Tilefish inhabit the deep waters of the continental slope along the eastern seaboard as far north as Nova Scotia down to Florida. Tilefish were not even documented until 1879 because they hide in underwater canyons. Rarely by-catch of any other fishery for this reason, they are a targeted specie and usually caught with long-lines. They are an extremely colorful fish with yellow, green and blue skin coloration. The main specie of Tilefish, and the one with more table value is the Golden Tilefish. Gray Tilefish are caught in Florida and have softer flesh and are quite smaller. Golden Tilefish can grow up to 80 pounds but you will usually see fish around 10-20l pounds - the larger the more expensive.

Tilefish feed on crustaceans along the ocean floor. This gives Tilefish a mild sweet flavor similar to that of the Lobster and Crab they dine on. They have large fillets with firm texture that cook up bright white. The raw meat is white with pinkish hues and skinless, looks an awful lot like Grouper. With larger fillets you can cut very nice thick boneless steaks and because it is rather mild in flavor it does cater to many sorts of preparations. However, it is not uncommon to see Tilefish on Sashimi menus because its mild sweet flavor is appreciated well when raw and the shellfish nuances are captured best this way. With firm fillets, it becomes a very good candidate for grilling or pan roasting.