Checking Out at Jon's Fish Market

Jon's Fish Market

34665 Golden Lantern 

Dana Point, CA 92629

I admit I'm off of my game. Usually, at this time of year, I have reviewed over 50 restaurants and been way more active on social media. One reason for this is of course because restaurants are only offering takeout in most cases, and I don't feel that it's entirely fair to judge a restaurant based on what their food looks and tastes like after a half-hour car ride home.

The second reason I'm a little off this year is that after a long day of working with the public, the last thing I want to do is be around more people.  It's so inviting to come home, close the door behind me, and zone out by watching one of the ten TV shows that I'm currently viewing. Getting out of this rut is important though, so when Katie suggested that we go for a walk, get some vitamin D, and grab something to eat, it started to feel like it was 2019 again. The good old days.

I met Katie after work at Dana Point Harbor on a beautiful Thursday evening. Parking, which can sometimes be a hassle around these parts was no problem at all on this day. To gear up for our walk we had a decision to make on where to eat before we started our leisurely stroll around the picturesque harbor. I remember one of the wine vendors at work, Jeffery talking about how much he enjoys Jon's Fish Market, so that's where we made a beeline to.

Jon's has a prime spot in the courtyard near where you can depart by the Catalina Express for trips to Avalon. They are a family-owned business that has been serving the community since 1980. The Mansur family started out mainly serving the fisherman and their families working in the harbor, but as Dana Point Harbor became more accessible to the general public, their legacy grew by leaps and bounds. They not only serve as a full-service casual restaurant, but they also have a small fish counter where they wrap up the day's fresh catch for customers who want to cook at home.

No cooking for Katie and myself of course, but we were seated by the hostess at one of their shaded picnic tables in the front of their restaurant. The menu at Jon's is pretty impressive. They offer a good assortment of grilled fish, fried fish, sandwiches, tacos, burritos, and more. To ensure that you know that their fish is fresh, their Instagram feed is filled with plenty of pictures of them hauling fish from their boat to the restaurant. I was excited to give them a try, and also get back to some semblance of normalcy.

We started our meal off with a bowl of Clam Chowder ($5.25). This was a fine version, with plenty of clams and potato, but it left me wanting a little more. The chowder needed to be seasoned a bit more to give it a pop. The consistency was there, but maybe some pepper or another seasoning could elevate this chowder to even greater heights.

Judging by the other tables around us, Fish and Chips ($15.40) are easily the most popular thing here at Jon's, at least on this evening. An order comes with four good-sized pieces of Alaskan cod. The breading surrounding these pieces of fish was very crisp and heavy. Just like almost every other fried fish I have ever had, the fish did get a little overwhelmed by the breading. Speaking of overwhelmed, Katie was a bit overwhelmed by the sheer amount of fish that came on this plate. She barely got through three of the four pieces and urged me to take her extra for lunch the next day. She went without the coleslaw and fries that usually come with this plate and opted to get rice and salad, which helped lighten the meal a bit.

Sorry for the lack of diversity on this visit, but I also wanted to try some of their fried offerings. I like to try as many different things as possible, so Jon's Combo ($18.45) was a natural fit for me. This combo includes three fish, three scallops, and two shrimp. The best of the bunch was the shrimp. It really stood out more than the other two, maybe because of the natural brininess of the shrimp. The fish was probably my second favorite, and I'd probably forgo the scallops, as they were pretty bland and could not compete with either the fish or shrimp. I liked alternating both the very good tarter sauce and the cocktail sauce in different bites. The fries are your basic fast food style french fry and the coleslaw was fine but lacked that wow factor.

Jon's is a great option for these times when eating outside is the only option you have to eat at a restaurant. Their patio in the front of the restaurant was very comfortable, they spaced the picnic tables six feet apart, their employees were masked and gloved while working, and the gentle breeze from the harbor a mere few feet away was very reassuring. The fish and chips here might be the closest we can all get to fair food this year. I don't mean this in an insulting way, it's just how I felt after eating this very filling meal. Of course, it's higher quality than what you could get at the fairgrounds in Costa Mesa. I don't get fish and chips all that often, but these are some of the best I've had in South OC in a long time. Jon's was a good restaurant in a beautiful setting to help us forget all the things going on in the world right now, at least for an hour.

Out of five football fields, (because the worlds largest fish market in the world is the Toyosu Market in Tokyo, which is over 4 million square feet, or a staggering 84 football fields of fish for sell), five being best to zero being worst, Jon's Fish Market gets 3 football fields.

For more information about Jon's Fish Market, head to their website here: http://jonsfishmarketdanapoint.com/