Kiwi Style Fish and Chips Anna Maria Island — Restaurant in Holmes Beach

So we laughed at the reviewer who wrote she and her husband were reminiscing about the food...and after eating here--we can totally see WHY.

This little place has possibly the best battered fish and chips (we had onion rings) I've ever had. We're foodies who have eaten around in DC, Atlanta, and NYC, so we're not naive to good food. This place is legit, has a hole-in-the-wall vibe, but is cute, clean and cozy. The staff are SO friendly. The lady with curly hair and glasses who works the counter does everything--clearing the tables, serving, and taking orders. Her demeanor and customer service is outstanding, and her passion shows through. The food:

Fish was a BIG chunk, tasted FRESH, not "fishy", was tender to bite into and yet the batter coating remained hot, crispy, and tasty. It came with a homemade tarter sauce that was SO delicious.

ONION RINGS...we almost FOUGHT over these, and ended up calling a truce--putting in another order for onion rings. Not to hype it up, but these were SO well-made. Perfectly battered crispy (yet not greasy) on the outside, hot intact onion on the inside. Served piping hot with a hollandaise sauce.

If we could redo this, we'd come again and go straight for FISH & ONION RINGS. Didn't have room to try anything else after another race to the end with onion rings round 2, but I'm sure the burgers and desserts are also awesome. This place needs to be flagged for Michellin or something...seriously good at what they do and the whole experience was the highlight of the day!

It's Day 2 and...we're already reminiscing...

We stopped by about 10 minutes before closing and honestly weren’t sure if they’d still be able to accommodate us, but thankfully, they did! We really appreciated their willingness to serve us even though we know it probably delayed them from wrapping up for the night.

One of the staff members, originally from Australia, was incredibly friendly and welcoming. We had a great conversation with her and even found we had a few things in common. She mentioned the cook, referred to as "the Kiwi", was in the back. I’m not sure if she’s the owner or just part of the team, but either way, everyone we interacted with had a great attitude and made us feel at home.

Now for the food: absolutely delicious. The fish and chips were hands down the best I’ve had in a long time, crispy, flavorful, and perfectly cooked. We also tried the pineapple fritters, which my kids loved. Personally, I’d prefer cold pineapple, but I can still say they were well-made. The fried potato fritters were packed with flavor and a great addition to the meal.

All around, we had a great experience, good food, great people, and excellent service, especially considering the timing. We’ll...

Our server, Marina, was wonderful. Helpful and engaging, her long-time restaurant experience shined through in her competent and friendly demeanor. We tried the grilled fish and chips as well as the fried version (we definitely recommend the friend version!) with sweet potato fries. The pieces of fish were quite generous and we felt they were fairly priced. We also tried the calamari, and found the rings to be perfectly battered and tender but the tentacles a little too hard and crunchy. On the whole, the recipe for the batter used for the Kiwi Style fried items is nice and light, with good flavor. They must be keeping the oil at just the right temperature also since nothing felt overly greasy.

We will come back again for more fried fish and to hopefully get a taste of Marina's homemade tiramisu.

March 2023: Returned and had the fish sandwich. It was a large fish fillet, cut into two and stacked into the large bun (4" in diameter?) with letuce, tomato, and mayo. It was delicious! Marina was our server again and made our short wait...