The Fisherman Restaurant: Time Stands Still

“This is a movie set,” said my husband when we walked in the door of The Fisherman Restaurant on Route 23. 

Like most Phoenixville residents, we’d driven past the large sign for this restaurant, advertising LIVER & ONIONS and STRAWBERRY PIE a thousand times, but had never stopped in for a meal.

The Fisherman opened in 1960, hand-built by the father of the current owners. 
Nothing is new, yet nothing really looks old, either. Everything is in working order without being worn, like it’s still 1965 and the restaurant has hit its stride. There’s not a spot of dust anywhere, even on the stuffed fish, caught by the restaurant’s builder, that hang just below the ceiling.

The waitress tells us to sit anywhere.  There are square booths, round booths in the corners and swivel stools around an authentic, full-service soda fountain the
likes of which I haven’t seen since I was a little girl in Pittsburgh. The color scheme is mocha, beige and chrome, which totally works in this environment.

We choose one of the round booths to enjoy the ambience. I order one of the oversized (pint?) mugs of cola ($2.25) and, sure enough, the waitress mixes it on the fountain equipment.

My husband orders the Scallops Isabella ($9.35) dinner, which comes with bread and butter and two vegetables. He picks coleslaw and whipped potatoes, which come topped with brown gravy. 

His scallops arrive heaped in a gratin dish with Italian red sauce. The sauce is slightly sweet, but the scallops themselves are succulent and the best dish of the night. The waitress places a basket on the table with four rolls and butter for us to share.

I order the Crab Cake, Clam Cake and Lobster Cake Sampler ($9.50) dinner with buttered lima beans and whipped potatoes as my vegetables. The whipped potatoes are delicate and airy and while the lima beans most likely came from the freezer, they are properly cooked. 

Except for a few chunks of reddish meat that is probably lobster in one of them, I can’t tell my three cakes apart, but they have the pleasant taste of seafood about them. They are well-cooked and they didn’t cost very much, so I don’t mind.

We’d heard that dessert is a must here, so we ask about the pies. Unfortunately, they are out of Strawberry Pie, but the waitress recommends the Blueberry Crumb Pie ($2.25) so I order that. 

It is mostly blueberries with just enough binder to hold it together and sandy-sweet crumbs on the top. My husband orders the Carrot Cake ($3.00), a huge slice of spice cake sprinkled with walnuts and held together by a hybrid cream cheese and royal icing.

Service is knowledgeable, but quiet. The true draw of the place is the atmosphere,
which is low-key and would be called “retro” and “vintage” except The Fisherman
isn’t trying to be of another time—it really lives there in the 1960s.  If you’re looking to time-travel and have a meal in a place like no other in Phoenixville, pull over on Route 23 and stop in at The Fisherman.

If You Go:

Location:  440 Schuylkill Road, Phoenixville, PA

Cost:  Mug of Soda:  $2.25, Entrees:  $5 - $9.50, Pies:  $2.00 - $3.50

Phone:  (610) 933-7340 

Hours:  Sunday, Tuesday through Thursday:  9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

                Friday and Saturday:  9 a.m. to 10 p.m.

              Monday:  Closed

Payments accepted:  Cash

Parking:  Free lot