Seattle Eastside - good fish and chips?

Everything else
1

I need help, and I know there are a good number of Seattle and Eastside residents around here, so here it goes.

Ever since moving here two years ago, my husband and I have been on a quest for decent fish and chips here on the Eastside. The usual review sites (Yelp and Urban Spoon) have not been terribly helpful for us, because what we have found is that all the places that people are raving about as “the best fish and chips around” have been perfectly dreadful in our experience.

One example is Spuds Fish and Chips in Juanita/Kirkland. Most of the reviews I’ve seen say that they’re the best around, except when we tried it, what we got was a bit of overpriced shoe leather with breading on it. We even gave it a second chance, hoping maybe they had an off day, but no, it was exactly the same.

Example number two was hearing good things about the fish and chips at Broiler Bay in Bellevue… Broiler Bay is basically a greasy spoon specializing in burgers, so we thought maybe they’d have decent fish and chips. We were disappointed to find that they were apparently frozen processed fish sticks.

Anyway, keeping in mind that my husband is English, and I am from New England, I’m starting to think that maybe we have a very different idea of what constitutes “good” fish and chips. What we’d like is a nice bit of cod, flaky but not slimy, in a nice batter, not bread crumbs. I think we can live with halibut, since that seems to be very commonly used in fish and chips in this area.

So we currently live in Bellevue, having moved here from Kirkland a few months ago. Ideally I’d love to hear about some gem on this side of Lake Washington that we’ve somehow missed, though I don’t mind hearing about the good places in Seattle proper for future reference.

Help us QT3! Help us stop eating bad fish!

2

My favorite fish and chips is Duke’s, personally, but I don’t know if there is one on the east side. If not, it’s a short jump over the bridge to Lake Union.

3

Yeah you’re probably going to end up dissappointed. But, that said - I enjoy the Fish and Chips at McCormick and Schmick (downtown Bellevue) when they have them on the menu.

If you’re willing to go a bit outside your requirements, Rockbottom (again downtown Bellevue) has good Salmon Fish and Chips.

I’m not a fish and chips conniseur, so my suggestions may be useless.

4

I’m vegan, so I only know this secondhand, but my brother loves the fish and chips at The British Pantry.

5

Been to the Three Lion’s Pub (connected to The British Pantry) a few times and the atmosphere during soccer games is great. Not sure how good their Fish and Chips rank against what you’re used to. We usually pick up some pastries from the pantry after our meal to take back.

6

Spud Fish and Chips in Kirkland. Divey, but tasty.

7

No love for Ivar’s?

8

Ivar’s is probably the best you can do on the east side, and it’s mediocre. If you want something other than euroasiafusiayuppie, chinese, or indian you’re shit out of luck.

What you should do is cross the bridge and try out Quinn’s. One night it was the best fish and chips of my entire life; another it was just ok. I suspect fryer oil shenanigans.

9

I miss Ivar’s clam chowder.

10

Seriously, you don’t like halibut! That’s really just trolling isn’t it?

11

Thanks everyone for the suggestions so far. This has been helpful. :)

If you’re willing to go a bit outside your requirements, Rockbottom (again downtown Bellevue) has good Salmon Fish and Chips.

We do enjoy Rock Bottom’s food, and while I’m sure the Salmon and Chips is good, this is just a bit too much “outside the box” for us.

I’m vegan, so I only know this secondhand, but my brother loves the fish and chips at The British Pantry.

Been to the Three Lion’s Pub (connected to The British Pantry) a few times and the atmosphere during soccer games is great. Not sure how good their Fish and Chips rank against what you’re used to. We usually pick up some pastries from the pantry after our meal to take back.

These are great suggestions, and in fact, I’ve been meaning to try the Fish and Chips from the British Pantry for awhile. I make a trip over there about once a month because we love their Lancashire Pasties, Pork Pies and Sausage Rolls, as well as being able to stock up on a lot of the British candies and foods that my husband misses from home. We just haven’t managed to go to the actual restaurant for dinner yet.

Spud Fish and Chips in Kirkland. Divey, but tasty.

You must have missed the part of my original post where I said we found Spuds to be perfectly dreadful. ;) It’s just not at all what we’re used to I guess.

No love for Ivar’s?

Ivar’s is probably the best you can do on the east side, and it’s mediocre.

We haven’t been to Ivar’s, though I’ve been by the one in Bellevue that’s near Crossroads, and it’s not terribly inconvenient to where we’re living now. I’ve had their prepackaged Clam Chowder from the supermarket and it’s pretty good… we’ll definitely have to stop by and try their fish and chips at least once.

Seriously, you don’t like halibut! That’s really just trolling isn’t it?

Lol, well, it’s not that we don’t like halibut, it’s just that we’d prefer cod. :)

I do appreciate the other suggestions given, and we’ll definitely give them a try. Certainly a short ride over the 520 bridge is not too out of the way if we can find some really nice Fish and Chips.

Thanks again!

12

And you must have missed the part of my post where I said it was good.

13

I tried these guys a number of months ago (avoid the calamari) and they are really good:

http://www.pikestreetfishfry.com/

They have a number of awesome dipping sauces too. As a fan of Spud’s, you should give Pike St. a try.

14

Not Eastside (sorry), but down in Des Moines (WA, not IA) is Wally’s

All you can eat fish and chips that seems pretty good to me, but I’m not a Brit hankering for the taste of home. I’m also pretty happy with the much-closer-to-me-in-west-Seattle Spud.

15

That sounds awesome. We have precisely one chippy here, and they’re way overpriced, especially for a rebranded, newly-independent Blimpie.