No reservations are accepted at Tony Davidson and Lina Reppert's miniscule seafood restaurant near Downings harbour - and there's no phone either, so you can't even call and plead for a table.
So you just have to get there early and be prepared to queue - and queue you will almost certainly have to, as this has been a Donegal hotspot since the day it opened in spring 2018 and it hasn't shown any sign of slowing down since.
It's tucked into an atmospheric stone cottage next to the equally atmospheric Harbour Bar - which is not actually at the harbour, but on the road to it, so keep an eye open as it's set back from the road and easy to miss.
Although the bar and restaurant look all of a piece - and diners do tend to migrate to seats inside and outside the bar - the two are separate operations and there's no point phoning the bar in the hope of booking a table. But the bar is delightful and, as well as allowing tables for use by Fisk, well worth a visit in its own right, so it's no hardship to while away an hour or so here while waiitng for that elusive table to come up - and you can at least check into the restaurant on arrival and get a place on the waiting list for that night (if available!).
And it should be well worth the wait. The Fisk promise is to serve fresh seafood with local produce in a relaxed friendly atmosphere - and they deliver.
Although the indoor space is tiny and a good bit of it is taken up with the open kitchen, it's very well organised and new arrivals are quickly sorted out with wine (a short, well selected list by the glass, or by the bottle) and you can order a few of their small plates, which will get you started in no time - just allowing enough breathing space to let you take stock and enjoy the charm of the place with its stone walls, fresh blue and white decor and tweed cushions from the historic McNutts weavers just down the road.
It's fish and seafood all the way and almost everything on the menu is small plates, as starters, or for sharing. There's a popular trio of dishes offered at about €20 (or around €7.50 each) for example - Potted mackerel (mackerel, fresh herbs, crème fraiche), FISK cake (smoked fish, apple, fennel), squid rings (panko breadcrumb, spicy mayo) and it comes with the famous Scarpello sourdough toast - what could be a tastier or more sociable start to a good meal, enjoyed with a freshing glass of Picpoul?.
The specials board does offer one or two 'main course' dishes (a whole bream on the bone with fennel, perhaps) but the main focus remains on small plates, such as sardines with pickled veg and Gambas with garlic butter. It's not a style that would work everywhere but it does here, as there is just so much good stuff to taste that the small plate system is perfect.
Regular favourites include (just-in) Mackerel fillet with spicy tomato sauce, cut into four pieces and handy for sharing, and Swedish Prawn Cocktail on sourdough with pickled red onion - scoring high on the taste scale, they're simply delicious and full of flavour.
With top Donegal producers and products like Mulroy Bay mussels and Scarpello's famous sourdough namechecked on the menu, there's a real sense of place - and this is very much its own place, so the local produce is showcased in a way that you won't see anywhere else.
Side dishes are treated with equal care, and unusual desserts - chilled rice with granola and blueberries, perhaps, or chocolate custard with strawberries and hazelnuts - round off a meal here very nicely.
There's a nice short and quite pocket-friendly wine list too - a choice of about a well chosen dozen bottles, nearly all available by the glass.
And at the end they give you a sardine tin - and the surprise inside is your bill!
