Fishbowl Calories 2022: The Lowest Calorie Combinations to Pick

Fishbowl is a chain of restaurants that offer Japanese-style fish and salad bowls around Sydney and Melbourne. They say they are here to shake up fast food and empower people to make healthier decisions – and they definitely do – but, how do they stack up for calories? We checked out the Fishbowl nutritional information, did the maths on the bowls, and came up with our guide to Fishbowl calories – and the lowest calorie options to pick in Fishbowl if you’re counting them.

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Why Did We Pick Fishbowl For a Calorie Guide?

After all most of the eateries we cover in this section are huge household names – and right now, Fishbowl is well known in Sydney, but not so much everywhere else in Australia or the rest of the world.

The answer is simply because I ordered one!

I picked my choice –the Big Papi (RIP)- and a brief moment of being sensible, choose the regular size option.

I started eating, and eating, and eating – this thing seemed to go on forever and it contained the most moreish almonds I’ve ever tasted – and at this point I wondered if maybe, it might be one of those deceptive salads that actually contain more calories than the burrito bowl that I’d originally been heading to Mad Mex to order.

And so I figured if I was wondering about the calories in Fishbowl, you might be too.

Note: This post was first published in May 2021 and has been updated in August 2022.

The Fishbowl Concept

Now, if you’re here looking for nutrition information you probably already know how Fishbowl works, but, just in case, here’s a refresher.

Every meal served at Fishbowl is made from scratch for you to your specifications.

To order you pick a base – there are currently 10 to choose from including brown rice, sushi rice, rice noodles and cabbage – and then add one of the pre-planned selection of toppings.

You can then add extra toppings like more protein, more crunch, extra dressing etc if you want them.

What this means is that each bowl is individual and so it’s impossible to put the exact calories on the menu.

The numbers you see as you order are for the toppings alone – and so, to work out exactly how many calories are in your bowl you have to do some maths.

This is find in a quiet time, but the queue behind you is not going to be thrilled if it’s their lunchbreak and you’re calculating what difference it makes to choose the Coconut Chicken with a cabbage base over the Miso Meru Eggplant with a soba noodle one.

So, that’s where we come in – we’ve gone through the Fishbowl nutrition chart and found the lowest calorie options.

Admittedly, Fishbowl aren’t calorie driven – as they say on their menu ‘you are what you eat and not how many calories you eat’ and, the fact is that they know that the ingredients are healthy no matter what combination of them you pick.

The numbers therefore give you a rough guide as to what’s low, lower, lowest and that works for them – but if you’re calorie counting to a specific goal, and so you do want to know what the numbers are for your choice – we’re here to help you out.

Let’s start with the TL:DR version….

What’s the Lowest Calorie Meal in Fishbowl?

The short answer is to pick a regular size portion. Use a Mixed Leaves base (8 calories) and then add the Meru Miso Eggplant option with no extra toppings (317 calories).

This adds up to just 325 calories for a regular size portion.

Although, to be honest, that’s probably a bit too low for a healthy lunch.

400-600 calories is more like what you should be aiming for, even when trying to lose weight, and so, you might want to change that to a rice and leaves base which will add 171 calories, taking your meal to 489 calories – or, stick with the leaves but choose a large size bowl which will give you 430 calories.

If you prefer to stay low-carb you could also add an extra double spoon portion of Edamame (54 calories) to up the protein and make it a bit more filling which will take you closer to 400 calories.

Then grab a yogurt or something for dessert.

What About the Rest of the Fishbowl Menu?

When we first wrote this post, pretty much everything on the Fishbowl menu came in under 600 calories for a regular portion so you could order whatever you fancied – that’s no longer the case; you can still order anything with a leaf or cabbage base – except the Beef Brisket – and come in under 600, but, after that, a few combinations will take you over our cut off figure so, let’s break things down….

What’s the Lowest Calorie Base in Fishbowl?

Not surprisingly, as swapping veggies for carbs tends to cut calories, its the mixed leaves option which is just 8 calories in regular size, and 10 for a large bowl.

Next lowest is the plain cabbage one which is just 20 calories for a regular portion and 36 calories for a large.

If you want some carbs with your lunch, your best choice is to pick one of the half and half bases like half cabbage, half glass noodles which has 92 calories a portion in regular size and 132 for a large.

The brown rice/cabbage combo is a little higher, but, is likely to be more filling so, don’t discount it – it’s 181 calories for a regular portion and 260 for a large.

What’s the Lowest Calorie Bowl Toppings in Fishbowl?

As I said above, the absolute lowest calorie bowl topping is the Meru Miso Eggplant which has 318 calories as regular size and 420 if you go large.

If you’re not veggie and want to pick from either the Sea or Land based bowls, your two best choices are Mr X (with salmon) for the fish eaters – 401 calories regular.

Or, if you prefer meat, pick the Mr X Chicken which has 363 calories regular.

Oddly, if you’re upgrading to a large the lowest-calorie option changes slightly. In that case you’re looking at a Ghost II with Chicken – 499 calories or a Miso Salmon – 490 calories.

So, that’s the basic information, but again, it doesn’t hugely help you if you’re standing in the queue and need to order fast – so, for that situation here’s all the choices in Fishbowl for under 600 calories

The Lowest Calorie Choices in Fishbowl

Under 400 calories

With a Mixed Leaves Base

Meru Miso Eggplant (regular) – 326 calories

Mr X Tofu (regular) – 350 calories

Tofu Boys (regular) – 360 calories

Crispy Chicken (regular) – 375 calories

With a Cabbage Base

Meru Miso Eggplant (regular) – 338 calories

Mr X Tofu (regular) – 361 calories

Tofu Boys (regular) – 371 calories

Under 500 calories

With a Mixed Leaves Base

Ghost 2 (regular) – 402 calories

Mr X Salmon (regular) – 410 calories

Pump n Protein Tofu (regular) – 414 calories

Pump n Protein Chicken (regular) – 441 calories

Meru Miso Eggplant (large) – 431 calories

Miso Salmon (regular) – 445 calories

Coconut Chicken (regular) – 455 calories

The OG (regular) – 460 calories

Mr X Tofu (large) – 477 calories

Tofu Boys (large) – 481 calories

With a Cabbage Base

Crispy Chicken (regular) – 407 calories

Ghost 2 (regular) – 426 calories

Mr X Salmon (regular) – 421 calories

Pump n Protein Tofu (regular) – 426 calories

Pump n Protein Chicken (regular) – 453 calories

Meru Miso Eggplant (large) – 456 calories

Miso Salmon (regular) – 457 calories

Coconut Chicken (regular) – 467 calories

The OG (regular) – 472 calories

With Half Cabbage/Glass Noodles

Meru Miso Eggplant (regular) – 410 calories

Mr X Tofu (regular) – 434 calories

Tofu Boys (regular) – 443 calories

Crispy Chicken (regular) – 479 calories

Ghost 2 (regular) – 498 calories

Mr X Salmon (regular) – 493 calories

Pump n Protein Tofu (regular) – 498 calories

With a Half Cabbage/Sushi Rice

Meru Miso Eggplant (regular) – 472 calories

Mr X Tofu (regular) – 496 calories

With Brown Rice/Mixed Leaves

Meru Miso Eggplant (regular) – 490 calories

Under 600 calories

With a Mixed Leaves Base

Shroomani (regular) – 500 calories

Miso Salmon (large) – 501 calories

Ghost 2 (large) – 510 calories

Mr X Chicken (large) – 515 calories

Miso Soba Tofu (regular) – 519 calories

Pump n Protein Tofu (large) – 520 calories

Spicy Salmon (regular) – 534 calories

Miso Soba Chicken (regular) – 543 calories

Pump n Protein Chicken (large) – 563 calories

Mr X Salmon (large) -572 calories

Crispy Chicken (large) – 580 calories

Spicy Salmon (large) – 599 calories

With a Cabbage Base

Mr X Tofu (large) – 502 calories

Tofu Boys (large) – 507 calories

Shroomani (regular) – 512 calories

Miso Salmon (large) – 526 calories

Miso Soba Tofu (regular) – 531 calories

Ghost 2 (large) – 536 calories

Mr X Chicken (large) – 540 calories

Pump n Protein Tofu (large) – 545 calories

Spicy Salmon (regular) – 546 calories

Miso Soba Chicken (regular) – 555 calories

Pump n Protein Chicken (large) – 588 calories

Mr X Salmon (large) – 597 calories

With Half Cabbage/Glass Noodles

Pump n Protein Chicken (regular) – 525 calories

Miso Salmon (regular) – 529 calories

Coconut Chicken (regular) – 539 calories

The OG (regular) – 544 calories

Meru Miso Eggplant (large) – 552 calories

Shroomani (regular) – 584 calories

Mr X Tofu (large) – 598 calories

With a Half Cabbage/ Sushi Rice

Tofu Boys (regular) – 505 calories

Crispy Chicken (regular) – 531 calories

Ghost 2 (regular) – 548 calories

Mr X Salmon (regular) – 555 calories

Pump n Protein Tofu (regular) – 560 calories

With Brown Rice/Mixed Leaves

Mr X Tofu (regular) – 514 calories

Tofu Boys (regular) – 523 calories

Crispy Chicken (regular) – 549 calories

Ghost 2 (regular) – 566 calories

Mr X Salmon (regular) – 573 calories

Pump n Protein Tofu (regular) – 578 calories

With Brown Rice/Cabbage

Meru Miso Eggplant (regular) – 500 calories

Mr X Tofu (regular) – 524 calories

Tofu Boys (regular) – 533 calories

Crispy Chicken (regular) – 559 calories

Ghost 2 (regular) – 575 calories

Mr X Salmon (regular) – 583 calories

Pump n Protein Tofu (regular) – 588 calories

With Soba Noodles

Meru Miso Eggplant (regular) – 542 calories

Mr X Tofu (regular) – 566 calories

Tofu Boys (regular) – 575 calories

Add 5 to each of those if you’d prefer Glass Noodles

What Happens if You Add Extras?

The last part of the Fishbowl experience is to decide if you want to add any extra toppings – this can be a good idea if you do pick a bowl that’s fairly low in calories and want to make it a bit more filling, so, what adds what? Here’s a rough guide…

Proteins

The lowest calorie protein that you can add is Tofu which has 59 calories on a regular bowl, 86 on a large one.

If you feel like chicken, then the Poached Chicken is the lowest calorie choice at just 82 calories on a regular sized bowl

Beef Brisket is the highest calorie addition at 361 calories per extra portion.

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If we had you at the word chicken, then check out our guide to the lowest calorie options in Oporto here.

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Toppings & Crunch

Many of these contain just 10 calories or less per spoonful so add away! This one area where the calories in Fishbowl have increased between the two updates.

Ones you might definitely want to track if you’re adding a few extra toppings are…

Avocado – 62 calories per scoop

Spicy Broccoli – 51 calories per scoop

Crispy Shallots – 55 calories per scoop

Seaweed Salad -58 calories a scoop

The amazing Tamari Almonds are 92 calories

Edamame is 27 calories a spoonful

Wasabi Peas are 47 calories a spoonful

What About Dressings?

This is another new addition to the Fishbowl Nutritional Information – you can now see what happens if you change your dressing – although, this is going to be more relevant to anyone deciding to use the Build Your Bowl option.

The lowest calorie dressing to choose is the Gluten-Free Shoyu which has just 17 calories a spoonful.

The highest calorie one is Wasabi Mayo at 162 calories a serve.

Is Fishbowl Healthy?

Yes, absolutely. It’s all fresh ingredients, the fish offers a good source of the healthy fats we don’t eat enough of and the salads are packed with vegetables.

The only thing to just be aware of is sodium intake if you’re choosing anything with a soy sauce/shoyu base as it can be high in sodium.

Anything with a soy sauce base is obviously also not gluten-free – and this also include shoyu which is a type of soy sauce. You can book a gluten-free shoyu when ordering online or, let them know if you’re ordering in store.

You’ll also boost your health potential picking brown rice over the other carby elements to the bases.

So, there you have it – our guide to the lowest calorie options in Fishbowl.

If you have any more questions, please do let me know.

As for what might fit specific diets, as a general rule, any dish with a mixed leaf or cabbage base (and no added rice or noodles) could theoretically fit into a low carb plan – the portion sizes may see you tip over on a strict keto diet though.

What to Read Next

If you’re looking for some other calories guides, you’ll find some other big name Aussie brands like Mad Mex, Guzman y Gomez, Grill’d and more in our calorie guide sections. Have a look here to see if one of your favourites is there.

We’re also wandering around the supermarkets (and pubs, because someone has to) and finding out the lowest calorie and carb options for some of your favourites.

So if you want to know which is Australia’s lowest calorie beer or, have a hankering to find out what’s the lowest carb wrap on offer in the main supermarkets, you’ll find our guide to low-carb wraps here.

We’ve also put some Aussie favourites under the ‘is it healthy’ microscope – so check out our verdict on Grain Waves.

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