where jess ate

One Saturday afternoon, Mike and I decided to give the newly opened Off the Hook a try. Serving up fish and chips, Off the Hook is located on Broadview, just a short walk from the subway  station.

I was expecting a much smaller space with limited seating like Chippy’s, but it was actually quite spacious with many tables available for seating. When we informed the cashier we were eating in, he told us to have a seat and provided us with menus shortly afterwards.

Although Off the Hook is known for their fish and chips, they also have a variety of other options such as calamari, crab cakes, a selection of poutines (all of which are served with duck gravy) and fish sandwiches.

The fish and chip orders here come with a choice of side, one of their signature sauces and coleslaw. They have four fish options – halibut and sea bass for $12 and Mahi Mahi and red snapper for $10. Sides include fresh cut fries, cajun fries and onion rings. For an extra $1, you can get sweet potato fries or mixed greens and for an extra $2 you can get a poutine. Off the Hook has a great selection of signature sauces, ranging from the classic tartar sauce to more interesting options such as curry mayo, “Go Go Green Pesto”, wasabi and “Lost in the Sauce.” Can’t narrow it down? You can order an extra sauce for $1.

Yup, you get a lot of choices here…including the fish batter. There’s the organic house batter, organic cajun and even a gluten-free batter. For the health-conscious, you can get your fish grilled, although I’m not sure what you’d be doing at a fish and chip joint.

After narrowing down my choices, I ended up going for the Sea Bass ($12) with the regular batter, cajun fries and homemade tartar sauce. The fish was amazing. I loved the light, crisp batter which didn’t taste too greasy. The fish itself tasted quite fresh and was incredibly flakey and moist. Delicious! And just like that, Off the Hook moves to the top of my best fish and chips list.

As for the fries, they were of the thicker variety. Not sure if it was because the fish was served on top of the fries and I didn’t get to them until after the fish, but they weren’t quite as crisp as I would have liked. Even so, I still enjoyed them with my leftover tartar sauce and Mike’s “Lost in the Sauce”. Oh, and even though they were “cajun” fries, I didn’t find them to have much of a cajun flavour.

Mike went with the Halibut ($12), also with the regular batter, onion rings and the “Lost in the Sauce”, which the server described as a mild garlic sauce. The halibut was with the same great batter. However, the fish itself had a firmer texture to it which wasn’t quite as flakey as my sea bass. Although both were delicious, I preferred the sea bass but Mike enjoyed his halibut more.

The portion of the onion rings wasn’t quite as generous as the fries and were made with red onions which I liked. However, I found the batter to be a bit doughy as opposed to crispy. Not bad, but nothing to write home about. Mike said he really enjoyed them though.

All the fish and chips come with coleslaw. Like everything else, you have a choice with this too – either creamy or vinaigrette. We tried both and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the vinaigrette version since I’m not normally a huge fan of coleslaw. It was light and refreshing which was a nice complement to all the deep fried goodness.

Overall, we had a great experience. Their fish (but not so much their chips) was some of the best I’ve had. I recommend going with the sea bass which has a moist and flakey texture. The service was also great – quick and attentive. You could really tell they cared about their customers and quality of their food. If you’re craving fish and chips, Off the Hook is definitely the place to go.

At a glance:
• Delicious fish & chips – go for the sea bass
• Located near Broadway subway station
• Plenty of seating

Ratings (out of 5):
• Food: 4.5 stars
• Service: 4 stars
• Atmosphere: 3 stars