The Whales Tale Café is tucked away behind the Britannia Marina, and other shops, which run along the bend on Fort Salonga Road (Route 25A) in Northport. For those who never knew it was there, you have to check it out. As their website states, “The Whales Tale Café was created by a laid back group of locals who love their community, great food and good friends.” Its slogan is “Your hideaway on the half shell.”
The Whales Tale Café has become a gathering place for locals who enjoy simple fresh food. Produce comes from local farms, and the fish is caught daily in local waters where it is then brought right to the dock of the restaurant.
Menu items include a crispy fish sandwich, which is lightly battered and fried, tossed up with cabbage slaw, fresh tomato and herb mix, and served with a jalapeno queso on a roll, or a Wa-Ha-Ka tuna wrap, which is sesame seared tuna topped with mango salsa, and served with cabbage, arugula, fresh avocados and a sesame soy dressing. You can also “Pick a fish…pick a style.” Choices of fish include: mahi mahi, tuna, salmon and the fresh daily catch. Once you’ve made your fish selection, you can choose from four different styles of preparation: Baja Style is fresh tomato and cilantro tossed with lime and topped with a creamy avocado drizzle, the Fish and Lime is a classic scampi with butter and herbs, but instead of lemon they use fresh lime, with the Cali Cajun style, the fish is blackened in Cajun spices and seared to perfection, then topped with a fresh mango salsa, and lastly the Pacific Fresh which is fish lightly marinated in sesame soy vinaigrette, flame grilled and topped with Pacific slaw.
One of their most popular items are their fish tacos. First decide which fish you would like, then it will be served to you in three warm tortillas, with a tomato and cilantro cabbage slaw, cheddar jack cheese and drizzled with a hui hui sauce.
During the summer on Taco Tuesday, all day the tacos are $2 each. Every Tuesday they also have a contest. Guess how many tacos are sold on that day for a chance to win a $20 gift card to the Whales Tale.
For landlubbers, there are cheeseburgers, chicken and avocado BLT, a steak melt and a chicken Caesar wrap, just to name a few.
A raw bar or a bucket of mussels is also available, and goes well with their local rum punch or a bucket of cold Coronas.
So if you’ve never heard of Whales Tale Café, now is the time to check it out. It’s summer at its best.
The Whales Tale is open seven days a week from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. except for Friday and Saturday where they are open until 11 p.m.
