Food

Food  RESTAURANT

The Fish House

Murfreesboro restaurant fries many types of fish; come in for half-pound fish sandwich, peach tea or a bingo night

STORY BY BRACKEN MAYO PHOTOS BY SARAH MAYO

There’s a lot going on at the Fish House, located at the corner of Middle Tennessee Boulevard and Bradyville Pike in what used to be the Kroger shopping center.

In addition to all sorts of fried foods— many different types of fish, chicken, pickles, shrimp, okra, fries and more—the restaurant serves a rotation of different food items each week on Sundays.

Mondays and Thursdays are bingo nights, beginning at 6 p.m.

And Tuesday, the Fish House hosts poker at 7 p.m.

The restaurant now has a full bar; check in periodically for all sorts of various drink specials at the Fish House. It offers bottomless mimosas for $14.99 on Sundays.

The Fish House hosts corn hole outside on occasion.

Kids eat free on Mondays from 2–8 p.m.

And the business now has a food truck, which will be hitting the streets soon.

In addition to the many menu items available every day, including half-pound fish sandwiches for $7.95, on Wednesday nights only the restaurant offers grilled and blackened fish and shrimp.

To accompany your fish, try some spicy cabbage and sweet peach tea.

“I had fried catfish with mac and cheese and spicy cabbage,” Caycee Blaise reported after a recent meal. “It was delicious, fresh and seasoned really well. I liked the vibe inside the restaurant and the fruit tea was out of this world!”

The environment is part greasy spoon/ Southern cafeteria, part sports lounge and dive bar.

“The catfish is awesome, [but this time] I decided to try the fried pork chop and was not disappointed. The spicy cabbage and potato salad are my absolute favorite,” Brittany Marie Todd said.

The establishment serves chicken under the Kick’n Chick’n brand, a separate identity from The Fish House—complete with a separate logo featuring a chicken sporting an afro and performing karate. Restaurant owner Jojo Herbert plans to franchise both restaurant concepts over the near future.

“Two brands will be extending from the Fish House in two to three years,” Herbert said.

Spice up your fish or chicken in various ways at the Fish House.

“We have 20 sauces and rubs,” Herbert said. Get your wings, fish fillets or pork chop tossed in hot sauce, Cajun ranch, Asian zing, BBQ and other flavors.

There’s a little spice in the hot honey gold. Herbert suggests trying wings tossed in this sauce and dusted in lemon pepper.

Near the Coca Cola fountain are three large beverage containers filled with KoolAid—former tea dispensers now labeled simply “purple,” “red” and “blue.”

Blue Kool-Aid, fried whiting, cabbage and beans make a wonderful lunch.

Also in the drink section, the Fish House offers a really, really good peach tea—free refills available on the tea and Kool-Aid as well as fountain sodas.

Sherrie Blakemore recommends the pork chop plate at Fish House.

And the burger is quite tasty, with kind of a meatloaf flavor going on, like some good spices and sauces were mixed into the beef before cooking.

Herbert aims for the restaurant to provide a “soulful sports bar experience,” he said.

The Fish House got its origins selling fish sandwiches to the hungry people of Murfreesboro on Bridge Avenue.

Gwen, who was an owner of the original location and still works at the new location, said her sister in-law moved the Fish House from its Bridge Avenue space to a bigger space, its current home on Middle Tennessee Boulevard.

Herbert later purchased the business in 2020.

The Fish House is a whole new place now—different owner, different concept, broader menu, full bar.

But it still offers those legendary large fried fish sandwiches. In addition to the original fried fish offerings of whiting,

The Dish

RESTAURANT The Fish House LOCATION 1626 Middle Tennessee Blvd. PHONE 615-410-7688 HOURS 11 a.m.–11 p.m. every day PRICES Whiting or tilapia sandwich: $7.95; Catfish nugget basket with fries: $9.95; Half-pound burger: $8.95; Two fried pork chops with two sides: $13.95; 10 wings: $13.95; Salmon or grouper plate with two sides: $20.95 ONLINE fishhousemurfreesboro.com

tilapia, new white and catfish, now find red snapper, perch, grouper and salmon as well. (Though some of these are higherend fish fillets; a half-pound red snapper, grouper or salmon sandwich goes for $17.95, compared to $9.95 for catfish or red fish, and $7.95 for new white, tilapia, perch or whiting.)

Although it currently shares a strip mall with a now-closed late-night hookah lounge that gained notoriety for a few shootings, a CSL plasma donation center and an abandoned Kroger, it’s still a step up from the former Fish House location, a place for local folks of various walks of life to come for a big fish sandwich, a drink, a game of bingo or plate of wings.

“The spaghetti, the honey gold wings and the catfish were the best!” Brittni Pitts said. “The seasonings were on point and the wings are big and juicy!”

At times the fried items are not the crispiest; some customers say the fried fish can be a little greasy or soggy.

But Scott Stockdale said he found the catfish “crispy and flaky. We’ll order from here again.”

And plenty of other local diners agree.

“The catfish was fried perfectly,” Donna Valencino said. “It was about a 30-minute wait, but it was well worth it.”

Sean Chambers said the Fish House has made its way onto his regular local restaurant rotation.

“Holy cow this place is good! Catfish is thick and flavorful. The home-style potatoes are just outstanding, as is the okra,” Chambers said.

Others have had some issues with the place’s cleanliness, service and wait time, but plenty of Fish House fans will continue enjoying its fish sandwiches, wings, Kool-Aid, pork chops, drinks, and poker and bingo nights. It may not be the first dining choice for everyone, but if fried fish or wings in a sports-bar atmosphere sounds like your thing, give it a try.

“One of the best places Murfreesboro has to offer for soul food and fried fish,” Demond Slater said.

Catering Available

HAPPY HOUR MON – THURS 4 PM TO 7 PM SAT 11 AM TO 3 PM

223 West Main Street Murfreesboro 615-203-3498 alleyonmain.com

Come Eat Barbecue and Beans . . . And Get Gas. Weekly Specials

& KWIK SAK

MONDAY: Smoked Meatloaf TUESDAY: BBQ Potato or BBQ Sundae WEDNESDAY: Burnt Ends THURSDAY: Cowboy Nachos FRIDAY: Fried Catfish on Red Beans & Rice SIDES: FatGuy Beans, Potato Salad, Cole Slaw, Cornbread, Mac & Cheese, Texas Taters, Turnip Greens

904 NW Broad St., Murfreesboro

(KWIK SAK between Toot’s and Hardee’s)

6 a.m.–6 p.m. Monday–Friday (food) 6 a.m.–8 p.m. Monday–Friday (store) 7 a.m.–4 p.m. Saturday (food and store) 615-318-6602

Contemporary American Dining

Visit primrosetable.com or fi nd us on Facebook to make your reservation today 1650 Memorial Blvd., Murfreesboro • 615.900.5790