Wahoo's Fish Taco

509 Rio Grande

(512)476-3474

The Menu:

What a menu indeed, I must start out by saying that I absolutely loved this place. For appetizers they have the famous Baja Rolls which have cream cheese, spinach, chicken & salsa rolled in a "lard-free" tortilla. (I took "lard-free" straight from their menu) Some good old's like Maui Onion Rings, French Fries, Nachos, Quesadillas, Taquitos, and Chips & Salsa/Guacamole.

Soups, Salads, & Sandwiches! I love those three S's. They have their special salad with cheese, guac, salsa, and a choice of meat. (fish, chicken, carne asada, carnitas, shrimp, or vegitarian.) Their sandwich is a lot like the salad except with less lettus, and served between slices of bread. The Chicken Tortilla Soup is quite a treat. If you aren't feeling too adventurous, just try the Garden Salad.

Want just the filling and not so much bread? They have a fix for ya, Wahoo's Bowls. They are all served over ahi rice& black beans or spicy cajun white beans. They've got a Maui (carne asada), Chicken (flame grilled or blackened), Wahoo's (fish flame grilled or blackened), Veggie (banzai vegies), Kalua Pig (shredded carnitas), Banzai (banzai veggies, and you choose meat), or the Shrimp bowl.

Banzai Burritos are pretty much the Banzai bowl wrapped in a "lard-free" tortilla.

A La Carte- filling choices are: fish, chicken, carne asada, carnitas, shrimp, mushrooms, banzai veggies, or vegetarian. Get some Soft Tacos with corn tortillas, or maybe you want a big taco...the Classic Burrito. The Enchiladas shouldn't be overlooked either.

Now some Combo Platters, which are served with rice & beans. These are basically combinations of the A La Carte items. They have 1 Taco or Enchilada, 2 Tacos or Enchiladas, 1 Burrito (classic or banzai), The Kahuna Burrito & 1 taco/Enchilada, The Kahuna Grande is 1 taco or enchilada & 3 taquitos. <------- What a meal huh? I'm sure I'd leave with a full stomach, and a to-go box or two.

Kid's Menu! For the young ones we have the Kid's bowl, Kid's Taco/Enchilada, Mini Quesadilla, or a Black Bean & 2 Cheese Burrito. Most items are served with fries or ahi rice & beans.

On a "side" note they have Beans (black or spicy cajun white beans), Ahi Rice, Tortillas (3 soft corn or 1 lard "lard-free" flour), Guacamole, Soure Cream, Fresh Sala, Wahoo's Green Sauce (non-fat, roasted pepper, cilantro dressing), Mr. Lee's Chili Sauce (blend of red chilis, garlic, and ginger).

At the end of the lovely meal check out the desserts. All oldies but goldies: Cookies, Ice Cream, or a Maine Root Organic Root Beer Float!

Thirsty? To drink they offer fountain drinks, bottled drinks, Red Bull, Maine Root Organic Root Beer(by the pint!). For some alchololic beverages they have a selection of beer, wine, Pina Coladas, and Margaritas. The "Beer of the month is only $2.00.

Average Ticket (including drink): $7.99

The Taste:

My favorite thing about the general flavor is that nothing is fried! Your arteries will thank you! They offer their meats grilled or blackened, and any item can be made vegetarian. The proportions are pretty much just right. If you are a little hungrier, try out some starters. I had the Baja Rolls which have amazingly crispy fresh spinach, cream cheese, chicken and salsa wrapped in one of their signature tortillas. I dipped it in their spicy green sauce, and it went very well with it.

The meats (I tried the fish and the chicken) are juicy, tender, and full of flavor. I ordered my fish tacos with blackened fish. I was pleasantly surprised to find they didn't burn it beyond belief; it was truly "blackened" to perfection, which concentrates the flavors.

The Pina Colada I had was the perfect flavor, and they put fresh strawberry puree on top which gave the most subtle hint of strawberry goodness. It went quite well with the pina colada flavors.

I REALLY enjoyed the fish taco, but my associate must have liked it more because I only got 2 bites. The blackened fish was fantastic, and I am so thankful that it wasn't burned!

The only somewhat negative thing about the food was that I had a hard time keeping the ingredients from spilling out, but it tasted great! I adored the rice and grilled chicken. The chunky vegetables add a great texture.

The Atmosphere:

It has this totally cool skater/surfer/snowboarder theme. Any one is welcome to stick anything on any wall (which is already covered in stickers, boards, etc.) as long as it isn't offensive. It's a really laid back place with Pink Floyd and the like music, open beam ceiling (seems to be popular in Austin eh?), wooden booths/tables/chairs, and concrete floors. The lighting is dim, but bright near the registers. It is a little complicated to find your way to the register, but not too bad. Just head back and right; you'll find it. They have these really huge, awesome windows. However, if you sit too near them a cigarette smell creeps in. If you smoke, then no problem eh? The smell isn't that bad since the windows are open, so don't get too worried. It's just a really laid back place.

The Employees:

The Employees make the place as much as the food and atmosphere do. They are all attentive, nice, diligent, and chill. The place is quite relaxing and the employees help you feel so too. The only effort that you have to put into the place is ordering. They do everything else for you. Take your food out, clean it up, box up your stuff to go, etc. My server as well as the others I observed there treat you like a friend, and they have great patience if you are completely new and have no idea what anything is talking about on the menu. One thing that I love about good servers is that they aren't annoying when they check on you. They don't check on you too often and ruin your dinner with interruptions either. I liked the whole experience!