5 Frequent Customer Complaints About The Filet-O-Fish

McDonald's Filet-O-Fish is oddly controversial. There are many who enjoy it, and it's especially popular in the Catholic community (a quarter of all Filet-O-Fish sales occur during Lent, when most Catholics are fasting from meat on Fridays). McDonald's recently made over 50 tweaks to its burgers in a big upgrade, but the fish sandwich has remained largely unchanged since the '60s. There's definitely something about it that keeps the customers coming, but there's also the opposing camp, the folks who are highly critical of the Filet-O-Fish.

There are many ways to criticize a sandwich, however simple it may be. Some people just don't jive with the idea of ordering fish at McDonald's or would rather get a different fast food fish sandwich at a chain that (in their opinion) does it better. There are also those who disagree with Filet-O-Fish's reputation as a healthier alternative and see it as an unhealthy choice comparable to any other fast food item.

But among all of the complaints, there are five specific ones that customers seem to bring up the most often. Interestingly, some of them don't come from the people who dislike the Filet-O-Fish but from those who order it regularly. They see the potential in the sandwich and recognize there's plenty of room for improvement.

If you've ever opened the Filet-O-Fish before digging in, you probably noticed the narrow slice of cheese that looks like it's missing the other half. That's because it is. The fish sandwich is made with a half slice on purpose, and customer reactions range from shocked when they first uncover the tiny slice to confused when they hear it's not a mistake.

"Seriously McDonald's? Are you so broke you can't even provide a full slice of cheese? Mr Multi-billion company?" reads a post on Reddit. "I think a full square is deserved and would make for a better overall fish sandwich experience," voiced somebody else. That's a sentiment that McDonald's, at least for now, disagrees with. The company loyally uses a half slice of cheese because that's how the recipe was originally created way back in the early '60s. The cheese is there to balance out the tartar sauce and the fish, and in McDonald's opinion a full slice would take over the flavor.

Luckily, the lack of a full slice is something that can be mended when you order. The Filet-O-Fish can be ordered with extra cheese, which usually means getting a full slice in addition to the half. Be aware that sometimes you might end up with just an extra half, so if you have a preference make sure to clarify when placing your order.

This complaint comes from people who regularly order the Filet-O-Fish yet always find it in a disheveled state. "The only bad thing I have to say about the Filet o fish is the employees at most locations seem unable to get the cheese and tartar sauce on the sandwich, instead preferring to place them on the box," reads a comment on Reddit. Some customers have even expressed feeling like the employees aren't even trying to put together a nice sandwich, writing, "Why is the filet-o-fish always haphazardly thrown together? ... I have never seen a filet-o-fish were the ingredients don't look like they were thrown on from from a distance like a frisbee."

The McDonald's employees aren't actually playing frisbee with the fish sandwich, nor are they mindlessly throwing the ingredients onto the buns. They do, however, have a special way of preparing the sandwich that often results in it coming out a bit wonky. It takes around six minutes for Filet-O-Fish to get from the fryer to your bag, and in that time the soft, intact look of the steamed buns has to be preserved. The sandwich is therefore assembled directly in the box by putting cheese on one side and the tartar sauce plus the filet on the other side. Then, the box is quickly closed, so the two parts come together. Apparently, having both the steamed bun and a centered sandwich is too much to ask for.

Rarely do customers encounter a reasonable amount of sauce on their Filet-O-Fish. People consistently report that the fish sandwich either comes with a serious lack of sauce or is completely overflowing with it. Some photos posted online of various Filet-O-Fish orders show only a small drop of tartar sauce, often accompanied by comments arguing it might have been better if they had just ordered the sandwich sans sauce to begin with. What's the point of a tiny little drop?

Then there's the other extreme, when the sandwich comes nearly drowned in the sauce. "I asked for extra tartar sauce on my Filet O' Fish. I think they gave me all the tartar sauce in the shop!" shared a customer alongside the image of their order (above). Some have tried to solve this conundrum by ordering tartar sauce on the side, but they often receive it both in the sandwich and on the side.

The reason for the consistently inconsistent sauce appears to be the sauce gun used at McDonald's. The single serving is pre-set, and it's usually a liberal amount. Sometimes employees try to accommodate customers who ask for less sauce, but they have to get creative — for example, by emptying some of the gun into the trash and hoping that there's enough left in the pump for a modest topping. Meanwhile, if you order extra sauce you can only get double the sauce (two full pumps), which usually results in quite the saucy mess.

The biggest Filet-O-Fish complaint McDonald's customers have is that the sandwich has fallen victim to shrinkflation. There are a ton of social media posts displaying the small size of the Filet-O-Fish with the dismayed posters wondering when the heck the sandwich shrank. "Tried one today for the first time in a few years. I know my hands haven't gotten larger, but it literally looked like a child's toy food sandwich. It was so, SO small," wrote one surprised customer. "They are comically small. Slider at most. Don't think they can call it a sandwich," agreed another.

McDonald's has actually responded to these claims. "The size and build of the Filet-O-Fish, including a half slice of American cheese, has not changed in decades," the chain told Business Insider in 2023. Even if that's the case, customers are clearly unhappy with the size of the fish sandwich, and not without reason.

Compared to other fast food fish sandwiches, the Filet-O-Fish is definitely on the smaller side, even though its price is comparable to larger menu items. Some have pointed out they need to order two fish sandwiches to feel like they're getting a substantial meal. A better hack would be to bulk up the order with an extra fish patty since the Filet-O-Fish Double is generally a better deal than ordering two sandwiches.

Whether it's true the size of the sandwich has really gotten smaller or not, its impact on the wallet is definitely bigger. Along with everything else on the menu, customers have been reporting higher and higher prices for this fish sandwich, and for many the cost has now become a deal breaker. "I love the fish, but it's almost the same price as a Big Mac where i'm at," writes one customer.

95% of McDonald's stores are franchises and they get to set their own prices so the cost of a sandwich will vary by location. In any case, the sandwich is not cheap — something even its biggest fans admit openly. "I love it. But I don't love it for $6," says a commenter.

When the Filet-O-Fish was first put on the national menu in 1965 it cost only $0.29. Adjusted for inflation, that's $3.13 today. By 1973, the sandwich was priced at $0.48, which is $3.80 when adjusted for inflation; showing that the price stayed relatively stable in the first decade. But at some point, it started climbing. The average price of the Filet-O-Fish in 2014 was as low as $3.49 — and then it jumped to $5.49 in 2024. It's safe to say we're feeling pretty nostalgic for those 2016 McDonald's prices right about now.