Sea Witch Fish and Chips — Restaurant in Toronto

My partner and I ventured out during the biggest snowstorm of the season to try out Sea Witch Fish and Chips, which had come highly recommended from some friends. Who wants to stay home and cook when the weather is so bad, when you can manage to get out and enjoy some comfort food. We were able to get parking on a side street and walk to the place.

This is a really cool little diner, with a definite retro feel about it. The bad weather ensured that we got a snug booth for 2, as there were only a handful of (had to be local) customers inside. Upon entering we were greeted with a friendly welcome and directive to seat ourselves at whatever booth we’d like - I assumed he was the owner/chef. We were able to hang our jackets on the end of our “booth’ and have a look at the menu.

The menu is straightforward and simple, presenting the same line up of fish and chips, double fish and chips, fish sandwich or just fish, for each of the four standard fish offerings: Haddock Halibut, Pickeral and Trout. There’s a Weekly Special Option, which this week was Ocean Pearch. Also available are Haddock Cakes, sub-ins of poutine or onion rings, a Kid’s menu, Witch’s Brew (house chowder), and “Bits and Bobs” list including slaw, gravy, curry sauce and a special Horseradish, Garic, Dill Dip. For libations, there is a short list of local craft beers and cocktails, cider and wine.

I opted for the Haddock and chips, paired with a cold can of Woodhouse Nordic Pale Ale while my partner had the Halibut and chips, and a can of Lost Craft Old School Pilsner. We also ordered the Slaw, which was more than enough for the two of us. We also had two large glasses of water at the table.

We could watch the chefs prepare our meal in the open kitchen that we walked past to get to our booth. The golden, crispy fish with a mountain of chips arrived piping hot with our slaw and beers, delivered to us by our lovely server Grace. My Haddock was very good, but not as “tender” as the Halibut my partner ordered. But this is exactly what would be expected of these two fish species, hence the higher price for the Halibut. Both outstanding. Chips were the large, chunky kind, betraying the pleasant fact that they must be made fresh on site from whole potatoes. It was all very delicious and filling. Our slaw was a welcome contrast on the side. The fact that the meal was piping hot, and stayed hot, ensured that the fish and chips never tasted heavy and oily. Our beers and waters were the perfect pairing.

In summary, a fun little spot when you have that hankering for well-prepared and authentic Fish and Chips. This is their only specialty, not the from-the-bottom-of-the-freezer fish and chips that so many places serve. To be honest, we could have ordered the Two and One as there was so much food – two pieces of Fish with the Chips shared between the two of us. But who really wants to share their chips. We will be back with our friends I know it. Maybe have some chowder. And maybe on a less...

I have been eating at this place for a long time and am not giving my rating based on food quality, but for obvious double standards. After placing an order they stated it was credit card payment only, or to make an order online. My wife grabbed her card and we proceeded with payment. After hanging up I realized we had just supported a business that refuses business to less fortunate people who don’t have access to the internet, or a credit card. Upon calling to ask for a refund I was told they can’t do refunds because of COVID and they can offer me a credit. As I had already decided at this point I would not be returning I opted to proceed with the order. Upon arriving I was given intense, evil glares from the staff until my food arrived. To my amazement on the “pick up” table beside my food bag was a large tip jar labeled “swear jar” with no shortage of coins and bills. Pretty hard to believe a small business, during these times, would refuse cash as payment for food, yet supply a tip jar at the door. I will try to attach the pic if possible. We have a large population of citizens who unfortunately don’t have access to the internet and others who don’t have access to credit. I have a couple suggestions: 1.Allow customers to tap debit card through the glass, or 2. Accept cash in a separate jar labeled food for thought. As a small business owner I can sympathize with the struggle during the lockdowns but refusing access to your food to the less privileged is...

Net on this place is that it's rather overrated, imo. Came here because the 'rumour' is that they cook their fries in beef tallow. We didn't taste that at all.

Ordered the seafood chowder to start, which we found to be quite good (although it would have been better with some hot sauce, which wasn't available).

The cole slaw was very bad...tasteless with little to no zip (despite our adding s&p, vinegar).

The main was the trout fish & chips. Perhaps we should have just stayed with the tried & true haddock, but we felt the oil in the trout would have lent itself well to being moist and flavourful. It was neither...dry and flavourless as well. Dipping into the tartar sauce didn't help neither...it was runny (thin) and lacking tanginess as well.

The chips were allright, although we were expecting more flavour given they are (supposedly) cooked in beef tallow (hmm). For sure they would greatly benefit by being cut thinner to add proper crunch (we ordered ours well done and about a 1/3 were still soggy). I suspect their chips will become soggy quickly with takeaway.

Service and beer selections were good. But the Sea Witch box is now...