Halibut House Fish and Chips Inc. — Restaurant in Toronto

Today was "International Fish & Chips Day", so Halibut House had a BOGO (but one get one free) deal going on. It's only available for dine in. Halibut House is located within this plaza.

There's 6 of us, so we ordered 3 of the BOGO, so that 3 would be paid and the other 3 would be free.

The fish & chips dish comes out on a huge white plate. The fish is larger than I expected. Quite crunchy and oily/greasy. The fries are tasteless and dry, even after adding way too much salt. The fries are cut large. The salad is very sour. The more I ate the fish, the more saltier it got, greasier and oily, as if I was drinking straight oil. The tartar sauce just punches you in the face (the tartar sauce I've had in the past didn't do it like this). The fish we ate wasn't Halibut. It was either Haddock or Cod.

In terms of service, the servers ignored or somehow didn't see my friend trying to get their attention to get tartar sauce. For some reason, our table just didn't have ketchup and tartar sauce. Every other table had them.

One of the male server either didn't see or ignored my friend when she tried to get his attention to get a takeout box and the bill. And once she did get his attention, he just left and didn't come back at all. We assumed he just forgot about the takeout box.

He eventually returned with the bill... However, we realized that the bill was wrong. We only ordered the BOGO fish and chips special. We didn't order any sandwich or whatever else was on the bill. So, again, we had to flag him down to get the right bill and remind him of the takeout box. Again, he just takes the wrong bill and disappears for a really long time.

After some time he returns with the right bill and the takeout box we needed. A few other things to note is that, none of the employees have a uniform, making them very hard to distinguish them from just regular customers. Not only that, the same server came by and tried to give us the wrong order of food twice!

Maybe the service was this bad because, they're so busy at lunch time. The restaurant is completely full at that point in time. They have a sign up front that just says "Take a seat anywhere". So, there's no one up at he front that guides you in or anything, nor is this a place where you order at the cash register. They just kind of notice new people sitting down and come and get you.

Everything they do, especially when it's this busy... Feels rather disorganized.

Overall, the food portion seems large... Only because it's been spaced out on a giant plate and stacked. Flavor wise: It could do better. Texture: the fish was crunchy. Dry: Fries were like the desert in my mouth. Service could definitely be better. Price? Way more expensive than I thought. No where on the signs did the BOGO say which fish and chips the BOGO applied to (probably the most expensive one).

Not a good fish and chips experience for me. I originally rated the food higher, but, the longer I ate the food, the lower my rating got. The food...

Tonight was my third trip to this location. By chance, I got to meet the owner, Julie, and really can't say enough about the place. Like most Maritimers, I can be very picky about sea food, especially when it comes to fish & chips. As a trucker, I've also had the opportunity to dine out in 38 different states, so I can make a decent comparison. Not only is the food here top notch, the staff goes out of their way to provide excellent service, and the place is spotless! I'm definitely making this place a regular spot for a night out.

Update: June 15/25 After all these years, it seems necessary to downgrade my previous review. I went in tonight with 2 other people around 6. Approximately 8-10 others were already seated and having their meal , and another half dozen people were ahead of us. With 1 server working the crowd, there's no way the service should've been that slow, and I understand the kitchen does play a large part in this process. When 2 of a 3 party group get their food served 15-20 minutes before the 3rd person, there's definitely something wrong. This isn't the first time in recent history that this has happened, but it's happened enough for me to consider...

The male server was very rude with my family on family day from not allowing us to chose the table we preferred although the restaurant was empty, to rushing us to order, to acting surprised when i asked the dishwasher to get his attention to clarify my order which was placed at the table when i was in the washroom. The fries were very hard and not tasty. For 21$ a meal this is not the service/customer treatment, or quality of food one would hope for or expect. It seemed he was giving an ungrateful attitude for our business. He even said "dont come back if this is how you behave" when i called him out on rushing us to pay, when i let him know i will pay now but not be rushing myself to finish my meal at any point soon. I tipped very miminal, because it actually felt like he didnt deserve a tip at all for his unaccomadating , impatient and impolite attitude..Good luck. I really hope this location does something about the poor customer service skills of this man, because this isnt a new issue. He was rude and unaccomadating last time to even a few years ago, this restaurant wont be able to stay in business very long if they treat all customers in such an...