At Fish Lads in Grand Rapids you will find plenty of fresh seafood

GRAND RAPIDS MI – Fish Lads brings fresh, quality seafood from around the world to Grand Rapids.

Located in the Downtown Market at 435 Ionia Ave. SW in Grand Rapids, Fish Lads opened in 2013 and is the first of two restaurants owned by Jeff Butzow, who also owns Carver.

The restaurant offers high quality seafood and, according to managing director Matt Petrie, covers the “three main corners of the fish and seafood offering: Northeast, South and West Coast”.

With a selection of soups, fish and chips and sandwiches, there is something for everyone.

One of the most popular fish and chips options is the Alaskan halibut, served with beer-battered PBR fries, lemon, ketchup and gribiche sauce.

“I’ve been working here for five or six years and I could eat halibut every day,” Petrie said.

Another popular dish is the Blacked Fish Sandwich, which consists of seasonal fish, caramelized onions, poblano peppers, and remoulade sauce. The dish costs $16.

From late spring to early fall, Fish Lads offers a monthly special menu with three limited-time items. Currently, one of the items on the special menu is the whitefish po’boy with pickled coleslaw, tartar sauce, salad, and a side of french fries.

At Fish Lads, customers can choose what they want to take home to cook from a large display case of seafood. The display case offers a wide variety of dishes such as black pepper smoked salmon fillets for $11.99 or whole squid for $12.99 per pound. The store also sells homemade salads.

The aim of Fish Lads was to provide high quality fish and seafood to both locals and tourists. Tourists often tell Petrie that the quality of the food is as good, and sometimes better, than in the coastal communities they have travelled from.

The store is also an important point of contact for many locals.

“Monday through Friday, it’s the same faces, the same people. I probably know 85 percent of our customers’ names,” Petrie said. “It’s a welcoming environment for the locals, but at the same time, on the weekends, we’re overrun with people who have never been here before.”

Fish Lads is open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. The restaurant is open on weekends, Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Contact Fish Lads at 616-259-7009 and visit their website.

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