6 Frequent Customer Complaints About Long John Silver's

There are plenty of seafood chain restaurants, but Long John Silver's isn't always among the most beloved. In fact, this seafood restaurant sees a decent amount of hate from customers online (even though it may not always deserve it). We wondered why Long John Silver's doesn't always have the best reputation on the fast food landscape, so we're taking a closer look at specific customer complaints. What are people saying about the restaurant, and what benchmarks does it seem to miss? We scoured comments on Reddit, Facebook, and Tripadvisor to get the 411.

Some of these complaints are pretty common across fast food restaurants more generally, like rising prices and shrinking portion sizes, which is why so many Americans are frustrated with the fast food industry. Others are more specific, pointing to some traits unique to Long John Silver's. But all of these complaints tap into customer sentiment and reflect where this restaurant is going wrong ... and where it could potentially improve. Whether you're thinking about grabbing Long John Silver's on your way home from work tonight or you want to feel solidarity from others who have been allegedly wronged by this restaurant chain, you're in the right place.

It's not a secret that shrinkflation is rampant these days. Companies always seem to be shrinking their products yet still charging more for them. Unfortunately, that's exactly what seems to be happening at Long John Silver's, at least according to some customers. One Redditor hadn't been to the restaurant in a long time, but they were shocked at how high the prices were when they finally went back. Not only that, but they also noticed that menu items had seemingly shrunken. This poster said the fish they ordered looked like it was half the size that it had been the last time they went to the restaurant. For meals for one adult and one child, they paid a whopping $40 in June 2026. Fast food is supposed to be cheap, but these days, it's often overpriced.

Another customer posted about the food situation at Long John Silver's in the subreddit r/shrinkflation, mentioning how much smaller the dishes had gotten over time. However, they noticed that the calorie count for one of these items was the same as it had been in 2013, and they questioned how that was even possible. Some suggested that the restaurant might be using more batter or oil. A different post on the r/shrinkflation subreddit said that shrinkflation at the chain had gotten "out of hand," and another user posted a photo of a piece of fried fish alongside a Bic lighter to show just how small it was.

When you're going out to eat at a fast food restaurant known for its fried dishes, you can expect some level of greasiness in whatever you order. But according to some Long John Silver's customers, the fried fish chain is taking things too far on the greasiness scale. On the r/NoStupidQuestions subreddit, a poster asked why people dislike Long John Silver's so much. A commenter had a short and sweet answer that summed their complaint up perfectly: "way too greasy."

That poster isn't the only one who feels that way. Other Redditors posted about how greasy the fried batter was and how bad the food was; some say they don't even normally mind greasy food, but they still couldn't stomach the food from this chain. A commenter on this post agreed with this claim, saying that Captain D's was less greasy. One thing is for sure: If you're thinking about eating at Long John Silver's because you think fish might be lighter than other types of fast food, you might be in for a rude awakening when you take that first bite.

Greasiness is one thing, but when the food at a restaurant is too salty to boot, it can prevent you from actually enjoying the meal. That seems to be a complaint for some Long John Silver's customers. A Reddit user commented, "the sodium levels could kill a horse." On a different post about the food's saltiness, another Redditor said that the last time they'd eaten at the restaurant, "the amount of salt almost embalmed me."

One customer hadn't been to the restaurant in 20 years and decided to give Long John Silver's a try, only to discover that the food was far too salty for their liking. And still another Redditor claimed that the food there wasn't even terrible, but the saltiness of the dishes was over the top. Of course, there are some who like their food extra salty, and for those people, Long John Silver's might have it right. But for many customers, the restaurant should be a little less enthusiastic with the salt shaker.

Fast food mobile apps and chain restaurant websites can make ordering easier for those who may not want to spend time waiting for their food. However, you have to ensure that you can actually trust the restaurant you're purchasing from so you don't end up in a situation like some Long John Silver's customers have. According to a Reddit thread, a customer placed an order on the Long John Silver's app, but they were informed that the order had been rerouted to a different location when their partner arrived at the restaurant to pick it up. No warning from the app, and the other store was closed. The poster tried calling the second location and even corporate, but couldn't get a hold of anyone to help them.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be a terribly infrequent occurrence, based on claims from other customers. Another Reddit user wasn't able to take advantage of a discount advertised in the app, and a Long John Silver's employee couldn't do anything to help. A different customer placed an online order for a store that wasn't open because of an equipment failure. However, they were still allowed to place an order, so they were out that money. When they finally got help, they were told they wouldn't get a refund for seven to 14 days. We would be more than a little annoyed by this situation.

Now, fast food restaurants generally aren't considered the cleanest places on earth, but you still want to know that the restaurant preparing your food isn't totally dirty. After all, it makes you question what kinds of conditions the food is stored and prepared in. But if online reviews are to be believed, Long John Silver's isn't very tidy. A Facebook user posted about a location of the restaurant that they claimed "smells like a nasty sewer," while another Facebook post called out an especially dirty Long John Silver's in Bay City, Michigan. They pointed out mold, sauce stains, and dirty windows, among various other problems with the establishment.

On Tripadvisor, the Long John Silver's in Humble, Texas was considered gross. Another customer is a bit more generous with their assessment of the overall cleanliness of the chain. They said they'd been to nice and clean locations, as well as dirty ones, so it's not a total win. You could probably say the same thing about most fast food chains, but it doesn't make us any more excited about eating at Long John Silver's.

Nobody wants to go into a restaurant — even a fast food restaurant — and feel like they're getting subpar service. Sure, you might have lower expectations for a fast food joint than you would for a higher-end spot, but sometimes, the service can be so bad that you might even question whether you even want to eat there at all. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there are more than a few complaints about Long John Silver's customer service online.

Some Long John Silver's customers recall how great the chain used to be back in the '70s and '80s. In recent years, though, they said that the quality of customer service had declined precipitously, along with the quality of the food itself. Multiple people on Facebook complain about the poor service at their Long John Silver's location. One was so frustrated by the customer service they'd gotten that they wrote a whole paragraph about it (but admitted that they'd likely be back for the delicious food anyway). You probably shouldn't expect a white-tablecloth situation the next time you dine at this chain.