Fish Tale Brew Pub in Olympia

This was a perfect place for a casual after-party dinner and drinks event following our wedding at a City of Olympia park. Our wedding was early in the day. We wanted to make sure our out-of-town guests had somewhere to go for dinner afterwards. I was also concerned about accessibility and needed a location that could be accessed without using stairs. I wasnt sure how many local guests would be joining us, so Fish Tale was a perfect option for us. They opened up a typically unused section of the restaurant for us on the main level that could accommodate far more people than our party. The food and drinks were great, and everyone enjoyed themselves. Thanks!

Cute little bar. Staff cares about your experience and is knowledgeable about the food and drink/beer menu. Will visit again next time Im in town.

Good burgers, onion rings and chowder. Some recipes such as the salmon salad are missing spice and are not well conceived. Stick to the basics and you will be better off.

Was looking for fried oysters per Google maps but none here. Fish and chips were good. No pub review because I dont drink.

Ok, so here is the very first review I have ever done. Ive eaten all over the country. From dumps to Michelin Star restaurants. I have never once felt compelled to write a review about the service and food. At cheap places you get what you pay for, as for elite dining.. well you get what you pay for. Well, here it is, a small Pub with no view but a side street. Outside seating, breathing in the fresh exhaust. We were greeted by the most wonderfully happy server I have ever met. Sparkly. You could tell she loves her job. We ordered the Fish and Chips and a cup of clam chowder. After we ordered the wife and talked for a few minutes, when surprise, our order showed up. I mean it didnt take even ten minutes it seemed. First off, the clam chowder was covered with bacon bits, and thats the way to my heart. But it was thick, creamy deliciousness. Absolutely the best I have Ever tasted. Ever. The fries were golden crisps of goodness. Crunchy out side, hot and tender inside. On to the very best deep fried breaded fish I have ever eaten. Once again.. EVER. Hot, crunchy outside, moist tender delicious inside. Now heres the kicker, I cant stand coleslaw. Hate to even see it on my plate. But everything else tasted so wonderful, I thought what the heck, try it. OMGosh. I finally found a coleslaw that didnt taste coleslawy. It was amazing too. So, from the service to the cooking, to the whole experience, I was totally amazed. So for all those that went looking for a place by the water because of the view. Forget about it,, come sit next to the street, drink an ice cold brew, and eat the best fish and chips in the N.W... for me in the whole of the U.S. ..

Downtown Olympia, outdoor seating, the sounds of the city mixed in with some choice classic rock musicFriendly wait staff, delicious food and solid beer listthe fish and chips were excellent though sadly only 3 fish pieces!!Will visit again!

Our go-to for either nachos or fish and chips. Good spot to gather with friends! Plenty of space and they have outdoor seating. Thank you Fish Tale!

This place is super chill and quite spacious and open. Outdoor seating available. Good portions, food didnt disappoint, could barely open my mouth wide enough for the messy pulled pork sandwich. The cheese curds were my favorite and they definitely do their caesar salads right! Service was friendly and a tad sheepish.

A sad shadow of its former self. Food was okay and the servers were friendly enough. They do not sell any of their own beer anymore so its just a standard pub now.

Ive been there many times, & it was just as great today as it was in the past! Love their fries & friendly people!

Great place didnt eat anything but the atmosphere was awesome, ❤️

Went in before a baseball game, everything was absolutely amazing. The servers are very friendly and their hand battered fish and chips are TO DIE FOR

From the moment we sat down, our experience was horrible. The service was subpar at best. They seemed to be adequately staffed yet slow and discombobulated. We order a pretzel as an appetizer. When it was delivered, the wait staff placed it on the table & walked away. We had to ask for utensils AND napkins. I ordered a chicken Caesar salad, after 2 bites, I had to send it back. Their “home made Caesar dressing” was VERY fishy and tasted almost sour! Other people in my party all commented on some type of freshness with their meal. My husband ordered the clam chowder and said it tasted like flour as opposed to creamy. I also ordered a cup of coffee (which I had to ask for twice& as soon as I poured the cream in, I could tell the pot had been sitting for awhile, possibly all day! I do NOT recommend this establishment. Horrible food!

Update:My first experience here wasnt great (see below). The prices are still high, and the service sucks (thats Olympia for yabut I have to admit something. Their cod fish and chips are the best fish and chips Ive ever had, and that includes fresh, halibut fish and chips from the beach. Its consistent, crispy on the outside, flaky on the inside, and comes with a very generous amount of very, tasty fries.The cocktail sauce is much better than the tartar (too much dill). I use dill in my own cooking and a little goes a long way.Shortened, previous review:Wow. A cheeseburger and a grilled chicken sandwich to go. Oh, and a childs cup of cola to go. $40! I mean, wow.

Told us we couldnt vape on the sidewalk more than 25 feet from the door, outside the beer garden. State law says differently... obviously racist since Im a black construction worker, very rude and service took way to long...

Nice wait staff. The onion rings are the best weve ever eaten!! Menu was on the expensive side. Came for the music and stayed until the 2 hour block was done. Terik is an outstanding guitar player. We came out of town specifically to hear him play tonight July 11th, 2022. Used to follow him at the Olympia Farmers Market and other venues hed play. His music made it well worth every dollar we spent. PCM

Such an awesome restaurant. Huge portions of delicious fries. If you havent been here, definitely worth giving it a try. Very courteous staff.

Friendly staff, a group of regulars, and great beer make this a stand out! I have been there many times and have enjoyed every meal. Great food!

This place used to be special. The food is still good, but they are no longer making their own brews and we were disappointed not to be able to get our favorites. Until they reopen the brewery - and bring back dark and dry cider - I doubt Ill be returning.

Used to have their own beer. But their beer selection is nice. Couple BHam beers. Excellent.

Nice place, nice beer, nice sandwiches!

Oh Fish Tale, what happened?I recently moved back to Olympia after a few years, and when I lived here before, Fish Tale was one of my go-to restaurants. It had such a lively yet laid back atmosphere with local art displayed on the walls, consistently good service, and great food. I ate there just about every week.Some may remember they used to have an outstanding salmon quesadilla and steamer clams, which were an unbeatable value during happy hour. Neither are available anymore.The walls are now completely bare, and I wouldnt mind as much if the food and service still held up. I went in for lunch and ordered the grilled cod fish tacos with a side salad. I was expecting a piece of filet in each taco, but the fish was cut up into small pieces and were dry and surprisingly flavorless despite being topped with pico de gallo and a cilantro cream sauce, and adding salt and lime juice hardly helped. The side salad had more flavor than the fish, and I did have a very good Elemental cider.Unfortunately the salad and cider were the only positives since our server never stopped to check on us once after delivering the food. She only returned to deliver the bill without asking how the food was, if we needed refills, or anything else. I could understand somewhat if it was busy, but there were only a handful of other customers, and the vast majority of tables were empty.After that experience, I have no reason to return.

Great friendly staff. Great brew. Great locals.Enjoying the cider that is made by them. And it is great. I actually take a growler and fill it up so I can have more when I get home. Ah, life hacks. Lol.

We love stopping in here for some great beer ( always changingand some amazing food. This time us ladies got their delicious gin drink (cant remember the nameKelsey was our awesome sassy server!!! Cant wait to go back again!!!

Ive been whitling away at their dwindling six pack or single supply of Spire Red Apple Hard Cider for more than a few weeks now, amazing stuff, wonderful people, great atmosphere, and deliciously prepared fare, make this a must stop destination for anyone thats never been🍻

Loved it. Not super busy, attentive staff and great beer. My colleagues ordered food that, while I didnt try any of it, looked delicious. Portions were big.

I tried something new here which was the chicken tamales with refried beans and rice. It was good! I recommend going to this restaurant if you love Mexican food. Their refried beans and rice are so yummy! The staff is so friendly and helpful. Overall, great place to eat out and spend time with family and friends.

Ordered the nachos and I like jalapeños, but they were covered with red chili flakes. Way too spicy and I like spicy food. Nobody could eat the shredded pork that we paid extra for. When I told them we could not eat them, they told us that it was chili powder and not flakes. When the flakes were clearly visible. First off, who puts chili flakes in shredded pork then puts that with nachos? That is unheard of and embarrassing. Thats why nachos come with jalapeños duh. Lastly they would not even fully reimburse our meal, they gave us enough to cover the tax lol. Learn how to cook if you are going to charge that much for food and the customer is never wrong. Nachos should be easy to make. Sad!

Very nice veg cheesburger and house ale. Definitely a neighborhood watering hole, service friendly but slow, prices a tad on the high side but not out of line.

Service was fantastic!! Food was great!! Ruben sandwich is amazing!! Ask for a side of house brown mustard and add it to the Ruben! Oh and dont forget the terrific onion rings!! Ill be back!!!

Great service! We ordered online and there was a minor mistake on both our behalf and theirs. We interpreted the side orders as additional instead of replacement for the fries. We got cole slaw that we did not order and no fries, but they made it right and made us the fries on the spot right before closing hours too. Very friendly and they had a good list of craft beers. Next time we are in Olympia we will definitely be back!

This place is refreshing. There are no big TVs the music is just there, infact its barely perceptible. It is a nice place to take a friend for a quiet 3-4 star dinner. I spent $60 on dinner and drinks for 2 and $15 of that was the tip. The food is on par with any place that serves this type of food and the atmosphere is just a bit more like a pub without the sports.

I go here all of the time! Love it! Food and beers are always great. They have lots of awesome local beers..12+ varieties! Annnd good cocktails, something for everyone! The staff is always so welcoming too. Nice local pub.

This was a nice, quiet place for a good afternoon beer. The service was good, and its a big enough space you could spread out and keep your distance from the other patrons.The beer was really good. I had the Seapine Mosaic Pale, and the Matchless Topaz Hazy IPA. Both were excellent, but I liked the Matchless better.

Clam chowder was delicious. We 2 fish and chips and a chicken sandwich. Their special drinks are always good.

We had a great experience here today. We only had their beers and all 5 were delicious. We also shared an order of nachos and it was HUGE and delicious. Had a great chat w the nice bartender as well. If in Olympia again we will come back.

Amazing fish and chips! Hearty Reuben. Good house made fries, the tarter is delish. Great service, and definitely worth a stop

Great little pub. Love that they have a pup friendly patio. Ive never been disappointed by the food, and they always have a good beer selection.

Nice place for take couple pint of beer with snack. Very friendly staff and good quality beer. And surprise for me was be very good cider “Dark and dry”. And very funny classic Belgian style beer for some hidden reason named as Scotch ale )))

Fast friendly service with generous portions and distinct beers and ciders for a reasonable proce

I liked how the have set up different "brewery" lines for their German beers, ciders, spirits and other beers (mostly IPAs). I really liked the Pig Whistle Hefeweizen and the organic IPA. The Marzen, Dunkel and Winter Fish (double IPAwere also great seasonals.The art work and high ceiling / low light ambiance makes for a fun drinking atmosphere. Id come back here for a pint.

Tasty brews and bites. My Prime Rib Dip with tater tots was good! Most of the rest of the crew had burgers and enjoyed them.

I liked this place and think that they had a good selection! I tried a couple of the IPAs and was not disappointed!!! The staff were very nice, friendly, and helpful in selecting beers, the food was good as well! We had the public house burger and they cooked it to order! We also had the tater tots which were impressive from someone coming from the Midwest! The place was fairly spacious, with indoor and outdoor seating and a pretty sizable indoor area. This place had good ambiance and overall great place to stop for a beer and food!!

Oldest brewpub in Olympia. Great beer, creative menu, reasonable prices, and the friendliest service. We had a party of 7, and everyone was delighted with their food. My wife ordered the brisket taco special, and said they were the best tacos shes ever had. As an expat New Englander, I can honestly say this is one of the extremely rare places to find good chowder outside of NE. Excellent spot, thanks for the hospitality, Kevin!

Great selection of beer from a classic WA brewpub. I enjoyed each of my 4 samples. The imperial IPA with honey notes (Hodgson’s Imperial IPAwas the standout for me. Their nachos were excellent with plenty to go around for a group. The venue is huge but in need of some interior investment. Super nice and attentive staff!

Yummy shepherds pie and salad here!!! Nice staff ... ok beer. I only drank half of my Oktoberfest ....

Quickly found a table on a busy Friday night. The food was good, the service was okay.I had the Shepard’s pie and I would return just for that. It’s the perfect meal for a chilly fall day. The lamb was really tasty and I intend to copy this recipe.The black bean burger was definitely a black bean burger, it had okay flavor. Nothing great but the sweet potato fries were delicious.The Ruben is a pastrami Ruben, and the handcuffs fries were tasty.Oyster shooters were $16 for 6 shooters.

I got in a bit too late for the main menu. I did have the happy hour menu and what can I say but WOW. The Fish taco was bomb, nachos where great, the guacamole was on point. The beer was crisp and refreshing. The ciders are awesome. I would come here to get drunk and eat good food.

Great beer- flies are $8 [four 5oz]Food was greatCustomers service was greatThey just added a family section.Will be coming back.

Our waiter was a bit pretentious and forgot our drink orders for a while, but all and all a great place to sit, eat, sample beers, and chat with friends. It was a nice young atmosphere. Our boyfriends thought it would be funny to order us two "salty hotdogs," and they were surprisingly good if you enjoy grapefruit flavored mixed drinks. The guest chocolate porter that was on draft was amazing.