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Traditionally, a fish fry is a communal gathering with fish sizzling on the grill or in deep vats of hot oil, accompanied by lots of tasty side dishes. But there’s no reason you can’t create a similar experience dining at a seafood restaurant, surrounded by friends or family, rain or shine. Fortunately, one classic chain restaurant, Red Lobster, provides an affordable way to do that with its Friday Fish & Chips special.
Featured in Tasting Table’s roundup of five restaurant chains with the best Friday fish specials, Red Lobster serves up two portions of its beer-battered, wild-caught cod for the Friday Fish & Chips special, which is an ongoing part of its Daily Deals menu. Served with a bowl of coleslaw and Chesapeake fries, the deal is available all day on Fridays at a discounted price of $15.99, reflecting about a $7 reduction from the same meal on other days of the week, depending on where you live.
It’s possible to substitute the sides included in the Friday Fish & Chips special, with options that vary per region. Some offered at no additional cost include orzo rice, mashed or baked potatoes, seasoned broccoli, and the Southern-favorite hush puppies. For an extra charge, you can order bacon mac & cheese, lobster pasta au gratin, creamy lobster mashed potatoes, and more. Like any entree at Red Lobster, it comes with the restaurant’s famous Cheddar Bay Biscuits.
What makes Red Lobster Fish & Chips stand out
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To alleviate any concern over the quality of a reduced-rate seafood special, it helps to know the Red also landed on top of Tasting Table’s ranked list of chain-restaurant fish and chips. Ranking criteria, which ultimately elevated Red Lobster’s version, included things like breading, battering, seasoning, and the fresh, tender, flakiness of the fish. However, chips get equal standing in a fish and chips dinner — nodding to Britain’s name for French fries.
Given that importance, Red Lobster pays special attention to the fishy sidekick, calling its version “Chesapeake Fries.” The chain doesn’t divulge its specific recipe, but the moniker indicates an unofficial shoutout to the Chesapeake Bay region’s fondness for sprinkling fries with Old Bay or similar seafood-seasoning blends. The state of Maryland, and entire Chesapeake Bay region, maintains strong ties to the Old Bay product.
As for the fish component, Red Lobster notes that cod is among the fish it serves throughout the year, and that it’s sourced from the icy-cold waters of the Bering Sea, near the coastlines of Alaska and China. Like all of the company’s seafood, it adheres to overall standards of being traceable, sustainable, and responsibly sourced.
