Eatin' Out - Fish

280 Bleeker btw Jones and 7th Ave
Shellfish on ice in the window (check). Dark wood bar with friendly and pretty bartender (check). Peanuts to shell, eat and throw on the floor (check). Chalkboard with specials (check). A "Red, White and Blue" special served every day: 6 Blue Point oysters + a PBR for $8 (check). Families sharing big meals (check).

Fish, an unpretentious raw bar (or shellfish house/lobster shack/clam bar, if you prefer) owned by a fish distributor, has all the requirements for a good seafood place. Fortunately, the restaurant delivers what the look promises: reasonably-priced fresh seafood that makes you long for an open deck with a beach breeze, instead of a crowded street in the heart of the West Village. While the lobster roll was only decent (light on the butter and tough meat) the fries were crisp, uncut and delicious. The rest of the the menu is griled fish entrees, po' boys, chowders and salads with the service young, distracted, flighty and well-meaning. I will definitely will go here again, if I can remember where here is. (Will I ever NOT get lost in the West Village?)