Tinucci's - Newport, MN

Ah, Tinucci's. If you ever are in the mood for old-school steak house/lounge, this is your place. We decided to give their fish fry a chance as well.

Tinucci's is a popular dinner spot year round, which means that their fish fry nights are all the more busy. They do offer fish frys year 'round, so technically one would not have to wait until the Lenten season to taste their fare. Knowing this, we went anyway, because, hey, why not?

There is a ton of free parking in their lot, which is a major plus (it's the suburbs after all). Their lobby waiting area was rather crowded as we waited. I wouldn't say that the wait was insane, but come prepared for a 30ish minute wait. If you have children with you, there isn't a place for them to do much more than sit or stand, so be prepared. The decor is dated, but that doesn't bother me. The dining room is dark with heavy wood fixtures, chunky chairs, and 1970's stained glass panes around the room. Some updating could be warranted, but hey, its kind of a period place, so it didn't seem distracting.

Once we were seated, the server took our drink order and we were left to go through the buffet line. There are two buffet lines: the first line holds the salads. I'm not talking your run-of-the-mill mixed lettuce greens, either. Yes, there were several lettuce based salads with all the fixin's , but there also was a large variety of other salads as well. Think church pot luck variety of salads, only made in a food service safe kitchen rather than Organist Betty's country kitchen. Bean salad, potato salad, cole slaw, jello salad, fruit salad, cucumber salad, broccoli salad... there's a bunch to chose from!

After enjoying our salads, we then checked out the hot foods. Much to our surprise, there were not one, not two, but three different kinds of fish, plus chicken available. To go along with the protein, there were a couple of varieties of potatoes (mashed, baked, and au gratin), a couple of steamed veggies, and a few other goodies to go along with your meal. I did try all three kinds of fish, baked, steamed with hollandaise sauce, and fried.  Their fish with hollandaise is wonderful! The others were very good, too, but that hollandaise is really good on their fish!

After dinner, there is a beautiful table filled with different desserts. Cakes, strudel, bars, cookies... and  ice cream is available from your server if you'd like. It was a nice variety with something for everyone.

Considering the variety of different foods and the fact that it was all you can eat (and they never ran out), the prices were reasonable. We were tipped off to an online coupon, which brought the prices down even more. Their non-Lent prices for the Friday Fish & Chicken Buffet are Adults: $19.95, Children 5-12: $7.96, Children 1-4: $1.25 per year. It's a pretty good deal with really good food.

Rating:
Fish:5 Walleye
Side Dishes: 5 Trout
Tartar Sauce: 4 Northern
Value: 4 1/2 Blue Gill