The Worst Fast Food Fish Sandwich Belongs Back In The Water

While we tend to associate fast food with burgers, fried chicken, and french fries, fish can also be cooked quickly. Famous fast food chains eventually caught on to the appeal of a fish sandwich and now offer them on menus. We sampled and ranked 10 fast food fish sandwiches and while some were delicious, others aren't worth ordering. To that effect, we think White Castle's panko breaded fish sliders are the worst fast food fish sandwich.

We focused on criteria like the quality of the fish, textural contrast between crust and fish, toppings, and sauce. White Castle paved the way for fast food burgers with its iconic slider and stuck to the format with its panko breaded fish sliders. Despite their endearingly familiar appearance, these sliders failed our ranking on all accounts. The Alaskan pollock used to make the patties was mushy and grey, almost as unsettling as the choice to pair it with American cheese. While panko bread crumbs are known for their light and crispy transformation in the deep fryer, the grease saturated the crust and weighed it down. American cheese was the only topping on these sliders, doing nothing to balance or complement the patties.

Even more disappointing was the tartar sauce, which came in squeezable packets almost as an afterthought. Furthermore, it tasted more like sugary mayonnaise than the creamy, tangy garnish we hoped for.

While diehard White Castle fans gave the fish sandwich average reviews across social media sites and forums like TikTok and reddit, they did complain about the steep price of the slider. Along with the high price point, some Redditors called the fish sandwich bland, underwhelming, and dry. One review compared it to frozen fish sticks. Considering that the tartar sauce is optional and American cheese isn't the most robustly flavored cheese, we agree that the sandwich can be bland and dry.

Higher-scoring fish sandwiches from Popeyes and Church's had much higher quality fish filets that were flakey and moist, with a great crunch from the deep-fried breading. Perhaps a fried chicken joint's expertise in breaded and deep fried proteins was the key to a perfectly executed fried fish sandwich. Another important factor for a winning fish sandwich is what accompanies the fish. A sweet mayo did nothing for White Castle's fish sliders, while the competition slathered on scratch made tartar sauce with the expected tangy, crunch from bits of pickle and lemon juice like we used in our homemade tarter sauce recipe. Since White Castle's classic beef sliders come with a pickle spear, we're wondering why they didn't apply the same crunchy and tangy complement to the panko breaded fish slider.