Where To Find Great Fish & Chips in Orlando

By Susan & Simon Veness

It shouldn’t surprise any of our visitors that Orlando is a place for great seafood. As much of Florida is surrounded by the sea, it stands to reason there is a constant supply of fresh fish and a huge variety of dishes to go with it. The likes of mahi-mahi, grouper, stone crab, lobster, scallops and oysters are on many a menu throughout the Sunshine State, and the concept of Boat to Table produce has been refined to the nth degree, with the nearest fishing harbour barely 50 miles away at Port Canaveral.

You will definitely find a few of the national chain restaurants that serve up a passable portion of fish and chips, notably the Miller’s Ale House group, Bonefish Grill and Joe’s Crab Shack. And there’s also a good spread to match most budgets, from the fine dining options of places like Ocean Prime, Eddie V’s, The Oceanaire and the superb Disney Springs offering of The Boathouse to the more modest menus of the British pub-style venues and genuine local specialities like The Catfish Place and Clermont Fish House.

The fish may vary, from the seemingly ubiquitous mahi-mahi to haddock, flounder, cod and even grouper, but you definitely won’t be short-changed for portion size, so don’t be afraid to ask for any leftovers “to go.” We’ve also tried to single out the restaurants who serve genuine British-style chips, as opposed to the American “fries.” With all that in mind, let’s introduce you to our Delightful Dozen, several of whom you will have already seen in our previous blog about the Best Tastes of Home, but who also offer equally impressive F&C:

Gordon Ramsey’s Fish & Chips: It took the famous celebrity chef until 2021 to arrive in Orlando, or indeed, anywhere in Florida, but he made sure it was worth the wait. While this is little more than just a counter service kiosk at ICON Park on International Drive, it still serves up mighty tasty helpings of classic cod-and-chips, with some razzle-dazzle in the form of its sauces and varieties of chips, plus lobster, shrimp and his signature Fishwich.

Bubba Gump’s Shrimp Co: The Universal CityWalk outlet of this big-name brand hasn’t quite got the right “chips” to go with its beer-battered cod (or, occasionally, pollock), but it features seriously generous platefuls, including Forrest’s Seafood Feast, a platter of F&C, shrimp, hush puppies, fries and coleslaw that will easily feed three people!

Yorkshire County Fish Shop, EPCOT: While things may seem a bit pricey in the Rose & Crown pub in Disney’s version of the UK, where the beer-battered cod-and-chips will set you back $32, the counter-service Fish Shop next door offers a much better-priced plate of F&C for just $14.49 that should satisfy most appetites, as well as being decent quality.

The Pub: While the name of this Pointe Orlando establishment is distinctly uninspired, its idea of a F&C platter is absolutely first class, and has received the Greene King Brewery award for the best of its kind in the US. The beer-battered haddock – and proper chips – tick all the boxes for us and makes for a highly satisfying lunch or dinner. The selection of 20-plus draft beers is good, too!

Best of British: We couldn’t pass up another opportunity to highlight the essential Britishness of this Clermont offering as it remains a beacon of pub style in the heart of villa territory. Crisp, beer-battered fish is twinned with proper, fat chips to ensure genuine authenticity, while there are options to add mushy peas, bread and butter and/or curry sauce. This is truly home-away-from-home cooking and hard to pass up.

Proper Pie Company: While this British-run shop in Haines City is as much about classic grocery shopping for their signature pies as it is in-house dining, this is still the place to come for authentic F&C. There is a choice of either cod or haddock in regular, medium or large portions (from $9.95 to $15.95) and it is all cooked to order. Extra options include Heinz baked beans, mushy peas, coleslaw, curry sauce and gravy.

The Catfish Place: When you’d like to sample the Floridian version of this classic dish, head for the family-owned Catfish Place in St Cloud, on Highway 192. This locals’ hangout has been going since 1973 and serves up big helpings of Southern-fried food, including their signature breaded and fried catfish, with chips, sorry, fries. Try them with fried green tomatoes and okra, or, if you’re feeling daring, gator nuggets and frogs legs!

The Friar Tuck: Back in purely British territory in Cagan Crossings, the pub-like Tuck is another to offer the classic duo, or “Legendary Fish & Chips” ($21.99) as they put it on their menu. This is more crisp-fried North Atlantic cod accompanied by the obligatory hand-cut chips and house-made tartar sauce (at no extra cost). Definitely a winning formula, and one that earns them consistently high ratings online.

Raglan Road: Our favourite Irish bar-restaurant is another to put their F&C dish in the spotlight. And this Disney Springs standout is determined to make the “Chips” part of the duo as pleasing as the “Fish,” with no-nonsense chunky pieces of deep-fried potato alongside the golden, crisp, beer-batter-fried haddock. Don’t want to wait? It’s also available for counter-service or takeaway at the neighbouring chippie, Cooke’s Of Dublin.

Seito Sushi: Here’s a major surprise in our Orlando F&C plaudits. Japanese rising star Seito Sushi (on Sand Lake Road and in Baldwin Park) offers a suitably Asian twist, building its classic dish with tempura-battered Pacific cod served with tosazu (vinegar-soy-dashi dipping sauce), mentaiko (pollock roe) aioli and aonori (green seaweed) fries. A real taste sensation and well worth trying for something different.

Clermont Fish House: Taking the more downhome route, this unpretentious diner in Clermont has all the British style you could want in a good plate of F&C. There are multiple fish dishes to choose from, including fish tacos and Mahi salad, with a choice of grouper, mahi, flounder, haddock and cod for the main course. Needless to say, the chips are fully authentic, too.

Landry’s Seafood House: Perhaps the most upmarket offering in this wide-ranging study of Britannia’s finest is from this US chain that has its flagship restaurant in Lake Buena Vista, close to Disney. The dish in question here is the IPA Fish + Chips; crisply-battered cod fillets, French fries and the bonus of onion strings. A mighty big plateful! Or try the Southern-Fried Fish for a true taste of Louisiana-style cooking.

Simon & Susan’s “Don’t Miss” suggestion: Our top recommendation for Orlando fish and chips used to be Big Fin Seafood House on Restaurant Row, but, sadly, it closed in August. However, we’ll hand the baton to Raglan Road for the foreseeable future, especially as they also do Simon’s No.1 Orlando dessert, Ger’s Bread and Butter Pudding!

Simon and Susan Veness are Orlando-based travel experts and guidebook authors writing exclusively for Debbie’s Villas.