Seafood Surplus
Fish N' Tails Oyster Bar brings the Cajun to downtown Richardson
A new restaurant called Fish N Tails Oyster Bar stands out as one of the only places to get crawfish in a neighborhood better known for dumplings and dim sum. Fish N Tails opened on Polk Street off Greenville Avenue, in the part of Richardson informally dubbed Chinatown, in what used to be the Coco Berry frozen yogurt space and was very briefly a Mexican restaurant called Mex&Co Kitchen.
Owners Guillermo and Margarita Torres live nearby in Richardson. Guillermo most recently worked at the popular Fish Shack on 15th Street in East Plano.
"I helped open that place, but I've worked at hamburger joints, many places," he says. "For this, I combined together everything that I know. We have crawfish [and] crab legs but hamburgers too."
Fish N Tails does have an unusually varied menu, from ceviche to oysters on the half shell to salmon with grilled vegetables. "That dish, I sell for $10.95, and it would be $25 anywhere else," he says.
"I'm Mexican, so I have some Mexican items too, like fish tacos. We use tilapia with rice and Mexican coleslaw – cabbage with cilantro, tomatoes and lime juice."
Torres has applied for a liquor license and intends to sell beer and margaritas.
"I've worked in restaurants all my life, since I was 15," he says. "I'm glad to have my own place."