When we read on Eater that there was a new East Coast-style Seafood Shack opening up, we were hopeful there’d be another option for great Seafood around town.
While opened in a more crowded, touristy area (Old Town Pasadena), it’s off the main Colorado Boulevard madness, and we were hopeful it might be a nice option when we visit our friends in the area. Word seems to have gotten out, as there was a long wait list and the restaurant was completely packed.
Maryland Blue Crab Jumbo Cake (Mustard Vinaigrette, Knob-Celery Remoulade):
This didn’t seem like the usual “Crab Cake” you might encounter, as it fell apart pretty easily. However on the positive side, the reason was that it was totally packed with Crab meat(!). There was so little “filler,” that it tasted like you were mainly eating some delicious Seared Blue Crab. 
So as a “Crab Cake,” it was a bit disappointing, but for flavor and taste, it was great (lots of Seared Blue Crab).
1/2 Pound - Chilled Jumbo Shrimp:
Fishwives gives you the option to order any of their Chilled Seafood (Shrimp, Mussels) by weight (1/2 or whole pound quantities). The Shrimp itself tasted pretty fresh, plump and not overcooked. But it would’ve been nice if they butterflied (cleaned) the Shrimp.
Fried Oysters on Deviled Eggs (Willapa Bay Oyster, Cage-Free Eggs, Old Bay, Tarragon):
This sounded intriguing. In execution, it tasted like you were eating a Fried Oyster, and then taking a bite of a mediocre Deviled Egg. 
It tasted like 2 separate dishes / flavors, never really achieving any cohesion. 
The Fried Oyster was fine, but the Deviled Egg filling tasted really flat / one-note.
Steamer Basket (P.E.I. Mussels, Littleneck Clams, ½ Maine Lobster):
Seeing the words “Steamer” and “Clams,” I knew there were some FTC’ers who love their Steamer Clams with Bellies, so we decided to order it, hoping for another good version. What came out was literally a basket of Steamed Seafood. 
(In a bamboo steamer, like they use for Chinese Steamed Bao.)
Steamed Clams:
The Steamed Clams were sadly without belly, and tasted OK. Literally just plain Steamed Littleneck Clams. They provided Clarified Butter to dip the various Seafood into, which helped elevate the Clams a bit.
Steamed Mussels:
These were much better: Plump, tender, lightly (inherently) sweet. They were the best item in the Steamer Basket!
Steamed Maine Lobster (1/2):
The 1/2 Steamed Maine Lobster was fine (not overcooked). However, it was a pretty small portion: The 1/2 Lobster Tail could be cut in half and resulted in 2 small individual “bites.”
Portland Maine Lobster Roll (House Lemon Mayo, Brioche, French Fries):
This was a bit off in execution: The “Roll” that the Lobster was supposed to reside in was barely cut open, with the vast majority of the Lobster Meat barely balancing on top of the Roll. So unless you used a knife to cut deeper and stuff in the Lobster yourself, you’d get bites of just pure Lobster, or bites of mostly Bread.
The actual taste was fine. Fresh-tasting Lobster Claw meat, lightly buttered, but they also provided Mayo on the side (as if they couldn’t choose between the 2 styles of Lobster Rolls). The Bread itself was average, not seared nor toasty enough, it lacked any appealing finish (no slight toasty crispiness, nor was it fluffy or soft enough if you just wanted a soft version).
The Fries had a crispy-crunchy factor (great), but it was oil-saturated, looking like it was fried at the wrong temperature.
Crispy Braised Kale (Greek Yogurt, Toasted Hazelnuts):
The slight charring give the Kale a nice crispiness and slight smoky quality. But it was over-salted. Like it could’ve been 1/2 the amount of Salt and been edible.
1 Dozen Oysters (Beausoleil, Fat Bastard, Kumamoto, Kusshi, Kumiai, Malpeque):
Perhaps showing a bit of their opening jitters, we ordered a dozen Oysters to start, but they didn’t show up until the very end. Oh well.
Sometimes you take things for granted, and it’s not until we got Oysters here that you appreciate the little touches (and level of execution) that makes Connie & Ted’s so great. At Connie & Ted’s, they present to you a little printout with the exact Oysters you got, their provenance, and they’re arranged in order (clockwise) so you can follow along and understand and grow your own knowledge of various Oysters. The brightness and freshness are also superior, the Lemon wrapped in sheer cloth so that the Lemon Seeds don’t accidentally fall out when you squeeze. The level of quality of the Mignonette, brightness in the Horseradish, etc.
Fishwives’ Oysters were fine. They tasted relatively fresh, but definitely lacked that super bright, crisp quality of the Oysters that Connie & Ted’s has. The server plopped down the tray and mumbled quickly what we ordered (Kumamoto, Malpeque, etc.), but then left, so we’re just eating them blind (no idea which one was which).
To be fair, they were nicely shucked (no shell bits), and overall, they’re fine if you felt like a Dozen Oysters while strolling Old Town.
Service was a bit haphazard, but we chalk it up to opening jitters (they might’ve been open 2 weeks or so?). Prices feel a touch high (Oysters are $3 - $3.50 each; Lobster Roll is $25), but that’s probably the rent.
Fishwives seems like a solid New England Seafood Shack for the neighborhood. If you found yourself visiting Old Town, and felt like some Maryland Blue Crab Cakes, some Steamed Mussels (excellent), or some Oysters. It’s not the level of Connie & Ted’s, but it can scratch that itch if you felt like this type of cuisine. One of our friends said their Dungeness Crab Roll was better than the Lobster Roll, and worth considering, so if we’re out visiting our friends in the area again, we might give that a try.
Fishwives
88 North Fair Oaks Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91103
Tel: (626) 219-6199
We really did like the flavors a lot, just wasn’t used to it not holding together that well, but the Blue Crab meat was great.