Long John Silver's Meals, Ranked

Seafood has always been somewhat of a fish out of water in the world of fast food. For some restaurants, a lone fish sandwich is the farthest they'll venture into the watery abyss. Take McDonald's with its year-round Filet-O-Fish or Burger King with its Big Fish sandwich. Just a few examples of testing the waters rather than diving right in. Then, there are quick-service chains like Long John Silver's that prove success can be found in a nautical theme and a menu built purely around fried fish.

Long John Silver's has been an institution since 1969 and still stands as one of the largest seafood chains in the country. It may be more unorthodox than your average burger-and-milkshake joint, but with nearly 500 locations nationwide, it's clear that plenty of customers are still answering the call of greasy maritime grub.

The menu is anchored by seafood. But it's more diverse than one may think, and the chain even explores beyond its signature deep-fried cooking methods. This variety is on full display, specifically in the "Meals for 1" section of the menu. Here you'll find fried cod docked next to grilled shrimp and even chicken tenders. To take a closer look, I recently charted a course to Long John Silver's and tried seven options from this category. Based on the quality of the seafood and chicken, flavor, and how the meal came together as a whole, I ranked them from my least favorite to my most favorite.

Shrimp is swimming all over the Long John Silver's menu. It comes in three distinct forms, including grilled, hand-battered, and coconut (the shrimp equivalent of a tourist dressed in a Hawaiian shirt). I was able to try all three as part of a meal, and unfortunately for fans of the hand-battered style, those were the shrimp that sank to the bottom of the rankings.

The shrimp were much larger than expected. I was impressed by this at first, but ultimately that's what led to their demise. Bigger meant more greasy breading, and inside, the shrimp were so large that they didn't appear to be cooked all the way through. Some were a bit too slimy and translucent for comfort, leaving me scared to go back for another. Another minute in the fryer, plus a better balance between breading and crustacean, would have worked wonders here.

The good news is that each meal comes with two sides of your choice — a life raft to save you from a potentially disappointing experience. I chose rice and corn to accompany my shrimp, and both were perfectly decent. The rice reminds me of a basic pilaf, and the corn resembles the stuff from a can. But perhaps the best part of the to-go box was the two freebie hushpuppies that accompany and elevate every meal at the chain.

It just feels wrong to order grilled salmon at the drive-thru. I see the leap the chain took from fried seafood to grilled seafood, but I still think grilled salmon is an entree that should be reserved for sit-down, table service restaurants. You don't see McDonald's serving up sirloin steaks as an extension of its hamburger menu, so why is Long John Silver's venturing into unfamiliar waters?

Clearly, I was skeptical, and it turns out I had every right to be. Sitting on top of a rice bed, salmon isn't necessarily bad. It does actually have some juiciness and a decently tender texture to it. But it has next to no flavor or character at all. It tastes more like it was baked rather than grilled, and even though it appears to be covered in blackened seasonings, they don't make themselves known on the palate. Even the mild fish taste is hard to pick out.

It's the kind of meal that's begging for a sauce to liven it up. But the restaurant didn't give me any that felt like the right fit. Malt vinegar? No. Cocktail sauce? Absolutely not. Tartar sauce? Maybe, but still not a great match. So I was left with my two side choices to bring some life to the platter: a goopy cup of coleslaw and an overly peppery yet tasty serving of green beans.

Fish and chips are a staple at Long John Silver's. The iconic British-inspired pairing pops up twice in the meals section of the menu (and countless other times elsewhere). One zeroes in on cod as the featured fish, while this two-piece meal uses Alaskan pollock instead. Arguably, this is the chain's fish and chips in its most classic state, but it doesn't satisfy in all the ways you would hope.

In a different tasting, I actually found this to be one of the weakest fish and chips plates you'll find at a chain restaurant, and I still agree that it could use some improvements. The large, diamond-shaped filets aren't the most appetizing. They're fairly dense, so you don't get that delicate flakiness that defines higher-quality pieces of fried fish. Paired with a crunchy yet incredibly oily and salty battered crust, it sits heavy in your stomach. Extra crunchy, airy, and a far cry from something like Chick-fil-A's waffle fries, the "chips" part of the equation doesn't do a whole lot to help the situation. Neither does the coleslaw I chose.

The plate feels a bit more on-brand than the salmon and like a safer option compared to the shrimp. But it still didn't catch my attention as a top pick at Long John Silver's. I would recommend dousing the whole thing in vinegar or even some of the chain's sweet, dill-forward tartar sauce to up its appeal.

Same idea as the earlier salmon, but the shrimp is the better catch. The two start off the exact same way: grilled seafood unceremoniously plopped onto a heap of somewhat watery rice. Two sides are also a given. This time, I decided to double down on veggies with both the green beans and corn (the best sides, in my opinion).

The menu states the meal is meant to include eight shrimp, yet I received only six. I graciously decided to excuse this oversight, though, because the ones that did make the basket were palatable. Quality over quantity, I guess? Each one boasts a blackened flavor and subtle smokiness. They're also cooked well. I didn't worry that these were undercooked like the massive hand-battered shrimp. But at the same time, they were plump and springy, showing no signs of being overcooked either.

In a forkful together with some rice, it's satisfying enough. I'm not saying it could pass for a gourmet meal, and it doesn't compete with some of the flagship fried options that Long John Silver's does best. But it's a respectable choice when you want something lighter with some semblance of both nutritional value and culinary appeal.

An unexpected frontrunner at a seafood-centric joint. You would expect chicken tenders at a place like A&W, which is often found saddled up next to Long John Silver's in the same building. But it appears the American favorite has also snuck its way onto the nautical chain's menu. And what's more surprising is that its tenders are actually pretty tasty.

It took me a second to identify them from the fried fish. The three all-white-meat chicken fingers are covered in the same signature batter and are nearly the same size and shape as the cod. It took biting into one to verify it was poultry, and I was immediately pleased by the flavor. They're tender and juicy with enough meat to stand up to the thick and crunchy breading on the outside. Since there are three tenders, two sides, and two hushpuppies included, the meal is also plenty filling. It makes a good case for itself, but there were two classic and well-executed seafood meals I liked more.

If I had just one complaint to air, it would be the lack of sauces for the chicken. When I ordered online, there wasn't even an option to add a sauce, so I ended up with a few sad ketchup packets. There are a few other options listed on the menu, though, including Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ, honey mustard, ranch, and Papa Sauce, which the chain appears to have borrowed from A&W.

This is where Long John Silver's finally finds its sea legs. If you're waffling back and forth between the pollock and the battered cod, just spend the extra dollar and some change and go with the cod. You won't be disappointed.

You're still getting that same crispy battered coating. It's just as oily and sodium-packed as ever, but set against a more proper piece of fish, it doesn't feel as stomach-churning or overwhelming. There's a reason why professional chefs and culinary experts recommend cod for the perfect plate of fish and chips. It's lean, moist, and stays intact in the fryer. These particular filets were also ultra-flaky and not as flattened out as the earlier pollock. Not too shabby for a fast food pick. I dressed it up yet again with malt vinegar and tartar sauce. But even with just a squeeze of lemon juice, I think it would have been just fine. For sides here, I went with waffle fries to fulfill the fish and chips tradition and also tacked on coleslaw.

It's puzzling to me that the Alaskan pollock pops up time after time on the menu, often in meals or baskets paired with other foods. After trying the cod, I think it should be swapped in instead. A cod-and-shrimp basket or even a surf-and-turf meal with cod and chicken sounds like a serious upgrade. Just something to consider, Long John Silver's.

Typically, I prefer coconut shrimp as a shareable appetizer rather than a main dish. But I'll make an exception for this meal, considering it was my favorite thing I tried at the chain. It wasn't just the best kind of shrimp; I even preferred it over the fried cod.

I think it has something to do with the blend of sweet and savory on this plate. It makes it feel more nuanced than just another gathering of grease and salt. Each shrimp (there were actually eight included this time) is covered in a crumb-y breading that's just thick enough with that obvious coconut flavor — sweet and tropical. It complements the mild brine of the meat inside, and since the shrimp is clearly cooked all the way through this time, each bite is pleasant. I couldn't resist dipping them in cocktail sauce. Long John Silver's version could be tangier, but it still added rather than detracted from the taste.

As is the case with all the meals, the world is your oyster when it comes to picking two sides to accompany the coconut shrimp. I selected the plain fries, which I would probably swap out in the future. I also picked hushpuppies before realizing two already came included. That's how I wound up with eight in my meal. Honestly, I would label that as a happy accident. You can never have too many puppies.

For this specific Long John Silver's taste test, we zeroed in on the chain's Meals for 1, rather than its platters, baskets, or sandwiches. There were actually a few other options in this category, but they either simply add on more fish pieces or combine fish and chicken into one meal. So, those were left out of the rankings. That left seven meals for me to buy and try. All come with two sides of the customer's choice and two hushpuppies. I ordered various sides that felt like a good fit for the meal and made sure to get a good sample.

As I tasted each one, I was looking primarily at the quality of the fish or chicken and how well it was cooked. Fish needed to be flaky with good flavor, and chicken tender and juicy. For any fried items, I was hoping for a nice crispness in the battered breading and took note of anything overly greasy or salty. Many ended up being both, but some balanced it out better than others. Along with flavor and proper textures, this was key. On top of that, supporting sides and fitting sauces were really just added bonuses. They gave each meal more personality and made it feel complete.