The Codmother Fish & Chips — Restaurant in San Francisco

I finally tried Codmother Fish and Chips while on one of my rounds of Fisherman's Wharf. It is a food truck about 2 blocks from the wharf so it's in the heart of the touristy area of SF. Ordering was pretty straightforward walk up to the window, place order, pay, then wait for order number to be called and finally pickup. Next you can eat at one of the few shared tables in front or take your food to-go. I decided to get the simple fish & chips ($10.99) to-go and was on my way in 10 minutes.

I got 2 big pieces of fried fish over a handful of chips. The fried fish has a thick dense batter as an outer cover with an air pocket separating the two. This is very different from other fried fish which has the batter properly coated all over. The fish seemed to have been in the fryer a tad longer than what would be the correct frying time, still the batter did not have a nice crunch but felt lumpy instead. The fish inside was almost lost with the batter stealing the limelight and not in a nice kind of way. The fries also could have been a lot crispier. They felt too soggy and limp. All things considered the fish and chips were very average.

Price wise it was a tad less than what you would pay at other touristy fish places on the Wharf. I guess that shows up in the quality of the serving. Considering the high ratings of this place, it could be that I just come on an off day, but what I got deserves...

The (cod)Mother of all fish fillets! When you find an eatery in a tourist area where you see more locals than tourists - GO THERE!!! We found the Codmother online while vacationing in San Francisco. When we arrived, were surprised that it’s an outdoor location! Being a little rainy, we wondered, “Is this worth it?” The answer is a resounding YES! You order at a window, choices include a fish or shrimp combo with fries or fish only. You hang out under a canopy at a picnic table and when your lucky number is called, magic happens! The fish fillets are large, puts any fish chain to shame. And so flavorful; I forgot to ask what type of fish they use but they were flaky and great with malt vinegar. Hubby got the shrimp combo; shrimp was the size of a silver dollar and a light batter that made it taste great and crispy. While we were there, we saw half dozen folks that were waited on. Since the owner of Codmother chats with every customer, we learned their backgrounds; only one was a tourist from out of state - the others were a local transit worker, a maid at a nearby hotel, guys that were doing construction next door, a nail tech that lives nearby, and a group of adult students that LOVE the shrimp. With those odds, I’ll support LOCAL anytime we...

Best I've had in a long time. Likely tied with the second or third best I've ever had (best was in Canada, second best in Tasmania). There are a fair number of customers over lunch so there is usually about a 10 min wait. The service is excellent and very friendly, prices reasonable, and portions good.

I give it a four because it lacks a variety of seafood and side dishes (e.g., deep fried oysters, seafood soup) that often come at other fish and chip stands. Also there are no on site washrooms, and seating is outside with overhead cover--but that is expected at a food stand vice a restaurant. Food is not soggy, cooked in over cooked oil, but it wasn't super crisp like a tempura batter either.

If you are in the area and want a good, quick lunch this is a great place to go. If you want seafood soup in a bread bowl, two blocks away on the water side there are several food stalls that sell that (across from the sour dough...