Ship Out Fish & Chips — Restaurant in Astoria

This is a quirky, unique place...and after reading some reviews I went out of my way to seek it, coming thru from Cannon Beach back to Washington. I LOVE good fish and chips, and I really wanted to like Ship Out. But two major factors unfortunately kept me pretty far from that reality.

The primary one was the amount of cod. When I saw the four nice-size chunks in the basket, I was delighted---wow, I thought! Here, finally, was a nice deal during these times of such rapidly increased costs and post-pandemic inflation.

But it was not to be. The batter was quite nice--fried well, hot and crispy....there was just WAY too much of it. The little pockets of cod hidden inside amounted to precious little protein, surrounded by a plethora of oily batter. During many bites it was just golden fried crispy with a sort of pasty white inner 'not-fish'.

The second problem was the time it took to arrive. I thought they'd forgotten about me after awhile....I'd wandered all around the pole barn palace taking in the unusual perimeter of old dusty pieces and folksy art. So I went up to the trailer kitchen window and inquired, and was told they were 'working on that one'. After quite a bit more sitting at the pleasant little picnic table, but thanks to a friendly conversation with a nice couple at the next table over--also passing through, but they were definitely repeat customers--I wiled away the time sipping the beer I had brought in out of my own cooler (they had no alcohol for sale, but welcome outside carry-in), trying to make it last.

IN the end, the wait would have been ok, had the fish really been worth it. The fries were great as was the classic little cup of clean/green coleslaw....but more slaw and less batter would have been very welcome in this bod.

Maybe I'll take the cue of the nearby couple and come back to try again sometime--still thinking on that one. Perhaps something just went wrong in that kitchen...they were waiting for the fish delivery to get there, but it didn't, and they finally had to make do---on my order. Probably creative thinking on my part.

I hope by then they've read this and realize that $18 for the amount of cod which should have filled maybe two of the chunks--not four--does not make driving out of the way to an Astoria satellite four-corners town most of us have never heard of, "Jeffers Garden",...

We ordered one 1/2 order and one full order of Halibut F&C's and 2 cans of soda. With a 15% tip it was $59.80 (Hence 3 stars). $60 lunch for 2 in Jeffers Garden/ Miles Crossing out of a food truck; those are Cannon Beach ocean view prices. Atmosphere was upscale food truck area with ample seating inside a converted greenhouse with local artist goods for sale. Staff was very friendly and service took a little longer than expected; probably 15-20 minutes to get an order and half of F&C but overall not too bad. They were really busy and I couldn't figure out where everyone was coming from; but they are clearly drawing in the crowds so good for them. I could barely finish my full order and I'm a big eater. My wife got the half and she was glad she didn't get the full order. The half order was $20 for 2 large pieces of fish and the whole order was $27 and had 4 large pieces of fish. If I had to do it all over again I'd order 1 full order and a side of fries for the 2 of us and the bill would have been a lot more reasonable. F&C were good, a little greasy but they provide paper towels so no big deal. While I was there I saw an incredible looking poorboy sandwich and burger come out. I saw a sign in the reviews saying "Support Local Fishermen" so they get two thumbs up for that. I'll likely return but it won't be for the F&C's- Bowpicker's are better (IMO) and half the price. I will like to try their highly rated chowder which was $13 a bowl and $8 a cup. Kudo's to all of them for building a good business in a very unconventional location and drawing in a very big crowd; they must be doing...

Edit 8/1/22 My boyfriend and I came back to Astoria yesterday specifically for your fish & chips. It was completely packed out, the wait was 45 minutes. I am willing to wait & have no issue with that. What I do have an issue with, is the fact that we paid $27 per order of halibut fish & chips, and they were both SO greasy. Mine was the worst & was practically inedible. I understand inflation is crazy right now, I understand y’all were super busy yesterday. But when I am paying almost $30 per meal, it better be awesome. Instead, I was knocking on heaven’s door. We don’t work hard for our money to just blow it on bad food. On top of that, the fish was different from our last experience. I actually thought we were accidentally given cod instead of halibut because the fish was much flakier this time. I called and inquired, and discovered that depending on the month, this establishment does not serve fresh caught fish, which explains the difference we both noticed. I find this frustrating, as it is incredibly misleading. And now I feel very silly for my original post below. We don’t plan on returning.

Original post (Sept 2021): We ordered the prawns and the halibut fish & chips. Let me say 100x over the halibut fish & chips is the best my boyfriend and I have both ever had. The prawns were good, don't get me wrong. But that halibut takes the cake! No excess grease, the batter was very light and crisp. The tartar sauce was top notch, too! 10/10...