Fish and Chips in Vancouver

While many people were basking in Vancouver’s Pride festivals over the weekend, I was enjoying some much needed rest and relaxation on the Sunshine Coast and went “fancy camping”. What’s “fancy camping”? Well, there was no tent, but there were trailors and cabins involved, along with an industrial sized kitchen where our lovely hosts cooked up some of the best fried cod I’ve ever had. The men set sail in the morning and went up to Texada Island and brought home four ling cod and 1 rock cod to thirty very happy people. They also brought home tales of catching many sharks…nurse sharks that is.

Just in case you’re curious, here’s a map that will help illustrate where Texada Island is in comparison to Vancouver.

Map by Pfly on Wikimedia Commons

Said hosts have this great tradition where they cook bite sized pieces of cod and pass it around as an appetizer before the real feast begins. That night it was a big, fat, juicy Coho salmon that was caught off the coast too! As the little bite sized morsels of deep fried were passed around, it got me thinking that I should take advantage of Vancouver’s fish and chips scene. Afterall, we are right on the water and although we can’t catch much from the city, the fishermen always bring their goodies to us.

So, where to go for Vancouver’s best fish and chips?

Go Fish! – Located in Vancouver’s Fisherman’s Wharf, you can’t get much closer to fresh seafood and the smell of the ocean. It’s a hotspot amongst locals and visitors to the city and that’s because they’re always serving up some tasty nosh. Because it’s such a favourite, go during off peak hours to avoid long line ups. You can choose between salmon, cod or halibut to go into the fryer. The other great thing about Go Fish is that they serve things other than just your standard fish and chips. The tacones, Oyster Po Boy, grilled fish sandwiches are all worth an order. They are not open on Monday’s, but are open from 11:30 am – 6:30pm Tues – Fri and 12pm – 6:30pm on Sat and Sun.

Photo by Raul on Flickr

Raincity Grill – Perched at English Bay, you can either dine in the restaurant or grab take out to enjoy on a log, across the road on the sandy beach. Raincity is known for sourcing local and the most fresh ingredients, two important ingredients for stellar fish and chips. Here they use halibut from Uculet, which is on the West side of Vancouver Island. The only catch is that they serve this during lunch hours. For their dinner service, they offer an amuse of beer battered halibut, served on a spoon. Either way, it’s delicious!

The best part about both of these locations is that they’re right on the Seawall, which makes burning off this naughty fare a breeze. Gracious, you could even blade, walk, run or bike your way to both locations and do a taste test for yourself.