willing to help. Brian suggested we try the fish tacos and the macadamia nut crusted Mahi Mahi, as they were both very popular. The tacos were stuffed so full, that they had to use two tortillas for each one, and even then the struggle was real. They were unreal, so fresh with 17 different ingredients in them including: cheese, tomato salsa, famous coleslaw, and mango salsa. I was really nice, and shared one with my hubby, really it wasn't selfless, I just wanted him to share his macadamia crusted Mahi Mahi with me. The Mahi Mahi was amazing, the macadamia crust had amazing flavor and the fish was cooked to perfection. It was served over rice and came with a side of horseradish coleslaw.
We cannot wait to visit Coconut Fish Cafe again, the food was amazing, and you can maintain a healthy diet and not feel guilty about dining there. Now don’t get me wrong, I love our date nights, but I also think this would be a great casual dining option to take the kids as well, they have menus that cater to both kids and adults, without us parents having to sacrifice great food to make the littles happy.
Make sure to check out the menu for yourself, follow the link HERE to their website.
