A friend brought catfish from this spot to a meeting, and it was absolutely fantastic. I had to ask where he got it, and I placed an order the same day. The catfish was perfectly fried--crispy, flavorful, and fresh. The phone ordering experience was easy and pleasant, and my order was ready in about 15 minutes. I especially appreciated that they still took my order even though they were closing in 20 minutes. That level of customer service really stood out. I'll definitely be coming back! read more

No Parking!!! No Parking!!!! Street Parking !! Non Existent!! Waited half an hour for a parking spot!!! read more

This place was soooo good I forgot to take photos ot the food. I was also extremely hungry. The cat fish was literally fried to perfection. The jumbo shrimp was good but a little dry. The shrimp Popboy was spicy. The kids loved the chicken strips. Now let me tell you about this lemonade. The amount of sugar in this drink is off the charts. I literally had to keep dumping water into it. It is good do not get me wrong just a little too sugary for my liking. This place was popping! Family after family was coming in to order their lunches. The seating in this location is limited we were a group of 6 and literally took up the entire restaurant. We will be back for sure just make sure to order ahead of time everything is made to order so it takes 30-40 minutes depending on how busy they are. read more

The Fat Fish - Menu - Fish & Chips Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Simply, utterly DIVINE! Don't be fooled by the hole-in-the-wall vibe. The fish is always exquisite, the portions giants. The spicy tartar sauce is to die for. read more

Mainly a to-go place. Orders are made to order so you know it's fresh and hot! You can either order with cashier or at kiosk. Menu is low-key overwhelming with pretty much the same stuff in different form, like a fish sando, fish and chips, etc. They do have a spicy rub you can request. It's one of those creep on you spices as you eat more of it, so beware! I like that you're able to pick your type of fish. I picked red snapper and the BF ordered catfish. The red snapper came with 3 pieces as they were smaller portions than the catfish which came with 2 pieces. We sat inside for a quick bite.. not the cleanliness, but it was quick. The fish was fried well and it was satisfying. They have special deals that are affordable too! read more

The Fat Fish - Fish & Chips Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Food is always fresh and fast! The service is always great they answer any questions, and help make ordering easier! I recommend the prawns they are delicious every time! read more

Found this place while looking for "fish fry" since a friend and I were talking about the dish. I'm happy I found this place and would be back. The food was solid, the service was friendly, and the pricing was reasonable. Most people seem to be doing takeout but there are a few seats in the cozy space and the staff keeps the dining area clean. The menu looks extensive but it's basically various combinations of their fried fish, chicken, shrimp or oysters with the various sides in various quantities. Since this was an afternoon snack/linner for me, I opted for just 2 pieces of fried catfish and 2 oysters. I also got half spicy and half regular so I can check out the various seasonings. The person taking my order told me it would be 10-15 minutes since they make every order as it comes in. My food came out in the middle of that time frame so if you want your food sooner, you should order ahead. I had time to kill and I wanted to eat my food right when it came out so I didn't mind ordering there. Everything was cooked perfectly, crispy and not too greasy. I personally preferred the spicy over the regular seasoning since the regular seasoning didn't have enough flavor for me. The catfish had a bit of a muddy flavor so if you don't like it like that, I would recommend trying the other fish. Cormeal crust is a bit on the thicker side. They took a break right after I got my order so I was in my car noshing on my eats while watching other people walk up and be disappointed that they were closed. If this is a regular thing, they should update their hours to reflect appropriately. read more

The Fat Fish - 2 fried catfish Combo #1 2 Fish and 2 Oysters - Fish & Chips Near Me - Berkeley, California

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I rarely order fried fish, but a friend who lives nearby has little ones who love Fat Fish. Happily, the fish was good! Actually wish I had some now, but don't live in the area. A Latino young man at the front counter got upset when asked which fish was wild-caught and wouldn't answer the question and refused to asked the cook until I basically forced him to. Hey, young'un, the only saucy thing you're dishing out should be the tartar sauce. read more

Fish is decent not the best, oysters just decent. My issue is they nickel and dime you. Charging for vinegar now, Latin guy at counter (don't know his name) was RUDE and swore they'd always charged for vinegar as if he's worked there a long time, which he has not, no honey they have not, with his attitude good luck in life. Spent $19 and you can't give any vinegar, cheap A!! read more

Awesome, great service! I saw to ask for spicy seasoning on the menu after placing my order, asked for it after placing my order, ​and it was still doable. read more

The Fat Fish - 2 catfish with fries hot sauce ketchup and tartar sauce - Fish & Chips Near Me - Berkeley, California

The last few times I there the portions were nice and most of all I received Catfish when I ordered Catfish

Great fried catfish with cornmeal batter, fries and exceptional hush puppies. Service was friendly and professional and offered advice about my order size. Excellent take out place. I'll be back! read more

This fish was horrible. Some of the worst I've had since being here. I ordered the 4 PC fish/fries Dover Sole. The fish had a beautiful fry on it, but once I bit into it, YUCK!!! It tasted old. it had freezer bite, it was dry and lifeless, not a flake in site and it wasn't the Dover Sole we ordered, actually tasted and looked like Whiting. Good reviews, even from the customers waiting to order. It just wasn't our experience. read more

Kids loved it. Super fresh! Clean and great service. Will be back for sure. The Basa and Chips were excellent crispy.

Unexpected fish and chips are their own special delight. This was certainly not the neighborhood in which I expected this fare. The cornmeal makes for a dry (not oily) crust. The Alaskan Pollock was tasty. The catfish will be next. The staff are friendly, efficient, and know their stuff. Their cook time estimates were spot-on. Despite a couple handfuls of chairs inside the usually quiet place, orders are packed to go because that's what the clientele wants. We ate in and enjoyed seeing the flow of people. Worth it. read more

The Fat Fish - Seating area - Fish & Chips Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Fat Fish serves up ritchous fried seafood. Cooked to order so not laying out under a heat lamp. Fair price too. Service was spot on. Not really a place to sit down and eat but the take out is on point. Will definitely be back for more. read more

I love fish and chips. My favorite place is in Seattle but this place is not bad. Good selection, fresh and delicious.

Ok the red snapper was excellent but can I talk about the garlic fries and onion rings? So good!! Big portions for fair price. Love the signs inside explaining the different kinds of fish. Food was made fresh and quickly but not so quickly that we didn't have time to walk across the street for donuts while waiting. Great place! read more

The fish is always fresh crispy and hot. Cornmeal batter with the right amount of seasoning

Date: 5/10/2022 Time: 3:00 PM 60° Sunny My husband was craving some fried catfish. Our go to place is closed today. Thus, a yelp search results in The Fat Fish in Berkeley. A shout out to my fellow yelper, Shayla B. After reading her review, which convinced me to check this restaurant out. The Fat Fish is a small business with the kitchen area in the back. All orders are to go. There are no tables and chairs for a sit down meal. It's a hole-in-the-wall place that has a seafood menu mounted above the order window. However, don't knock it down. One never knows what is being offer to the customers or how good the combos and sandwiches are. It's my first time here and I did not know what to expect. We lucked out and found parking near Fat Fish. Needless to say, our eyes got bigger than our stomach. We both ordered two combo #3 (5 catfish, 7 oysters; 5 catfish, 7 prawns). One combo would have been enough for the two of us. I guess we were being greedy. Our combos were on point. I never thought I would like catfish and prawns in a cornmeal batter. Catfish was fresh and moist. The prawns fried to perfection. My husband enjoyed the catfish, but said the oysters were just okay. The female employees were friendly and very pleasant. They had better customer service than what I experienced at another small seafood restaurant in West Oakland several years ago. I told the employee if the combo is good, my husband and I will be back to try other items on their menu board. Again thanks to Shayla B and Victor W for their reviews. I would have never known about The Fat Fish. read more

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food was good, fish and prawns were fresh. the macaroni salad had to much mustard to me and the sweet potato cake they serve from a 3rd party was good. customer service was great. The young lady was welcoming and was knowledgeable about the menu. I am now wondering if this place is family owned because of how small the staff was. The restaurant was clean! Thank you. read more

Love this place! Parking! Food made to order! Hits the spot when I am craving fish! I do wish the fish was a bit thicker but overall, very tasty. read more

I was in the East Bay today and wanted fish n chips. My favorite place is closed on Tuesday's so I turned to Yelp. I found Fat Fish, besides liking the name reviews were very good so I went here. I ordered Pollack and shrimp. The cook time was excellent on the food. Hot and moist with a great flavor. Fries were fresh and crisp. Young lady taking my order did a great job and very friendly. Many spoke coming in to pick up orders. Took my food along with a fresh lemonade to my car and ate lunch. I really enjoyed my meal. I can see why Fat Fish is liked by so many people. read more

The Fat Fish - 2 pieces of Pollack and 2 prawns with chips. Very good! - Fish & Chips Near Me - Berkeley, California

I ordered catfish and chicken wing combo. I was unable to eat the food because it was extremely oily and the fish tasted like rancid cod liver oil. Yuck! The coating/batter on the chicken was mushy because it was drenched in oil. I threw the entire plate in the trash. read more

The Fat Fish survived the pandemic! Ben and Crystal, small business owners are back. It's carryout only and there's a brisk business. Call you order in and it will be ready in 10-15 minutes. The prices have gone up a bit, however still reasonable! read more

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SHIT SHMACKK ,,if you cravin fish n chips and you in a hurry this the spot to go price it not bad and THE CRUNCH is Off the Charts gonna be my go to spot whenever im in the bay read more

The Fat Fish - Red snapper n fry's - Fish & Chips Near Me - Berkeley, California

Highly disappointed, I will never patronize with this business EVER again, definitely a waste of money. Fish was old, cold and bland. Fries were old, hard and cold. Food should be made to order, I asked if the fries were fresh because I previously received old fries, I was told "yes your order just came out," and to my surprise everything was cold, bland and old. I really wish I'd checked before I drove home, this really use to be a good fish spot with fresh seasoned fish. read more

Delicious fish cooked to order. So crisp and not oily at all. You will not be disappointed!

I'm extremely disappointed with my meal I received from The fat fish. I came in about a week ago for fish, shrimp and oyster combo. The fries were ok. The shrimp was the only edible thing on my plate. The fish just tasted old and dry. I couldn't even eat it. I'm just so saddened that I can't eat at this establishment. High price for low quality food. The service is always great but food is lacking greatness. read more

Over the weekend, I ordered three to-go orders of the 4-piece catfish combos, two with fries and one with coleslaw for the very first time. The good: - Fish had very flavorful batter, fried to crisp perfection - Fries were crunchy and flavorful - Large portions of the fish The manageable: - Felt like they could've added more fries - the portion seemed a bit small The absolute unacceptable and why I won't return: - We did not get catfish!! I don't know what fish it was, but I know for sure it wasn't catfish. I even called after tasting the fish to ask if perhaps they mixed up our order, but they were adamant that it had been catfish. So either they're suppliers aren't giving them the real deal and they don't know the difference, or they are really trying to pass some other fish as catfish. Either way, I'm not returning to find out. read more

Food was delicious, great service. I usually pick my mom up her favorite, catfish, coleslaw and french fies. On Fridays!

For the price it not worth it. Grew up on this place went to have childhood memory and was disappointed. Overpriced and fish, chicken was not as good. Maybe they trying to stay in business by raising price so high and quantity of food was not worth it. Was a Berkeley/ north Oakland staple. read more

This is not your ordinary fish & chips joint. The batter is cornmeal, very crunchy (probably air-fried), so thick and hearty that it turns the seafood inside into more of a flavoring than a filling, even though it's not unfairly thin. The other really rare thing about the coating is that it works as well on shrimp as it does on fish. That is not often the case. Get a fish and shrimp combo if you come here. Fries very crispy and crunchy too. And it's fast: food is prepared to order, they said 10-15 minutes but it was less than 10. Basically takeout, but there is a counter under the window if you want to eat there. read more

Good food. Would recommend calling ahead and ordering your food for faster service. But food is great well seasoned and affordable pricing.

Well I wanted to try to this place as I love seafood and under cover spots in the bay. I walked in the restaurant and ordered the 2 for 2 which includes Red Snapper, Shrimp, Oysters, along with fries. I received my food within 15 mins, and I tell you the food looked good. The fish was really tasty and I was impressed the shrimp were tasty along with the oysters. This place was defiantly better than I expected. The restaurant was clean service was good it was really a sleeper spot if you looking for good seafood. If in the area of Berkeley, try this spot and try the 2 for 2.........Good Food and reasonable prices for seafood. read more

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TFF serves up some very tasty fried fish. While it's not a cheap meal, it's the best Southern -cornmeal based-fried fish I've tasted in the area and the reason I have patronized the business for so long. Perhaps there are pop-ups serving some good Southern fried fish in Oakland, but I haven't found one yet. That said, the establishment is always clean and tidy and never -ever- smells like fried fish or fired foods. For some that would be an immediate red flag, but I appreciate not coming out smelling like a skillet of hot grease. I've never had issue with tainted or burnt oil flavors or greasy foods. Both Ben and Crystal season and fry fish well however, I'm partial to Crystal in the galley. The tartar sauce is house-made and always fresh. TFF has even done an à la carte catered menu for me and the fish varieties and prawns were incredible and enjoyed by everyone! Typically, I order on site and wait because I add a bit of customization to my order. I request extra seasoning on everything and the seafood fried crispy. The additional seasoning and crispy-fry does make a difference to me and my family. read more

Hot damn, dem fish n' chippies are GOOOOD!!! Never been a huge fan of cornmeal battered fish, but Fat Fish makes it work. I think some type of magic is happenin' up in that kitchen. Stopped by for lunch one day and left pleasantly surprised. I love that you can choose what type of fish that you want. They have a few different varieties here to choose from. I had been eyeing their red snapper ever since I peeped it on the menu pictures on Yelp. Me loooves a good red snapper snap! They've got a ton of different mix and match combo plates to choose from and the prices are so cheap for what you're getting! I got the 2 by 2 combo with two pieces of red snapper, 2 prawns, and fries. That. Fish. Was. LIT!!! Litty indeed, and it was nice and hot too. The seasoning was just perf and it was nice and flaky. I also adored their prawns as well. The fries are your typical crinkle cut but they executed these well too. What a didn't understand was why they put two slices of white bread on top? I mean... this bread wasn't even grilled or toasted. It seemed like they just pulled two slices of bread from a grocery store loaf and called it a day. Maybe try toasting that bad boy wit some buttah, and then we can talk! The food is definitely poppin' here. Service at the counter was great as well and the food came out pretty quickly. Not many spaces to eat inside but it looks like most people get their food to go anyways. I think they had maybe 4 or 5 small tables inside. The parking kind of sucks too unfortunately but this entire area of Berkeley is like that. There's a small parking lot in front of the store but the spaces are shared amongst several different businesses. In looking at the menu, I noticed that they also have smoothies and handmade lemonade. Would love to try both one day along with the other types of fish. Didn't expect too much from this spot, but in the end, it was actually damn good. I'll be adding this spot on my regular rotation of lunch spots now. read more

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I'm usually a beer battered fish & chips type of gal but when I passed by The Fat Fish and smelled the delicious scents coming from the place I HAD to try their cornmeal battered catfish. I was torn between getting pollock but after readying the numerous Yelp reviews and recommendations from my friend, David N I had to try the catfish for my first visit. I ended up getting the (2 and 5) - 2 fried pieces of catfish and 5 pieces of prawns. I substituted the fries with onion rings for ~$20. Not the cheapest fish & chips I've ordered but let me tell you that I felt STUFFED and I only ate half of the order. So this can be a two meal option if you don't get caught up eating it all at once. Within 15 minutes I had my meal to-go and to my surprise 2 pieces of bread to go along with it. They pair the meal with a side of ketchup & hot sauce, basically their works which is great to break up the batter. The 2 pieces of catfish were huge and perfectly battered and crisp. The inside was not overcooked but the fish had just the right thickness in coating that did not fall apart with each bite. The cornmeal batter held on nicely and was not oily at all. I was nervous for the prawns since I heard they were not the largest but I was surprised at how filling they were. They cut the prawns in half and fry them flat. Both catfish & prawns were delicious - would get them both again! The onion rings here were OK. I liked the thickness of the rings & the batter they used but they could have been fried up just a little bit longer since the batter stuck to the rings a little bit. All in all, this family owned business is one you should try if you're craving fish & chips or other seafood like fried prawns, oysters, chicken, etc. They also have a decent selection of sides ranging from sweet potato fries, coleslaw, jalpeno poppers, mac salad, and cheese sticks. read more

The Fat Fish - 2 catfish and 5 prawns - Fish & Chips Near Me - Berkeley, California

The service is not even there to the level of the fast food... very unhappy and sad eating my fish.. an order of six slices pieces of fishes and they they forgot to gave my tartars sauce that i can't enjoy them!!! sad sad read more

Food was delicious and reasonably priced. I love that their fries were lightly seasoned as well. Got the catfish with fries and oysters with onion rings. Wait time was typical for these type of establishments. I shall be back when I crave some fried seafood. read more