Fin Seafood Café, located downtown in the bustling Marina area, is the more down-to earth sister restaurant to three other outlets: Fish Tails, Blue Lobster and the immensely popular Greenwood Fish Market. Though termed a café and one small in size at that, its aim is no easy task; to serve restaurant food at café prices.

• The Vibe
  Located right at the corner of Marina Square , Fin is decorated in vibrant hues of orange and deep brown. It's a nice place to chill out with the buddies for a little R&R after that long day of work, perhaps with a beer in hand. The booth seats provide an air of retro-ness, while the open kitchen provides some entertainment for curious patrons.

• The Food
  A starter of succulent and tender live oysters (at only SGD $1 a piece) shucked and served on a bed of ice garnished with sprigs of salad greens and lemon slices between them, and on the side the chef's special homemade Thai chili sauce was excellent. Fresh and juicy, they served to whet the appetite quite well.

  Try the café's Seafood Basket (SGD $11.95) which comprises pieces of battered dory fish, calamari squid and fresh prawns on a bed of thick and crunchy French fries all cradled in a tin bucket. The ingredients were definitely fresh however, more seasoning could have added to enhance the taste of the seafood, which came off as a tad bland.

  For pasta lovers, order the Alo Olio Olio (SGD $11.95), an herbed pasta dish sautéed in olive oil served with fire red prawns and squid. The pasta was fairly well done, however we found the prawns a tad overcooked and once again more seasoning could probably be added to kick it up a notch.

  One of the restaurant's specialties, Teriyaki Pan Fried Tusk fish ($14.95) resting on a bed of mashed potatoes and a slice of lemon as a garnish, was rather disappointing. The flavour of the fish was too overpowering, while the side of potatoes was bland, which accentuated this even further.

  For dessert, the old fashioned apple crumble pie with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream (SGD$ 4.95)on the side is said to be a favourite among customers. However, the apple crumble was not warm and crumbly as imagined, rather, it was served cold and soft. Also, the granny smith apple filling had almost completely lost its tartness to the overload of cinnamon.

• The Service
  The waiters could have been a little more attentive and efficient with our request for utensils, perhaps a little bit of enthusiasm would have well accompanied its seemingly friendly and warm décor and atmosphere.

SD Food Advisor's Take on Fin Seafood Café
Most of the seafood served at the restaurant is fresh and very reasonably priced. According to sources one of the special features of the café is that all food is charged without GST or service charge which is unlike most restaurants. However, the quality of food leaves much to be desired. Perhaps Fin could take a leaf out of its sister restaurants' books.