fish and chips – Michael Eats

An Enjoyable Sandwich at Henry’s Fish & Chips

Published on November 12, 2024November 12, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 833 Westlock Road, Mississauga
Website: https://www.facebook.com/p/Henrys-Fish-Chips-100070019051515/

I’ll admit that I mostly wanted to try Henry’s Fish & Chips because I was driving by and thought, hey, that looks delightfully old-school. And yeah: it is indeed delightfully old-school. The place has been around since 1987; if you’ve been kicking around for that many decades, clearly, you’re doing something right.

Also delightfully old-school: the prices. I got the cod on a bun, which came up to about nine bucks for a fairy substantial sandwich. The chips start at about two bucks, and the small coleslaw cost 66 cents. And if you’re really looking for a deal, one of the fish options is basa — you can get basa, chips, and a can of soda for just under seven bucks.

And the fish is quite good, though I’d definitely order the classic fish and chips over the sandwich next time; the bread is a bit too crusty and substantial, and the fish is so tasty that it just isn’t necessary.

Everything is fried to order, and the fish was nice and flaky and had a crispy, but — and this is key — not overly substantial exterior.

The fries were quite good too, with a great crispy/creamy balance. I saw a few other people ordering the poutine, and yeah, I’m sure that’s tasty.

I should note that the place is pretty tiny inside, with just a couple of small counters if you want to eat in.

Tasty Fried Goodness at Len Duckworth’s Fish & Chips

Published on June 18, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 2638 Danforth Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://lenduckworthfishandchips.ca/

Whenever I see that a restaurant has been around for decades, my first thought is, “well, they must be doing something right.” Len Duckworth’s Fish & Chips has been around since 1929 (!), and yeah, they’re clearly doing something right.

Even setting aside the quality (which is quite high), if you come at lunch, you can get a fantastic deal: a four ounce piece of haddock, fries, and a drink, all for a delightfully affordable $8.50.

I’m not sure if you get a good sense of scale from that picture (I think the big, chunky fries make the piece of fish look smaller than it is), but it was actually a decent size.

And it was really, really tasty. My problem with a lot of fish and chips in the city is that they go a bit overboard with the batter, with a thick, overly crunchy layer that completely overwhelms the delicate fish. That’s absolutely not the case here, with batter that’s thick enough to give you a satisfying crispiness, but thin enough to let the fish be the star of the show.

And the fries were just what you want them to be, with a crispy exterior and perfectly creamy interior.

The fish was slightly on the dry side (potentially because the lunch piece is smaller than the standard), but this was otherwise a stellar plate of fish and chips. Bonus: the zippy tartar sauce is quite tasty, and they give you a whole bottle of it instead of the stingy little cup that a lot of places offer. As someone who likes to dip his fries as well as the fish into the tartar sauce, this was appreciated.

A Delicious Fried Fish Sandwich at Sea Witch

Published on October 30, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 636 St. Clair Avenue West, Toronto
Website: http://www.seawitchfc.com/

Taking the fish from a plate of fish and chips and serving it in a sandwich is such an obvious idea that I’m shocked it isn’t more common. And if Sea Witch is anything to go by, it totally works.

You can get the pickerel sandwich either with or without chips; it’s $15 with, and $13 without, so obviously you need to get the chips (it is, however, a massive amount of food, so bring your appetite).

It’s quite tasty. The sandwich easily could have been too rich, but they wisely pile on a whole bunch of zingy pickled onions, not to mention a generous amount of tangy tartar sauce. This balances things out quite nicely. The hearty ciabatta holds together well, and proves to be an ideal vehicle for the hearty sandwich.

As for the fish itself, it’s good, though it’s not outstanding — the batter is slightly too substantial, and the fish is a bit overcooked and dry. Still, with all of the other stuff going on, it works just fine.

The fries are the highlight. They’re crispy, creamy, and substantial; they’re basically the perfect fish and chips chips.

Halibut House Fish & Chips

Published on August 1, 2019 by Michael Nusair1 Comment

Location: 2814 Lake Shore Boulevard West, Etobicoke
Website: https://www.halibuthouse.ca/

Halibut House is a fish and chips chain with over 20 locations around the GTA, though I didn’t even know it existed until very recently.

I don’t think it’s going to blow anyone’s mind, but if you’re looking for a tasty plate of fish and chips, you could do a lot worse.

It’s also a decent deal. You can get a half plate for about eleven bucks, which comes with a piece of halibut (of course), fries, and coleslaw. The fish is on the smaller side, but the pile of fries is generous enough that it’s pretty much guaranteed to fill you up.

The fish itself is a bit overcooked (it was quite dry), but the flavour was nice, and the batter was just right. A lot of places tend to overwhelm the fish with a thick, overly-crunchy coating, but the batter here was nice and crispy while still allowing the fish to be the star of the show.

The fries are the highlight. They’re crispy, creamy, and very tasty. The coleslaw is a bit bland, but it’s fine, and the tartar sauce is creamy and zesty (if a bit overly oniony). It’s a solid plate of fish and chips.

Fish and Chips at McDonald’s

Published on June 14, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 25 The West Mall, Etobicoke
Website: https://www.mcdonalds.com/ca/en-ca.html

I just posted about the Nanaimo Bar McFlurry, which is part of McDonald’s soon-to-end (on the 17th) Great Canadian Tastes promotion. And now I’ve tried the other item in that menu, Fish and Chips. Because of course I did. What did you think, that McDonald’s was going to introduce fish and chips and I wasn’t going to try it?? Get out of here.

It’s fine, I guess. When I first heard about it, I assumed they were just going to throw a Filet-O-Fish patty on some fries and call it a day, but this isn’t that.

The meal comes with two pieces of fried haddock that basically taste like any number of middle-of-the-road frozen fish filets you can get at the supermarket (it’s not reconstituted fish pieces, so it’s got that going for it).

They’re nice and crispy, and when I had them at least, they were freshly fried — but they definitely have that distinctive processed flavour that lets you know they were made in a big factory many miles away and then frozen.

The fish itself was dry, but it could have been worse. Like I said, it was fine. Not great, but perfectly edible.

The meal comes with a little tub of tartar sauce, which is zippy and surprisingly oniony. I wasn’t crazy about that (raw onions are the worst; why everyone thinks they’re acceptable to eat is a complete mystery to me), but it was definitely a bit more interesting than you’d expect.