The Bait Shop — Restaurant in Friday Harbor

There is a lot of hurry up and wait on a trip back from the San Juan Islands. I have heard horror stories about people getting stuck in Friday harbor because the ferries are having problems. Even with a reservation, you might not get a spot headed to the mainland. We decided that getting there early was good insurance against possible difficulties. We got our place in line with a couple of hours to kill until we might get on a boat. It was lunch time, so we thought a trip to The Bait Shop was in order. My son and I discovered this place last year during the Friday Harbor Film festival. It is an easy to miss spot on Spring Street next to the movie theater. There is a big space inside that is mostly empty. In the summer the space is filled with a line of eager fish and chips fans. Since this was November, we had the place to ourselves. We claimed almost all of the stools at a counter by the window while My cousin and I put in our orders. The menu is pretty straight forward - there are a few fried seafood choices served with fries and coleslaw. I was intrigued by something called crab tots, but at $18 I was not going to take a chance. I got the two piece cod. For bigger appetites, there is a three piece option and if you don’t like cod, you can get halibut. There is a cooler of canned and bottled drinks to choose from, but I prefer fountain drinks with fish and chips. I would not have been surprised if our group of 7 had overwhelmed the tiny kitchen. I should have had more faith. In the summer these guys manage to feed a line that fills the shop and overflows out into the street. 7 orders is nothing to these pros. Our food came out in a couple of minutes. We barely had time to gather ketchup, salt, mayo, other condiments and fill our cups. Everything was fried to perfection. The fish was crispy and cooked though, but not dry. The fries were crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle. All the cooked items were good and hot. It was served with plenty of tartar sauce. I like to start with the coleslaw. This version was fresh and crunchy. There was just the right amount of dressing on it to give it flavor without making it soggy. There was an unusual herb in there that I did not like, but that is a matter of taste and not a lack of skill on the part of whoever made it. Except for the coleslaw, we ate with our hands and made full use of the paper towel napkins that were provided. I was good and full by the time I was down to scooping the french fry salt from the bottom of the cardboard boat that everything was served in. There was plenty of time left and even though it was November, our thoughts turned to ice cream. The Bait Shop offers soft serve chocolate, vanilla or swirled. It is probably fine, but we skipped it in favor of the place at...

We arrived in Friday Harbor on a cold fall day and wanted to eat clam chowder this place had good Google reviews, upon walking in the young man working seemed so put out that he had to get up from a stool and quit watching his movie on his phone to help us not only was he put out he also wouldn't look up at us or answer any questions about the menu. I tried to lighten his mood by saying Friday Harbor is very quiet when it's the offseason must be really boring sometimes. That still did not get him to loosen up, after he prepared our food it looked okay and to be honest if it didn't I was just going to get up and leave and probably just throw the food on the floor so it would give him something to do besides sit behind the counter with a bad attitude and totally perplexed that he has to deal with a customer who is paying him money to work. I might try this location again if there was someone else working that was happy and could explain what they were serving like is the fish fresh or ???. But I would not recommend this place if the tall young man is working behind...

This is the best fish and chips we have had on this island. It's primarily a take-out option most similar to Spuds (Seattle people would know). Our usual order for family of 4 is (2) of the 4 piece cod (trust me...the menu says 3 piece but you can ask for 4 piece). Tartar is substantial with slight garlic flavor. Fresh lemon wedges and coleslaw cup. Crispy fries. The teens here use a punch card for baskets of fries and soft serve cones. This business gives teens jobs, so don't blast the owner on reviews here by one star reviews for how a teen didn't entertain you while you ordered. We have been to all the restaurants that serve fish and chips on the island. This is the only one that hits "home" for us. The batter is always light enough and never heavy pancake type. We always take ours to go and find a bench outside. Do eat it right away. It's not something you let sit and steam in the paper wrap to eat later at a further away...