The restaurants for the best fish & chips in Vancouver are the ones that have been making this dish for quite some time. There are so many variables that come into play with fish & chips around the city and I have done my best to outline those for you. Some will wrap your take-out in eco containers or newspaper, others will serve it to you on a plate and presentation does count too. Most serve salmon, halibut and cod, some serve coleslaw as an accompaniment with the dish, most serve tartar and all of them will tell you they have the best chips in the city.

So where and how do I begin, over the past 4 weeks I have ate my way through a multitude of dishes all over  Vancouver, Richmond and West Vancouver to the places that either were faved by readers alike or were on my must visit list. I didn’t just taste the dish I ate the whole dish, if I didn’t finish the dish (there were a couple) it meant that I didn’t care for the dish.

You can’t just judge the fish or fries alone, there is a reason the dish is called Fish & Chips. On this quest I focussed on the Traditional British style although some have a bit of a Westcoast influence, since this is British Columbia after-all. I found battered fish that was made with either beer or soda in the batter, some of the fish was panko breaded, some were greasy, some of the places had the most delicious fries and some had no flavour, I had thick cut and regular sized and round, salted and unsalted, hand-cut and machine cut .

Note:  The prices indicated exclude tax.

In ranking order, these are my favourite Fish & Chips in and around Vancouver.

Note: The following first four places tied at 1st place as they were equally the Best.

(1) Fish Cafe (4 way tied for 1st place)

Fish Cafe

One the Plate: Fish & Chips – 2 large pieces of halibut, fries, tartar sauce and ketchup with lemon wedges.

The halibut was very good, the battered coating was golden in appearance and tasted really good.  The fries were perfectly done and tasted great, Tartar sauce was good and chunky. In the batter well it is a secret I am told.

Presentation: served on a newspaper type of paper on a frying pan

Ocean Wise: Yes

Served with: White and Malt Vinegar

$ 18.95 Halibut Fish & Chips

$ 14.95 Salmon Fish & Chips

Fish Café is located at 2053 West 41^st Avenue in Vancouver.

(2) Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop House (4 way tied for 1st place)

Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop House

On the Plate: Halibut & Chips : 1 piece of halibut, fries, tartar sauce and ketchup with lemon wedges.

The halibut was delicious, the battered coating was made with soda water, golden in appearance on the outside, crispy and tasted really good.  The fries were thickly cut, perfectly done and tasted great, the coleslaw was nice and light, tartar sauce was a tad too smooth for my liking though tasted good.

$24.95 Halibut & Chips

Presentation: served on a newspaper type of paper on a plate.

Served with: Malt Vinegar

Ocean Wise: Yes

Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop House is at 777 Thurlow Street in Vancouver.

(3) Coast Restaurant (4 way tied for 1st place)

Coast Restaurant

On the Plate: Fish & Chips – 1 piece of salmon, halibut and cod along with fries, coleslaw and tartar sauce and ketchup with a wrapped lemon to squeeze.

My favourite was the Salmon which was moist and flavourful, the battered coating was lightly salted, golden in appearance and tasted really good. Second favourite was the Halibut which was perfectly cooked and flavourful and lastly was the cod. The fries were perfectly done and tasted great, the coleslaw was also very good. Tartar sauce was good and chunky. Their batter is made with lager from Hells Gate and they also use a mix of all purpose and a light rice flour as the base for it.

$ 19.95     Halibut Fish & Chips

$ 18.95     Salmon Fish & Chips

$ 17.95     Cod Fish & Chips

Presentation: served on black and white checkered paper on a plate

Ocean Wise: Yes

Served with: White and Malt Vinegar

Coast Restaurant  is located 1054 Alberni Street in Vancouver

(4) Go Fish (4 way tied for 1st place)

Go Fish

On the Plate: 1 piece of halibut, fries, pacific rim coleslaw, tarragon tartar sauce and lemon wedge

I tried all of the fish options and my favourite was the Salmon which was moist and full of flavour on the inside, then the Halibut and lastly the cod. The battered coating is made with Red Truck Lager to give it a clean and delicious taste, golden brown in appearance, the coleslaw was the best that I have had anywhere and the tarragon tartar sauce was wonderous.

$13 Halibut Fish & Chips

$10 Salmon fish & chips

$9 Cod Fish & Chips

Presentation: served on a plate

Ocean Wise: Yes

Served with:  Malt Vinegar on request

Go Fish is located at 1521 West Broadway, in Vancouver.

(5) Raincity Grill   (2nd place)

Raincity Grill

In the Takeout Container: Halibut Fish & Chips – 2 pieces of halibut + 1 extra piece with fries and greens.

The halibut with a the battered coating which was made with Lighthouse Lager was lightly sea salted, golden in appearance and tasted really good. Served with fries that were a bit too salty (also with sea salt) and greens with eco wooden utensils.

$10  Halibut Fish & Chips

Presentation: Fully bio degradable containers and cutlery

Ocean Wise: Yes

Served with:  White & Malt Vinegar packages to go

Raincity Grill is located at 1193 Denman Street in Vancouver

(6) Dundarave Fish Market (3rd place)

Dundarave Fish Market

On the Plate: 1 piece of halibut, fries, sassy sesame coleslaw, round sand dollar fries, tartar sauce, baja sauce and lemon wedge

The halibut was moist on the inside with a really good battered coating that is made with soda and a secret recipe, golden brown in appearance, the sand dollar fries were thin and not greasy, lightly seasoned, the sassy sesame coleslaw was very good, the two sauces worked well from the classic tartar sauce to the baja sauce.

$14.95 Halibut Fish & Chips

Presentation: served on a large oval plate

Ocean Wise: n/a

Served with:  White & Malt Vinegar

Dundarave Fish Market is located at 2423 Marine Drive in West Vancouver.

(7) Dockside Restaurant (4th place)

Dockside Restaurant

Fish & Chips – 2 large pieces of halibut, fries, sweet and sour tartar sauce, and ketchup

The halibut was very good, the battered coating was golden in appearance and tasted really good.  The fish was a bit too greasy. The fries were perfectly done and tasted great, Tartar sauce was good and chunky.

$16 Pilsner Battered Halibut Fish & Chips

Presentation: fish and condiments served on a plate, fries served in a bowl

Ocean Wise: Yes

Served with:  Malt Vinegar on the table

Dockside is located at 1253 Johnston Street (Granville Island) in Vancouver.

(8) Pajo’s Fish & Chips (5th place)

Pajos Fish & Chips

Fish & Chips – 1 piece of salmon, halibut and cod along with fries.

tartar sauce and ketchup

Favourite was the Halibut which was moist and flavourful, the battered coating golden in appearance and tasted really good. Second favourite was the Salmon which was perfectly cooked and lastly was the cod. The handcut  fries looked ok but had no flavour, made with no salt.

$14.99     Fish & Chips with 1 piece of Halibut, Salmon and Cod

$1.59         Coleslaw – chopped up served as a side dish

Presentation: served in a paper cone.

Ocean Wise: No

Served with:  White & Malt Vinegar on the table

Pajo’s at the Wharf, Steveston 604-272-1588

Pajo’s at Garry Point, Steveston 604-204-0767

Pajo’s at Rocky Point, Port Moody 604-469-2289

Pajo’s at Gates Park, Port Coquitlam 604-461-5527

(9) Fresh Local Wild (6th place)

Fresh Local Wild

Fish & Chips – 2 large pieces of salmon, fries, tartar sauce

The salmon was very good, the light tempura  coating was very light in appearance and tasted really good.  The fries were awesome and tasted great, Tartar sauce was good

$12 for Salmon Fish & Chips

Presentation: fish and fries served in plastic basket with tartar sauce dolloped on top.

Ocean Wise: Yes

Fresh Local Wild is a Food Truck located at the corner of Hastings and Burrard most of the time. Follow them on Twitter @freshlocalwild for hours.

(10) The Fish House   (7th place)

Fish House

Fish & Chips – 2  pieces of Haddock, fries, tartar sauce

The haddock was not too my liking, the batter coating was crispy and made with the Red Truck Ale, was golden in appearance and tasted really good.  The fries weren’t all that tasty, Tartar sauce with Old Bay was good.

$17.95 for Fresh Haddock Fish and Chips

Presentation: fish and condiments served on a plate, fries served in a bowl

Ocean Wise: Yes

The Fish House is located at 8901 Stanley Park Drive in Vancouver.

Note: I know there are more restaurants around the Vancouver area that have Fish & Chips and I was unable to get to all of them on this quest.

Which Fish & Chips are your favourite from a restaurant around Vancouver or in the suburbs?

Feel free to add your comment here and name the place and their location, the cost of each excluding tax and why you think they are the best!

By: Richard Wolak