The Battered Fish

Where: The Battered Fish, Scotia Square Food Court, 1999 Market Street, Halifax, NS
When: Friday, March 11, 2011
What: Two piece fish and chips, $8.49+tax

This review sort of has a long story behind it. Last September I bought two vouchers from the coupon website Steal The Deal to use at The Battered Fish, Bedford Highway location. The deal was for $10 worth of food for only $5, so kind of like a two for one. I bought two vouchers thinking I could use one for myself and give one to a friend. I didn't get to use them right away, but unfortunately by the time I did plan to use them the Bedford Highway location had shut down for the season.

I didn't know what to do and was annoyed with myself for waiting too long. I left a message on The Battered Fish Facebook group but figured I was probably out the $10 and didn't think I'd get to use my vouchers. Well apparently they did respond to my Facebook message but I didn't get any notification. In February I got a message from the owner who said he'd be happy to take my vouchers at their new location in Scotia Square. Super awesome!

This past Friday my friend Tina picked me up and we went to the Scotia Square food court to get our fish and chips. This new location opened in February and it wasn't busy when we arrived late afternoon. There was a bit of confusion at first when I handed over my vouchers, but they had no problem honouring them. We could each get $10 worth of any food we wanted, but we both ordered a two piece fish and chips.

While waiting I took a look at the various condiments they had on the counter. There were two mustard and ketchup dispensers which is great because I love getting my ketchup in those little paper cups. On the counter were four different types of vinegar, salt and pepper, plus sea salt. When our food was ready we were offered tartar sauce and another type of secret sauce. You could also get a variety of beverages from fountain pop to drinks in glass bottles, including Propeller soda.

Our fish and chips came in a box with red and white checked wax paper. At first I did like the presentation and it seemed like the boxes would be great for a meal on the go. I dug into my fries before trying out the fish. I had sprinkled sea salt on them but the salt didn't really stick like ordinary salt would. Maybe it would be better if they provided a smaller grind of sea salt (I know smaller sea salt exists because I've bought it). The fries were really good though; clearly hand cut in a shoe string style which I do like. They were hot, crispy and plenty of them.

The fish was another story. It looked good, but once I cut into it I saw otherwise. The batter was light and crispy in some parts, but it was very oily. This may have been because the box and wax paper didn't allow for absorption of the extra oil, so the fish was sitting in the oil. That is just my guess though. According to their website, the take out boxes are biodegradable. The inside of the fish was alright, without any of the doughy or gooey inside you sometimes get when there is too much batter. It was flaky and had a nice freshness to it, but overall I felt like the fish was just soggy.  My friend agreed with me that she found the fish soggy too.

I would be interested to hear if anyone else had the same problem with their fish being soggy. I had high hopes for The Battered Fish but was left with some disappointment. I would go back to try some of the other fried delights on the menu, but it will probably be a while before I try the fish and chips again.

If you would like to try The Battered Fish, keep an eye out this summer for their locations on the Halifax Waterfront (beside Beavertails), and at 766 Bedford Highway.

I give The Battered Fish 3 little fishies out of 5.