12 Sit-Down Chain Restaurants Serving Up High-Quality Fish Sandwiches

Sit-down seafood restaurants can sometimes be expensive and misleading, with the cost and identification of some items not being straightforward. After all, what other type of restaurant hides what items on the menu cost behind a term like "market price," making it even harder to figure out how much you're going to pay for your ocean-based meal? And, it doesn't help that restaurants can list the same fish under different names, like labeling the Patagonian toothfish as perhaps the more palatable-sounding Chilean sea bass. Oftentimes, it's enough to make you wish for something quick and simple — like a fish sandwich.

Luckily, many sit-down restaurants — even particularly fancy ones — offer fish sandwiches, often on lunch menus. This makes sense, as fish sandwiches are a quick and simple comfort food that can be handy, especially when you might only have a short time to eat. And as it should be cooked to order with fresh ingredients, you can be reasonably sure that your sandwich is going to be somewhat better than one you might get at a fast food place. (Although, admittedly, some serve good fish sandwiches, and, there is a difference between fast food chains that serve the highest and lowest quality fish sandwiches.)  

To help you figure out where you can get the best, here are some notable sit-down restaurants that offer high-quality fish sandwiches. 

King's Fish House is a West Coast fish restaurant with locations in California, Nevada, and Arizona. Presenting itself as a "quintessential American fish house," the chain offers seasonal catches and live shellfish, and boasts building 80 years of relationships with local fishermen and lobstermen. The chain's fish is sourced through its own fresh fish distributor, King's Seafood Company, which guarantees that the highest quality seafood is coming into its restaurants.

You can witness that commitment to quality food in King's Blackened Wild Ono sandwich. While many other chains would be satisfied with serving regular cod filets, King's offers ono, also known as wahoo, a tropical fish known for its firm, white meat. King's Fish Company sources the ono from Tahiti and Hawaii, where it's caught wild. The sandwich is served on a potato bun with cilantro, cabbage slaw, pickled onion, and remoulade. It's garnered some attention online, with one Yelp reviewer describing it as having a "nice thick piece of fish and really good flavor," although, they did add that they tasted more pickled onion than fish. But even with that complaint, that review sounds like more of a "wahoo!" than an an "oh, no!"

California Fish Grill is a chain known for its selection of grilled fish like Atlantic salmon or swai, a type of freshwater catfish from Southeast Asia which is different from the types of fish fast food chains typically use in sandwiches. This chain places an emphasis on offering sustainable seafood, with a mix of wild-caught and farm-raised options, typically served on bowls of rice or salads. And the effect is a menu filled with light, fresh dishes, many with low carbs and high protein.  

But there's also California Fish Grill's Crispy Fish Sandwich, which is a battered and deep-fried fish fillet — not the grilled fish offered in most of its other dishes. And while it doesn't advertise the type of fish it uses in that sandwich (well, apart from identifying it as "crispy"), we're betting it's swai, as it's the kind of fish used in Crispy Fish Grill's battered fish and chips entree. It's a great choice for a sandwich, and even better when the sandwich is served with mixed greens, pickled onion, and tartar sauce on a grilled bun. (See, it had to get the grill in there somewhere!) 

Online reviewers have plenty of praise for this sandwich, with one Yelper commenting that it was "very large ... had an excellent batter, wasn't too greasy, and the sauces gave it enough flavor and kick to make it memorable."

If you're not familiar with Frisch's Big Boy, it's a regional Midwest chain that was originally part of the Bob's Big Boy chain, the fast food franchise the late David Lynch loved. That is, until Bob's Big Boy went bankrupt in 2000, and Frisch's officially became their own separate company — with a very familiar logo. (The rest of the chain was purchased by a private equity firm and has begun expanding into new franchise locations.) 

Like its original namesake, Frisch's Big Boy focuses on diner-style comfort food, with a menu that boasts a wide range of burgers, chicken sandwiches and breakfast platters. But one of its most popular items is the Alaskan Cod Sandwich, which has been on the Frisch's menu since 1947. This one features two pieces of crispy hand-breaded whitefish, along with a slice of American cheese and tartar sauce. What's particularly impressive about this sandwich is its size, as the two cod fillets are pretty hefty, with an impressive 26 grams of protein for each sandwich.  But what might be even more impressive is the chain's commitment to serving quality fish, as those cod fillets are made from sustainably sourced Alaskan cod.

Billing themselves as offering "Gourmet Burgers and Brews," the Red Robin chain also offers a wide range of various chicken, bacon, and fish sandwiches. And as you might have guessed from its inclusion on this list, one of those offerings is a sandwich with the simple name of Crispy Fish Sandwich. It includes hand-battered crispy whitefish with tartar sauce, pickles, and shredded cabbage on a brioche bun. And what it lacks in originality in name (although, it definitely isn't the only Crispy Fish Sandwich on this list), it makes up for in a sizable portion of deliciously fried fish. 

What sets this sandwich apart from the rest of this list? Well, the chain uses premium, U.S. Grade A, ocean-caught cod from the Arctic, which is hand-battered in the restaurant, and made to order. Oh, and it also comes with an order of Red Robin's unlimited french fries, which can be hard to turn down.

Legal Sea Foods is a New England-based seafood chain that boasts the motto, "If it isn't fresh, it isn't legal." And that freshness comes from its emphasis on using local-catch seafood brought in by fishing fleets that range from Massachusetts Bay to the Gulf of Maine. The chain emphasizes that it only uses the best of these catches, cooked fresh in its restaurant's kitchens. And it's that dedication to quality and freshness that has propelled the chain to become one of the seafood chains with huge portions and quality to match. 

That dedication carries over to the restaurant's Beer-Battered Fish Sandwich, which features wild-caught whitefish covered in gluten-free beer batter. The company keeps the sandwich's presentation fairly simple, just covering the fillet with some lettuce, tomato, pickle, and plenty of tartar sauce. Now, the fish it uses changes from sandwich to sandwich depending on what's fresh and in season, but the choices are always high quality, with haddock and pollock sourced from the Gulf of Maine, while the cod comes from Iceland. Online reviews of the sandwich are positive, with one Yelper posting, "I thoroughly enjoyed my crispy fish sandwich today. Very big piece of haddock — white, flaky, fried perfectly, and tasted absolutely perfect."

A relative newcomer to the sit-down seafood market, Brown Bag Seafood Co. was founded in 2014, with a focus on providing fresh, unpretentious seafood dishes. (Hence, the "brown bag" in the name.) The chain also focuses on the freshness of its food, with the mission statement page of their website emphasizing their high-quality ingredients and fresh seafood, which is flown in daily. 

For Brown Bag's lunch menu, it offers a Blackened Fish Sandwich featuring whitefish covered in sando tartar sauce (a house-made sauce known for its tangy, herby goodness) and pickles on a grilled, buttered brioche bun. The sandwich is made from wild-caught Alaskan cod flown in to each store fresh daily, with all sources approved by the Monterey Bay Seafood Watch, which promotes sustainable fishing practices. This sandwich is one of the most popular items on their menu, with Yelpers calling it "perfect" and "delicious." Almost sounds too good to serve in a brown bag, right? 

If you want your fish sandwich with a healthy dose of Cajun spice, check out Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen, a New Orleans-themed chain that specializes in Creole-inspired dishes like blackened catfish and shrimp etouffee. 

As you might imagine, the fish sandwich here is a po'boy, the Louisiana staple that features a French roll stuffed with a filling like roast beef or fried shrimp, pickles and vegetables, and sometimes slathered with mayo or remoulade sauce. Pappadeaux's menu offers a catfish po'boy, made with a fresh hoagie roll stuffed with breaded and fried catfish, served with spicy remoulade and Cajun coleslaw. As for quality, the chain boasts that it uses only farm-raised catfish from Mississippi. And its kitchens use the whole fish, which is chilled and delivered to the restaurant, then filleted in-house to preserve the flavor. All this delivers a fresh, authentically Southern catfish experience, the kind you'd hope to get from a restaurant with an impossible-to-spell name like "Pappadeaux."

Slapfish, which dubs itself "A Modern Seafood Shack," is another chain that emphasizes the freshness of its menu. It's best known for its "boat-to-plate" system (its version of "farm-to-table"), which focuses on using sustainable, seasonally available fish for its menu. To do this, it partnered with sustainable fish supplier Sea To Table to ensure the sourcing of its seafood options, with all fish either flown in fresh, or processed and flash-frozen without antibiotics or hormones. 

This seafood chain offers its Reel Fish Sandwich, which features an impressively sized fish fillet, served either grilled or crispy, on a brioche bun. Oh, and that bun is packed with lettuce, tomato, and pickled onion, then slathered with a combination of Awesome Sauce (a tangy, mayo-based sauce) and Jersey Sauce (a creamy, ranch-like sauce). All of this combines to create a really tasty fish sandwich that's a little fancier than you might expect to find in a "shack." And customers seem to agree, as one Yelper complimented the sandwich, pointing out that it had a "nice soft bun and a good size of flaky fish," while another wrote, "Best fish sandwich I have ever had in my life!!!! It was perfect. The fish was so crispy and perfectly cooked and HUGE!!!" Sounds like they found it "reel"-ly impressive.

Bonefish Grill is a casual seafood chain run by Bloomin' Brands, the company behind Outback Steakhouse. As you might imagine from the name, the menu features many grilled seafood options, with a focus on seasonal fish cooked over a wood-burning grill. Although, it also has its share of fried fare, including its signature, now-iconic Bang Bang Shrimp, a crispy breaded shrimp dish served with a house-made spicy sauce.

In fact, the chain is so proud of its ingredients that it offers "angler service," white-coated advisors that steer guests toward their ideal fish choices, kind of like sommeliers of the sea. And one option those anglers might convince you to try is the Off the Hook fish sandwich which offers blackened, grilled, or fried whitefish, served on a toasted bun with lettuce, tomato, pickled onions, and a signature sauce. Online reviewers have praised the sandwich's size, with one person on Tripadvisor commenting in particular on its "generous portion" and "reasonable price."

Ivar's is a chain of seafood restaurants throughout the Pacific Northwest that includes 18 fast casual seafood bars, and three slightly fancier waterfront locations, including Ivar's Acres of Clams, Ivar's Salmon House, and Ivar's Mukilteo Landing. But what every Ivar's restaurant shares is a common commitment to quality, sustainable seafood, with a menu that features wild-caught fish from the Pacific Northwest, up through Alaska. By focusing on locally caught fish, it can ensure that its menu is full of fresh, tasty seafood that didn't have to travel thousands of miles to arrive in its kitchen. And it sure seems like its formula is working, as we place Ivar's fish and chips as one of the best restaurant chain fried fish dishes. 

Another example of that working formula is its seafood bar's cod fish sandwich, which is made with wild Alaska true cod, also known as Pacific cod. The fillets are coated in panko breading and topped with lettuce, tomato, and tartar sauce on a King's Hawaiian bun. It's a tasty combination that one Yelper simply described as "crispy and cooked to perfection." 

Lure Fish House is a family-owned seafood chain that advertises itself as serving locally caught, sustainable seafood.  With locations in California and Arizona, the Lure's website promises that it serves only the "highest-quality wild-caught and responsibly farmed seafood, sourced from MSC-certified fisheries and ASC-recognized farms." (Those acronyms refer to the Marine Stewardship Council, a nonprofit organization that monitors wild-caught seafood to ensure it's environmentally sustainable, and the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, a different organization that sets standards for farmed seafood or "aquaculture.") 

And those standards apply to the chain's crispy fish sandwich as well, which features wild-caught Alaskan cod covered with white cheddar, onions, pickles, and tomato — and served with house-made pineapple coleslaw. And while you might not expect white cheddar to pair well with pineapple coleslaw (perhaps you've never even heard of pineapple coleslaw), it's a combination that one Yelp reviewer described as "incredibly fresh and flavorful," adding that the sandwich was also "fried to perfection."

Ocean Prime is a chain of supper club-style restaurants that serves seafood and steaks in an upscale, possibly even "swanky," atmosphere. It's also the most expensive option on this list, with the Beverly Hills branch offering items like a $43 Lobster Roll. In fact, it's pricey enough that we've included it on a list of the most expensive seafood restaurants in the U.S. Doesn't sound like the type of place you'd find a fish sandwich, right?

Actually, you can find Ocean Prime's fish sandwich on its lunch menu: Made with blackened whitefish topped with Tillamook cheddar cheese, jalapeno cabbage slaw, and tartar sauce, and served on a toasted brioche bun.

What puts this on the top of the list? Well, it's mainly Ocean Prime's policy of using premium quality fish that's flown in daily to all of their restaurants, which guarantees that you won't be getting any frozen, off-cut fillets on your sandwich. Yeah, that sounds pretty "swanky." And the online reviews definitely agree, with one Yelp reviewer calling it "the best fish sandwich of my life!" adding, "I'd sell my soul for this fish sandwich!" It's certainly hard to argue with that many exclamation marks!

For this list of the best fish sandwiches you can find at sit-down chain restaurants, we considered quality of ingredients, for example, selecting chains who used fresh fish over frozen filets. We also favored restaurants that promoted sustainability, choosing fish purveyors who don't practice over-fishing or exhaust local habitats. And finally, we factored in online reviews, weighing online praise and comments for each sandwich.