No Fish Go Fish
Posted By LaurenNo Fish Go Fish advertises comfort food. Good hearty soup and adorable fish-shaped grilled sandwiches. I’ve developed a special fondness for No Fish Go Fish food after I ended up taking a sudden ambulance ride to the hospital last year. On the way home the doctors recommended I eat some soup and No Fish Go Fish split pea soup to-go made me feel much warmer and relaxed despite the whole ordeal. But what was the interior of the Soup of the Gods place like? Was it comfort food in a comfort setting?
I would say no. It’s cool but not cozy. Hip but not homey.
I went there for lunch today. My table was covered in black satin-like cloth with a layer of glass over it. The smaller tables around me where covered with giraffe-like patterned cloth, some black with tan spots, and others tan with black spots. To either side of me were mismatched chandeliers. Above my table was a mobile made with large colored circles that seemed strangely childish and out of place with the rest of the room. There was art for sale on the walls, paintings with geometric designs, mostly rectangles, with color themes. I personally liked them; I’m a fan of simple shapes. However, I couldn’t find anything that to tell me who the artist was. My favorite bit was a permanent piece apparently done by another artist for the restaurant. A Mao-era knock off with an intrepid young Chinese woman surrounded by chemistry equipment holding up a fish-shaped toasted sandwich in wonder.
The walls were cheerfully yellow with a maroon ceiling until the bar. Above the bar, the ceiling was painted dark green. Behind the bar was a large circular silver mirror on hung in front of blue velvet curtains. Golden Thai dancers pranced around the credit card machine. A wine rack was covered bunches of colored glass grapes, an ornament I can’t get enough of.
Things took a darker turn in the bathroom: a dimly lit chamber with creepy velvet paintings. Next to the mirror is a crying Elvis. Two others look like Precious Moments scenes gone to hell. A young boy with huge blue eyes embraces a white poodle with a frighteningly human face. On another wall, a droopy bunny/puppy combination stared at me with deep morose eyes as I washed your hands.
If you really want comfort, get take out. However, if you want to enjoy a dose of Portland kitsch, go ahead and make a lunch date.
3962 SE Hawthorne Blvd
(503) 235-5378
Fish In a Little Water
Phò Vàn on Hawthorne
Muu-Muu’s on 21st
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