This Sit-Down Chain's Underrated Fish And Chips Outrank Long John Silver's And Captain D's

When you don't have the energy to fry up some classic fish and chips, there are plenty of restaurants where you can get your fix — but you should choose wisely. In our taste test and ranking of fish and chips from chain restaurants, we found some delicious ocean jewels as well as undersea blunders to avoid, and the placements on the list may surprise you. For starters, seafood joints Long John Silver's and Captain D's were outranked by a sit-down restaurant that doesn't focus on fish: Applebee's.

Though Applebee's Hand-Battered Fish & Chips landed far from first place in our ranking, our taste tester said it was "more satisfying than expected." The battered white fish was nicely flaky, the tasty chips had a peppery kick, and the side of tartar sauce was properly rich with notes of herbs. Condiments can swoop in and save otherwise mediocre fish and chips, and Applebee's flavorful tartar sauce — plus the included lemon wedge and malt vinegar — did this entree a big favor.

As for Applebee's shortcomings, the batter on the fish tasted burnt, and the middling dish was simply outclassed by most of the competition. Of course, that excludes Long John Silver's, whose fish and chips ranked dead last due to the fish's overly heavy, dense consistency and bland, unsatisfying coating. Captain D's only fared slightly better, with a mushy, grease-loaded batter being its sinking anchor. But while Applebee's bucked expectations a bit, the best fish and chips we tasted did come from a seafood restaurant.

If you wind up at Applebee's with a craving for fish and chips, its rendition is worth a try. In addition to our surprisingly decent time with it, the dish has some true fans. On a Facebook post about Applebee's Friday fish special, one commenter wrote, "their fish and chips is excellent. And you get a ton of food!" Other reviewers note that the fish-to-batter ratio is on point, and they enjoyed the well-seasoned fries and tartar sauce. However, this is far from Applebee's best dish, and nowhere near the best chain restaurant version of the British classic. If you ask us, the hands-down best fish and chips come from Red Lobster.

Our taste tester found that Red Lobster takes this humble entree to elevated heights. The chain wraps a super crunchy beer batter around perfectly tender and flaky white cod filets. Unlike some grease-dripping versions of the dish, the flavor was oily and salty in a good way. Instead of the chips being an afterthought, Red Lobster's Old Bay-seasoned Chesapeake fries bring extra flavor to the party, and the coleslaw, tartar sauce, and hushpuppies also earned our thumbs-up.