15 Best Fried Fish Sandwiches In Los Angeles
We have the Sephardic Jews to thank for the origins of fried fish in the UK (via Royal Museums Greenwich), which eventually gave way to the classic fish and chips we all know and love. At some point, that recipe made its way to America, and the crispy fried fish sandwich was born. While the true origins of the sandwich are unknown, items like the iconic Filet-O-Fish from McDonald's, which debuted in the '60s to appeal to Catholics avoiding meat on Fridays, can be found everywhere.
Crispy fried fish sandwiches are now a popular choice at seafood restaurants across America, and the variations between each are as diverse as the cultural background of the country itself. Fresh seafood dominates the restaurant industry in Los Angeles, so it comes as no surprise that there are dozens of places to score one of these delicious fried treats. We've rounded up the best crispy fish sandwiches across the city so you can get your hands on one whether you are in the mood for something traditional or a unique experience.
Fishing with Dynamite
Chef David LeFevre's Manhattan Beach restaurant Fishing with Dynamite is one of the best reasons to make the trek out to the South L.A. coast. This stunning restaurant showcases some of the best seafood in the county. It's a small spot, but that allows the team to focus on quality and consistency. The raw bar is fresh, and oyster varieties change daily. The dishes are creative yet familiar, with options like a Parisian tuna tartare to koshihikari rice, a steamed rice porridge with shrimp, uni, and blue crab.
Fishing with Dynamite has a killer fried fish sandwich on the menu, made with wild-caught East Coast haddock topped with a slice of cheddar cheese and dill pickle remoulade, all on a soft, toasted brioche bun. Sides of seasoned herb french fries, tangy slaw, and a house-made dill pickle are served on the side to create a tasty dish.
Fish King
Half fresh fish market, half seafood restaurant, Fish King in Glendale is the best place to grab raw or cooked seafood on the east side or possibly in the whole city. Fish King is known for its wide selection and top quality. The market sells thick slabs of fatty salmon, premium cuts of wild-caught albacore, and buckets of fresh oysters in the shell, among many other choices, all fresh and in season.
Over at the cafe, there's a little bit of everything, from sushi burritos to char-broiled swordfish steaks. The signature "crunch" fish is a hefty slab of white fish dipped in an ultra-crispy batter before being fried to golden-brown perfection. It comes as a plate or a sandwich, which is served on a soft bun with lettuce, tomato, and tartar sauce. You can add french fries, cole slaw, potato salad, or a slice of cheese on top for just $1.00 extra.
Oui Melrose
When Bahn Oui started slinging banh mi sandwiches out of an auto body shop in Silverlake in 2017, foodies of Los Angeles flocked to get their hands on some of the best sandwiches on the east side. They have since moved to a spot on Cahuenga and opened up a sister restaurant in Hollywood, Oui Melrose. Oui Melrose has a wide range of lunch treats, as well as a case full of baked goods, like doughnuts and cookies. The sandwich selection is absurdly vast, with everything from the signature banh mi to falafel laffa to cheesy ribeye steak.
One of the standout items on the already-packed menu at Oui Melrose is the fried cod sandwich. It's made with Panko-crusted Pacific cod, topped with a house-made tartar sauce, New School American Cheese, and dill pickles, all on a house-baked sesame bun. It's the perfect combination of old-school flavors with a few modern twists.
All Day Baby
Sometimes the menu at All Day Baby can make you wonder exactly what kind of cuisine is being served here — until you remember that one of the best parts of Los Angeles dining is the melting pot of ethnicities and food culture that lends its way to more creativity than perhaps any other city in the country. One of the menu items at All Day Baby that perfectly showcases this phenomenon is the fried fish sandwich.
It's not a traditional fried fish sandwich, or at least not the kind with tartar sauce. Managing partner Lien Ta brings her Georgia roots to the plate with her hot catfish sandwich. Thick strips of catfish are given the fried chicken treatment, dipped in buttermilk, and coated in flour before a plunge in the frier. Served on a Martin's potato roll bun, the sandwich gets topped with mustard aioli and a thick slice of white onion and served with a side of bread and butter pickles.
The Codfather
This next restaurant makes you an offer you can't refuse. The Codfather is a simple establishment that only serves fried fish (or calamari), either as a sandwich or on its own, and fries. The restaurant operates out of eight different locations or ghost kitchens across Los Angeles, meaning you can't actually dine in to get this anywhere. Despite being a mostly delivery-only business, The Codfather manages to please customers with tasty fried fish and chip options that remain crispy, not soggy.
As one reviewer on Yelp put it, their fried fish sandwich hits the "delicate balance between Baja and Birmingham, using a seasoned batter that actually tastes good without condiments. That's the sort of quality that keeps you coming back!" It's a pale ale beer-battered North Atlantic cod, fried perfectly golden brown, served on a fluffy, buttery toasted brioche bun and topped with a tangle of red and white cabbage slaw and a slick of lemon herb aioli.
Little Fish
Some of the best food in Los Angeles isn't just available to anyone who wants it. In this city, truly great items require a lengthy wait or navigating a complicated system of Instagram announcements and limited orders. Luckily, these dishes are usually worth the trouble, plus the anticipation makes it a bit more fun. That's exactly the situation with Little Fish, a pop-up restaurant concept that began at Smorgasburg and now can be found at places like Melody Wine Bar or Benny Boy Brewing.
Little Fish has a menu that changes weekly, but one item that remains a crowd favorite is the crispy fried fish sandwich. If you are fortunate enough to get your hands on one, you'll be sinking your teeth into beer-battered Pacific striped bass, topped with a slice of American cheese, pickles, and kewpie mayo. If you still have an appetite, pair the sandwich with options like the shrimp corn dog with miso mustard or the grilled nori-glazed swordfish with celery root.
Blue Plate Oysterette
Restaurants near the beach are practically required to serve seafood. That being said, it can be surprisingly hard to find a crispy fish sandwich in Santa Monica (probably because of the fried element). One place you can track down this paragon of deliciousness is Blue Plate Oysterette. The restaurant itself is breezy and sunny (much like the neighborhood), making it the perfect place to grab a long lunch or "oyster hour" (Monday through Thursday from 4-6 P.M).
There's a solid raw bar with a few options for shellfish-laden seafood towers, hot and cold appetizers like guacamole (because, California), and Blue Plate Oysterette "classics," like the Filet O' Fish sandwich, made with fried Ling cod, lettuce, tomato, tartar sauce, and Old Bay seasoned french fries. The fish is battered, not breaded, like a classic British fish and chip plate (which the restaurant also serves if you have a mind for something a bit more simple).
Captain Kidd's Fish Market and Restaurant
Down in Redondo Beach, there's a little seafood shack that's a local favorite. Situated right on the water, Captain Kidd's Restaurant and Fish Market always hits the spot after a day of enjoying one of your favorite beachside activities. The market side has one of the best selections of fresh seafood in Los Angeles, and anything you buy can be marinated, seasoned, shucked, or cooked by the team.
The restaurant side has a vast offering of fresh seafood dishes, including a selection of fresh fish, with choices like swordfish, Arctic cod, and ahi tuna. You have your choice of preparation and presentation. The fish itself can be charbroiled, breaded and sauteed, or deep fried in tempura batter. Once you've made your choice, you can get it on a salad, a plate with your choice of sides, or as a sandwich. Sandwiches come with two choices of preparation: Hawaiian style, with pineapple and teriyaki sauce, and captain's style, with tartar sauce, lettuce, tomato, and pickles. Get it with a hot bowl of creamy clam chowder and grab a filet of fresh, locally-caught bluefin tuna.
Charlie's Fish and Chip
Charlie's Fish and Chip has some of the best deals for fried seafood in town. The menu is simple and straightforward, with various types of fish served fried on top of a bed of french fries with a side of salad and a pair of hush puppies. Customers can choose selections ranging from catfish to sand dab to red snapper, along with shrimp and oysters, and for the seafood-averse, delicious chicken wings.
Everything is made with the same batter that fries up perfectly crunchy and lightly browned. Charlie's Fish and Chip proudly uses 100% cottonseed oil for frying, which has less cholesterol than other frying oils. The sandwiches are sort of a build-your-own deal and arrive much the same as the fried fish plates but with two slices of wheat bread on the side. The vibes inside might be spartan, but all the care in the world goes into the food, which arrives perfectly hot and crunchy every time.
Connie and Ted's
One of the better seafood restaurants in West Hollywood is Connie and Ted's, a casual (yet still polished, because, West Hollywood) spot to grab a platter of fresh oysters or a fresh lobster roll. Chef Michael Cimarusti is well known around town for the critically acclaimed Providence, a restaurant with seventeen years worth of accolades in a notoriously tough-to-please city. Cimarusti's passion for seafood is a family legacy, and he opened Connie and Ted's as both a passion project and a love letter to beloved relatives who first introduced him to this style of cuisine.
The fried fish sandwich at Connie and Ted's is deep-fried and battered, served crisp on a bed of shredded lettuce and pickles. The spicy version (the "hot fish sammy") has the same coating but is prepared "Nashville style" and paired with mayonnaise and pickles. For both sandwiches, Chef Cimarusti chooses to use wild Alaskan cod for its sustainability, and the secret ingredient in his batter is vodka for its powerful evaporative qualities that leaves behind an ultra-crisp texture.
Love Hour
Love Hour started as a pop-up at Smorgasburg on Sundays and now also occupies a small space in Koreatown two days a week. Crispy fried smash burgers with huge piles of French fries and onion rings were the original draw for this hip spot, which come loaded with melty cheese, pickles, onions, and "love sauce." After a few years of celebrity collaborations, must-have branded merch like skate decks and hoodies, and a showcase of specialty artist-inspired burgers at Coachella, the secret is out.
These days, Love Hour has expanded its menu to branch out beyond the beef burger. After a few limited specials, the fried fish sandwich now has a place on the menu permanently. It's a crunchy, breaded filet of fish, served with a slice of melted American cheese and a slick of the house special sauce. The bun is the same type of fluffy, white bread the chefs serve the burger on, which serves as the perfect vehicle for all that crispy goodness.
Señor Fish
For a departure from the classic fried fish sandwich, get your hands on a fried fish torta. Tortas are a type of Mexican sandwich made on a soft telera roll. Typically, these sandwiches have most of the same flavors you would expect on a burrito, and the fillings can range from flavorful shredded barbacoa to spicy grilled chicken. At Señor Fish, the battered fried fish torta is one of the many versions of this tasty sandwich on the menu. With locations in downtown L.A., Echo Park, Eagle Rock, and South Pasadena, a tasty bite of fried fish done up with onions, jalapeños, mayo, tomatoes, lettuce, refried beans, and avocado are never too far away for east-siders.
For a lighter version, Señor Fish also offers a grilled fish version, or you can get fried shrimp or scallops instead of fish. Stop by for happy hour to get one with a frosty margarita.
Little Jewel
There's a small slice of New Orleans right in Los Angeles' Chinatown neighborhood, and it's a true hidden gem. Little Jewel of New Orleans is a little slice of the Big Easy and serves up some of the most authentic Creole and cajun food this side of the Mississippi. Part market and part restaurant, Little Jewel has all the comforts of a Louisiana, and a wide range of offerings, from crispy beignets dusted with powdered sugar to bottles of Trappey's hot sauce.
Any good New Orleans-style restaurant has to have a po' boy on its menu, and Little Jewel has thirty-three different po'boys to choose from, including a unique fish and chips option. It's everything you ever wanted in a classic fish and chip plate, done up as a traditional Louisiana po'boy. The fish is beer-battered Atlantic cod, served crispy and hot next to french fries, melted cheddar, malt vinegar, tartar sauce, cocktail sauce, and pickles and onion to garnish, all on a soft po' boy roll.
Whistlin' Dixie
Over in the middle of Hollywood is a southern-style fried chicken and fish sandwich joint called Whistlin' Dixie that keeps it simple and straightforward. The menu offers several combos of fried chicken or fish sliders with your choice of spice level. Be careful, as many reviewers have remarked about the surprising heat levels, and even the second-hottest spice level (extra hot) is too much for even the most heat-tolerant palates. Another fun twist at Whistlin' Dixie is they offer a choice of bun color: red, yellow, black, and natural.
The fried fish sandwiches are served with tartar sauce and coleslaw, with an optional add-on slice of cheese. Each sliver of fish is fried to perfection with a crunchy, breaded coating. This may be one of the only spots where you can get your hands on a fried fish slider, which is always more fun than a larger sandwich for some reason.
Malibu Seafood
Unlike almost every other restaurant along PCH in Malibu, Malibu Seafood strips away decor and ambiance in favor of something more important — genuinely delicious food. The best kinds of seafood shacks are so close to the ocean you can smell the spray of the sea, and at Malibu Seafood, you can grab your food at the takeout window and jog across the street to enjoy it with your toes in the sand. The menu is simple but exactly what you would expect from a place like this. Forget the Instagram-worthy salads and picture instead steaming clam chowder in a bread bowl, thick, crispy strips of fried fish on golden brown french fries, and grilled shrimp skewers.
The crispy fried fish sandwich is one of the better choices, served with the same golden brown battered coating as the fish and chip plate. It comes on a sesame seed bun topped with a slick of tartar sauce and a slice of melted cheese.