Spud Fish & Chips — Restaurant in Seattle

Having grown up in a fishing town, I'm big on my fish, and so fish and chips is one of my go-to meals. I have had it all across the States and throughout the UK as well, at all price points. That said, my assessment of Spud fish & chips is that they're selling base level food at fine dining prices. I'll cover each aspect separately, starting with the food.

The fish is Alaskan cod, hand battered in the shop as it should be. The cod was fresh enough, pounded flat for faster frying times. The batter was basic, nothing special. They did have all the proper condiments, tarter sauce, malt vinegar and lemon, even a garlic infused vinegar. The chips were underwhelming. While they were cut with skin on the way I like, they weren't fried crisp, and were almost completely unseasoned.

The shop was simple, with some nice outdoor seating and some long counters and two tables inside, front counter and fryer right behind. Service was quick and friendly, though their wait time was a little longer than stated when I asked how long for an order (I was in a hurry). The food was served on a paper tray and wrapped in paper, as is typical of a street food style place.

The prices are where this place loses me. I ordered their basic order, which they call a single, which is one small piece of cod on a small fry. It was an even $20 after tax and a 15% tip, for a serving I would expect to cost $10 tops. Their prices go up from there considerably, whether you're asking another piece of fish or adding extras. For $20, I would expect to be able to get a full order at a pub, with a proper beer batter, double fried chips and a side of slaw.

There's nothing wrong with serving street level fish and chips, and I would have been perfectly satisfied if the price matched the product. However, when there's such a disparity between what you're paying and what you're receiving, it's hard not to feel disappointed as a customer.

Other people may have a different perspective, but for me, it just...

I eat fish and chips 2 or three times a month. Most of the time, I get my fishy crunch with fries fix wherever I can - fast food, hole in the wall joints or food trucks. The quality you find is hit or miss, so I occasionally try new places to see if there is a reliable place to get fried goodness. That was the plan when I drove down to Greenlake to check out Spuds. It is the middle of December, and there were not many folks at the lake, so finding parking was easy. I did have to pay $5 to park on the street, but I was less than a block away from the door. Spuds is in a nice building on a nice block. I have been to other restaurants in the chain that are in very sketchy locations, so I was happy. I was even happier to go in and see that the inside of the restaurant was clean and inviting. The woman behind the counter greeted me warmly and gave me a moment to look over the menu before she asked if I had been there before. I said no, and she launched into a thorough explanation of the menu items. I learned that the fish was cod and that the employee's favorite was the shrimp. I paid attention, but I was distracted by the prices. She told me the single fish and chips was plenty, but my hunger caused me to order the single with extra for $22. The basket that showed up at my table was piled high with fish stacked on some fries. I asked for and received extra tartar sauce and dove in. The first bite was a let down. While the fish looked great - perfectly golden brown and free of excess grease - when I bit into it, I discovered that the batter was too thick and not nearly cooked through. I hate sending stuff back and hate myself for not asserting myself, but I am what I am. I ate as much as I could...

First time eating here and there was a long hair fried into my fish and chips. Understandable, that kind of thing happens and they were quick to replace the food and even cooked a few prawns for us in addition which I saw as a nice way to show that they care and wanted another chance. Eating the food in the car since we're in the COVID times, the food was only ok. The fries were limp but I do like that they are real potatoes so that's a plus. The fish was nice but nothing special for the price. The prawns were good size but were a bit chewy. The coleslaw was tasty but it was pretty much a coleslaw soup, maybe use a serving spoon with holes? Seriously, we ordered a large container of it and half the cup at the end was full of liquid, but it had good flavor. Now for the reason why it only got 3 stars from me. We found another hair in the food at the end which was fairly frustrating and gross. All in all, a little over $25 for 2 pieces of fish and chips with a side of coleslaw seems a bit steep for what they are serving. One additional note would be to give 1 free sauce per piece of fish ordered and charge for additional. It's not much to only charge .50 cents for sauce but it feels a bit like the airlines jacking up small fees for this and that. If you want to charge for ketchup and tartar sauce from the beginning I would suggest making the food good enough to eat plain.

Anyhow, I heard this place was iconic so I had decently high expectations going in and left disappointed. Maybe I got unlucky and I want to stress again that not everything was bad and I try to give pros and cons with any...