15 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

VIDEO: Best of the City trawls Victoria in search of the best fish & chips

 

Pair of reporters visits six Greater Victoria restaurants in search of the best battered bites

 

 

 

https://www.vicnews....h-chips-8128737

 

 

 

 

 

They declared Sidney's Fish O Chips the winner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fish O Chips - Sidney (10153 Resthaven Dr.)

 

The first spot did not disappoint. The service was great and fast, and the portion arguably had the biggest piece of fish in this review gauntlet.

 

Speaking of which, the fish was just the right thickness, was light, well-cooked, firm, and incredibly flaky.

 

The batter was perfectly crispy and golden brown, with beautiful crunchy bits. Although it lacked a bit of saltiness – after all, it's always better to be under-salted than over-salted – it made up for it in flavour and texture.

 

The chips, according to Ben, were the closest to the “real” thing. Thicker than your original french fries, the outside was golden brown, and the inside was soft and fulsome. However, the chips at the bottom of the dish became a bit too soggy for our liking – perhaps because of the steam generated by the dish's heat. 

 

This British classic was served with a good portion of coleslaw and a small portion of tartar sauce. Although the portion was on the small side, the tartar sauce was full-bodied, sweet, tangy and well balanced. 

 

The price for this order was $22, which isn’t cheap nor too expensive. 

 

Overall, Fish O Chips starts off as a contender to be reckoned with.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 31 July 2025 - 04:33 AM.

[Blair M.]

Picking up fish-n-chips from Finest at Sea (my personal favorite) with my daughter and driving down to Dallas Road to sit on my tail-gate and look out over the Straight while enjoying the meal - is one of the things that makes living here as almost as good (if not as good) as it gets.

 

I just have to occasionally remind my jaded self that the issues that tend to plague our region have everything to do with bad politics - and nothing to do with geography, or the good people of our fair city.

Edited by Blair M., 31 July 2025 - 07:22 AM.

[amor de cosmos]

i usually get it from naughty nellie's since it's closest but it's good at red fish blue fish also. supposedly bc's biggest seafood export is Hake which is in the same family as cod & haddock, and which i've always wanted to try. i don't know what the price would be but i can't imagine it could be more expensive than halibut. the wiki article shows a battered version in spain so i suppose it could work.

Edited by amor de cosmos, 31 July 2025 - 07:39 AM.

[amor de cosmos]

chippies are becoming more expensive in the UK also. this guardian report says half of them are facing closure: https://www.youtube....h?v=UhtCkbKDnTk

[aastra]

Oak Bay Seafood has been our fish-and-chips spot for a while now. 

[Wayne]

We went to Fish O Chips yesteday.  Thought they were very good.

[Bambam]

I have two go-to fish 'n chip joints locally; if I'm anywhere near the harbour its Red Fish Blue Fish; I don't care if there is a lineup that place never disappoints.

 

We went to Barb's in June(ish) and it was very average at best. Its really gone down hill in the last year or so IMO to the point we likely won't go back. Not for those prices.

 

My second choice is the Marble Arch greasy spoon just down from Tillicum Mall. Better known for its Chinese/combo dishes all the fare is always hot, right out of the deep fryers, greasy, very tasty and for two large pieces of halibut and a plateful of fries I'd be very surprised if anyone in town can beat the $21.99 price. 

[Sparky]

^ Their Shrimp Egg Foo Young is the best on the planet.

[amor de cosmos]

iirc they save their trim from the fish & serve it as a special once a week

[Matt R.]

Me and Marble Arch (no not that one) are like nickles and dimes - we go way back. So good, hot and fresh.

[Matt R.]

iirc they save their trim from the fish & serve it as a special once a week

Other restaurants call this “chowder”. Fancy ones make a cioppino or bouillabaisse. Maybe fish cakes.

[amor de cosmos]

marble arch just fish-&-chips it, 6 pieces for cheap, but they're small pieces

[Bambam]

Me and Marble Arch (no not that one) are like nickles and dimes - we go way back. So good, hot and fresh.

 

Oh I've eaten at that Marble Arch too.....

[LJ]

Oh I've eaten at that Marble Arch too.....

What red blooded Canadian boy hasn't?

[Bambam]

Did you sample the wares in the 70's/early 80's when it was infinitely more interesting than the bland whitewashed incarnation of the pub-hotel that emerged after the turn of the century? Those were the days .

 

If you did do you remember the red terrycloth covers attached to the tables with elastics on the bottom? Drug dealers used the tablecloths to stash their stuff; the cops figured that gag out pretty quickly and routinely checked underneath them for stashes of coke, pot, and hash which was particularly popular at that time.

 

Draft beer was the way, the truth, and the light at the Marble Arch in those days. There was one waiter named 'Rod' who had massive arms, one of which had a tattoo of dice and the words “Don’t Gamble.” If someone asked Rod for a bottle of beer, he would invariably say, “The gay bar is on Granville Street feel free to show yourself out.” He was a big guy; after someone was stabbed to death roughly in 1981 or 82, he shrugged when I asked him and said, “.....Its always quiet in here after a killing but it'll pick up in a day or so”. 

Edited by Bambam, 15 August 2025 - 09:52 PM.

[LJ]

It was definitely in the 70's.

 

I liked those terrycloth covers, you could spill a whole beer and not get a drop on you.

 

Smokes might get wet though.