Fresh Fried Fish — Restaurant in Lake in the Hills

This is my review of Fresh Fried Fish & Wings. I'd like to start off my review by saying I grew up in Elgin and for a summer I ate nothing but JJ's Chicken & Fish every weekend and then after that I lived in the City and Harold's Chicken was a staple at our household. So I'd like to say I know a thing or two about Chicken Wing Joints.

I arrived at the restaurant with my daughter and told the nice lady that I was super excited that they are in the neighborhood and I straight up told that I grew up on JJ's and Harold's and she just smiled. I did a quick peak into the menu and I went with the 6 piece combo with fries and a drink. ALL FOR $10. Let me repeat this. I got a 6 piece wings with fries and a piece of wheat bread and a drink for $10. These are the times that I remember when I could pick up a 6-piece for $10 and boy it's refreshing that FFF&W kept the pre-pandemic pricing. Thank you for this. I asked if I could get the wings with lemon pepper and she nodded her head and it almost brought a tear to my eyes. It was almost like some long lost secret language we were speaking and she understood. Additionally, I asked for mild and hot sauce on the side. You gotta have the sauces. At that moment it felt to me that these guys are legit. She asked what I wanted to drink and I asked her if she had grape soda and she said she didn't but they will order some. So I went with strawberry instead. Pro Tip: Everything is made to order so the wait is about 20 minutes for wings, so if you don't want to wait please call ahead!

I sat back and waited for my food to be ready. I took in the decor and atmosphere and to be quite frank it's bleak and barley any decorations on the walls besides the menu but it's a chicken joint what else did I expect? That's right nothing, as long as the chicken is bussin'. After the wait with my daughter the food was finally ready and to top it off she gave my daughter a free juice box!

I got my food and headed home. Everything was hot and crispy when I got home and I opened up my container and the chicken looks like those wings of JJ's and Harold's. I was getting excited but how did it taste? I went in for my first bite and the flavors brought me back to the summer of '06. OH MANNNN, how I can describe the rush of feelings and emotions from that single bite of chicken? It's on par to those other wing joints and we've made it. We're here in 2024 and I don't have to travel to the City or Schaumburg to experience that wonderful chicken that comes from a good Chicken joint. The lemon pepper was coated just right. The mild and hot sauce were exactly what I expected. The fries were perfectly seasoned and stacked right next to the chicken. And let's not forget the slice of wheat bread. Usually it's a piece of white bread that's under the pile of fries and chicken but FFF&W uses wheat bread, this was fine and I love how the bread gets a nice crunch from all the hot chicken and fries being laid on top of it.

Overall, I'm extremely happy that FFF&W is in the neighborhood and they met my expectations 100%. Keep up the great work and I can't wait to be a regular for the upcoming summer. See...

Ok, y'all.. we've been wanting to try this place for a while. We didn't because they always looked closed! Today, we saw the OPEN sign. The store looks dark.. and the sign is small.. but I'm glad we drove by!! The service was great.. friendly, polite, and helpful. Now.. onto what ya really want to know.. we split the pick 2 deal... we chose 3 pc cod and 6 pc shrimp.. came with fries and bread. We asked for the cocktail sauce.. which was ok.. and we asked for tarter sauce. This came in a package. The food, however, was GREAT.. extremely hot!! Not spicey.. but temperature.. shrimp was not overcooked..very tender and delicious.. the cod was not fishy tasting, and it was also tender and delicouse.. it flaked apart nicely.. fries were just as good. My husband got a sample of the chicken gizaeds.. he enjoyed them.You definitely need to try...

I lived in the south side of Chicago my whole childhood and moved here to lake in the hills at 19 I’ve always missed the food Harold’s, JJs, sharks etc and always wished they would open an actual place here that I can get my fix for actual chicken wings and some MILD SAUCE!!! My family and I ordered take out, I thought they closed since they didn’t answer but the great staff actually called me back to take my order, I apologized for it being so late and so close to closing but she genuinely wanted to make our Sunday! And boy they sure did! Everything was perfect! From the taste to the temp of the food, super fresh and super delicious! Thank you guys again and thank you for bringing your restaurant to the suburbs cus this south side...