I never thought I would see the words Fish and Poutine together. As I perused the menu of Red Fish Blue Fish on the waterfront of Victoria, BC, I knew that I had to order it, regardless of my personal apprehension.

This boardwalk fish and chips stand gets a lot of praise in different review circles so I trusted that my experience wouldn’t be awful.

The wife and I were pretty hungry, so we got an 2 piece order of fried cod and chips and a large Jerk Fish Poutine. My cashier was very helpful and offered to convert the chips to poutine, so we didn’t end up dying of a potato overdose. After trying the fries I’ve decided that a death by Kennebec potato overdose might be a great way to go! They were outrageously good! Even the most devout Canadian couldn’t apologize for this quality.

Once again you have a highly skilled kitchen using a high quality product and producing a high quality dish. I’ve mentioned Kennebec potatoes before, and how they just taste more “potatoey” than other potatoes. These fries prove it. They were fried at the right temperature, in the right oil, for the right amount of time and they came out beautiful. Even smothered in the fish mixture and sauce they held their crunch. Is this a poutine? Well…no. There’s no cheese. And there’s no gravy. So while they call it a poutine, I’m throwing it in my Miscellaneous category. If anything deserves that label it’s fish fries.

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Can we talk about the fish? Let’s talk about the fish. They simmer halibut, cod, tuna, and salmon in a Caribbean jerk sauce until it becomes Poseidon’s gift to modern man. This seafood medley sounded bizarre to me. But it works! Combined with the “Million Island Dressing” the fish turns into an almost-tuna-salad-but-infinitely-better topping for the fries. It’s tender, but the individual pieces still hold their shape. It’s spicy, but not overwhelming. It’s juicy, but not runny. There are probably people in this world that wouldn’t enjoy this, but you don’t want to spend time with them. They’ll only bring you down.

We showed up at about 11:30am on a Saturday and waited approximately 10 minutes. The line got much longer after that. Even so, it moved along, and I would have happily waited 30 minutes for this meal. The Jerk Fish Poutine was outstanding, but the cod and chips was also great.

Can you guess what else I found at Red Fish Blue Fish? Phillips Soda! If you haven’t seen my post and Phillips Soda Works and their bottled sodas click on the hyperlink above or search for Part 3 of my road trip. We ordered a bottle of Orange Cream to pair with the seafood and had no regrets.

So, the Jerk Fish Poutine earns a 9 out of 10. Why not a 10? I’m just not ready to accept that something has achieved perfection. An 8 is really good. A 9 is outstanding. Truth be told, my number ratings are probably meaningless, but it’s a decent reflection of how far out of my way I’m willing to go to experience that food again.

If you’re in Victoria, take the time to visit Red Fish Blue Fish. If you’re not in Victoria, take the time to visit Victoria and go to Red Fish Blue Fish.

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Sampled on Saturday August 27, 2016. All in all we spent less than $30CAD for the meal, and it was more than enough for the two of us.