Ches's Famous Fish & Chips in St. John's

Ate there about 2 months ago the food was good and reasonably priced, there large coleslaw is quite big definitely a 2 person serving, I ordered it not quite knowing what a big serving it was... but it tasted delicious

Its one of those places you gotta know about. The food is pretty good, a bit lacking salt and seasoning to my taste. The place itself could benefit from an upgrade. However, the prices are pretty low. Food

TLDR: terrible food, terrible service, avoid at all costs. Much better fish and chips elsewhere in St. John s. Terrible experience. Was excited to try the food based on good reviews. Ordered takeout, made the 3 minute drive from our hotel and picked up our 2-piece fish and poutine. The lady at the counter was packaging it as I came in. She handed me the package and I carried it out to the car as it was given to me and drove back to the hotel. Total elapsed round trip of roughly 10 minutes, 6ish minutes from getting the food to opening it in our room. Opened the package excited to eat and found our fish completely buried in the fries/gravy/cheese. The fish was soggy and inedible. I called the restaurant to ask for replacement fish, offered to bring the food back if needed or anything and the woman (who said she was the manager after I asked) refused to replace the fish saying that she wasn t able (as the manager) to do that and that if I wanted them packed separately I had to specify when I ordered (ordered online). She then refused to provide a refund saying I had to go through the company that runs the website for online ordering (called UEat). Not once did the manager say she was sorry we were unhappy, all she could do was deny every request and blame us for not specifying to package it separately. It was quite rude and upsetting. I then called UEat, who were actually very friendly and helpful but of course said that they do not handle refunds or anything that it all went through the restaurant. The UEat person then put me on hold while he called the restaurant and walked the manager through how to process the refund. UEat person comes back and says they explained everything to the manager, but that the manager wasn t able to access the refund system it had to be the general manager. The UEat person emailed the general manager filling them in and the store manager said they would reach out to the GM and everything would be refunded the next day. Great made some progress. This is all documented with a case number through UEat. Fast forward to the next day and I get a phone call from someone with Ches s, either the GM or the Owner not 100% sure which. Initially the person was pleasant saying they heard we had an issue with our order last night, was sorry we were unhappy and was calling to get more details. I ran her through everything detailed above, soggy fish, unhelpful manager, etc. This person then went into great detail about their packaging process and how it was impossible for the fish to have been packaged under the poutine unless it got shaken up or turned upside down (note above I carried it home the exact way it was handed to me) and again stated it was on me to request separate packing. I then asked for my money back as was promised the night before. She refused saying that they don t do that but now offered to replace the food (which is what we originally wanted last night when we were hungry, not 16 hours later when we are about to head to the airport and fly home across the country). I explained this and was told this was the first she had heard that we had originally only wanted replacement food (store manager clearly lied to the GM/owner) and that she was sorry I couldn t accept the offer now. She then said that they would keep my number and name on file and next time I am in St. John s I can get my food (lol ok, I live 5500km away). She ended up getting upset saying I was being unreasonable and hung up on me. I ended up getting my money back through Visa (props to the dispute department) and here we are.

Great taste at a reasonable price.

really good scallops, fish and chips and good friendly service

What can i say !! But the best fish and chips in town the server with the white hair she was so nice and funny it made the meal more enjoyable

So I ordered 100$ worth of food and ALL the food was burnt that you cant even eat it, shinning because its that greasy. Oil in the container is dirty thats probably why its burnt because over cooked trying to cook from dirty grease. Called them to try and get at least a decent meal but said I had to go threw skip. HOW is it skips fault that they are cooking with dirty grease and have to over cook the food and burn it all. Its to bad I cant post the pictures.

Great Fish and Chips. Go try them out!

Good was not good. The cod fish was gummy. Also french fries taste like it was prepared earlier and just warmed before serving. Overall experience was disappointing even though it was recommended. I assume people go there as there no restaurants anywhere close to it.

This place would be wise to spend less on marketing and more on improving quality of their food: worst fish n chips I ve had in a long while

We had the family meal and a chicken tenders for the boy. Amazing. Best fish and chips Ive had in North America. Staff was super friendly and helpful. cant wait to go back. (Love from Seattle)

Nothing better than a good feed at Chess. Great fish and chips. Great poutine with real cheese curds. Everything comes with a complimentary cupcake, and on your birthday you get a free meal. Parking: Paid parking on the street Kid-friendliness: Great for kids

Went there around 2009 with my friend June Mullan great food, we were on holiday from California visiting Junes two sisters and brother, lonely friendly people, June was born in StJohns and was raised at 16 Spencer Street. JUNE was a member of the southern California Newfoundlanders club where I met some amazingly happy friendly people, I was made an ornery Newfe. after being screeched, Ill never forget how friendly Newfoundland people are.

I can see why this place is iconic. Locals light up when its mentioned. The fish and chips are large and decently priced. Gravy is good on the fries. Vegetarian options: Really not much here for veg, maybe the fries.

for any Americans coming here just know that they don t put spice on anything

Fantastic meal. I had the stuffed steamed cod with melted cheese and bacon ... yum yum. The service was great also a very pleasant young lady was out server. She was very professional and attentive. They also have their steamed cod back on the menu another great dish.

Cod bites was delicious as were the fries and onion rings. Only problem was I was supposed to receive 2 codbites & fries. There is a special 2 for the price of one.

Basic restaurant with great food !!!!

Found the food average. The oil from the fish was excessive, to say the least. The service was great. Staff friendly. Freshwater location.

WoW... best shrimp & fries

Do not order through DoorDash. I ordered a three piece fish and chips, gravy and dressing. I got two-pieces of Cod tail ends and a handful of fries for $46. I tried to call them back, but they did not answer. That s pretty bad.

Food was hot, fresh and delicious! Staff was pleasant and accommodating Food

Fish and chips is a simple dish, so it has to be done well. Chess does it well!

The best fish n chips! The fish to batter ratio is perfect, so much delicious fish to bite into

I think better than Chafes, and the location cant be beat, malt vinegar gravy and dressing is a must

Very affordable price, excellent service, love the shrimps. Kid-friendliness: suitable for kids Food : 5/5 |

Just stopped in to grab some fries, dressing and gravy for my visiting sister. She enjoyed it.

Everything was awesome,came home from alberta,second day i was there i brought the family for fish and chips, chicken to,second to none ,best fish in town baby . Parking: Street parking not bad.

Awesome fish n chips! Great memories!

I really wanted to love the food as it was a recommended must-eat but I must say it turned out to be just an average meal for us. We ordered delivery and had a 2-pc fish & chips with gravy and coleslaw, shrimps, pub wings and kid s tender & chips. Food was promptly delivered and still nice and hot. Unfortunately, while the portion sizes were great, the fish was a little dry and bland; we really had to lather it in tartar sauce, gravy or even ketchup to get some more flavour. The pub wings were plain and shrimp came without cocktail sauce. We were underwhelmed as we do not have many nights here during our vacation and really wanted to try many delicious local eats. Sadly a miss for us.

It was ok portions could be bigger for what you pay

Great food, great staff!

Great food. Great friendly staff. Too bad its such a sketchy area. A lot of people in the area you dont want to be around. Spent most of the time while inside worrying about my car being broken into.

Excellent food and service. This review would be 5 stars, but pickles are not available as a burger topping. Friendly staff, very tasty food. Would recommend, hopefully the add pickles to the menu in the near future.

Our waitress, Jane Ann, was so kind and friendly! The food was pretty good, pretty typical, but the cost is good for what you get! #1 complaint is that they don t have pickles

Yummy food. Good service. They accommodated 8 of us without blinking an eye. We all had different items and everything was good. The fried chicken was huge. The fish was crispy and light. The coleslaw was lovely. The housemade vinegar was really nice. The onion rings needed a little seasoning in the batter but there was salt, pepper, and seasoning salt available on the table. Highly recommend eating here. The staff were so friendly. Our server was Juneann and she was lovely.

Its fish and chips. Anywhere in NL you can get amazing fish and chips but this place is great too

Ordered online from their website 2 combos with a drink. We didn t get our drinks, so called the store, they apologized but said nothing they can do. Wouldn t deliver drinks, wouldn t refund, just said sorry, nothing we can do. Terrible service. No offer to make it right. Apologies don t cut it when it comes to my money.

Nice little institution, great service. Super crispy fish and chip.

Absolutely a pleasure to have come for a feast!

I really hoped for a good F&C from this place based on the reviews but I really can t rate it. One of the two pieces of fish was ok, the other somehow tasteless and oily. The chips however were not good at all. Brown, soggy and not at all tasty. Service at the counter was very pleasant as was the cook bringing me my takeout order but I can t say I d return based on the food.

Portion size is horriable

I love Chess Food is great staff are friendly

The food was excellent. Staff friendly and helpful.

Had the three piece fish and chips . They batter the fish themselves and the malt vinegar was delicious. Will definitely go the next time Im in St. Johns

Has really gone down hill. 5 years ago was the best place around for fish and chips. Honest cant even put them top 10 now.

Food is consistently hot and delicious and if they happen to make a mistake, they fix it up

Instead of waiting for Good Friday, we ordered our F & C Thursday evening. It was ready on time, hot and done perfectly. Chess has great food.

Parking: Highland dr Food

Had a fantastic lunch!! Amazing service, friendly staff and amazing food!

Fish and chips and poutine are great, also really good prices for the portion. Lots of cozy seating room and feels a bit old school but nice. Staff were very friendly and gave us nice suggestions.

Omg besides even the fact the food is always on point, the service is the best I ve had anywhere. The server is so nice, makes you feel like you re at home with friends. Will be back everytime I come home!!

Extremely hospital service as you would receive from local newfoundland locals. I had the fish and chips and they were great. The batter was light and crispy, which enhanced the flavor of the fish. However, if used for the chicken it would give it a more bland flavor. The chips were a seemingly handcut, full body but not crispy. Similar to five guys fries. Overall a great experience and would recommend to try.

As usual Chess never fails to deliver. Amazing fish and chips with a one of a kind atmosphere.

Good food

Super delicious

Service was great, charming chip shop atmosphere. However, both the fish and chips were unusually greasy and had a taste of being fried in old oil.

Very tasty!

Awesome spot Will definitely go there again Food

Delish

I ordered fish and chips there and had onion rings with them. It was delicious but a bit greasy to me!

Excellent first time dining and experience here at Famous Ches s Fish and Chips. Thank you for the great meal and service. Food

Unfortunate but seems location is focused around takeout and skip the dishes, waited 40 mins for meal, we were only people sat at table in restaurant. No longer take order at table, place order at counter and seat yourself. Onions rings were dark and soaked with grease, dripping black oil, they were sent back. Replacement rings were not burnt but still tasted of old oil. Fish was good but fries were really dark, some really burnt up. A bottle of Pepsi is just under 4.5$!. Haven t been to this location in a couple years, seems to have slipped, in quality and service.

Amazing fish and chips

...still a great fish and chips

Purchased Fish and Chips for Good Friday April 7, 23. The fries were very over cooked and black almost. Seems as if they were cooked in very old dirty oil. Wasnt impressed with the value of $80 spent so next time change that oil. It probably wouldnt hurt to do that for todays service asap. So sad how your restaurant is going down hill. Next year Id think Ill save my $80 and go somewhere else.

As good as ever Great portions and same delicious meals !

The place is nice and simple and affordable.

Fish was not as good as I remembered.

Delish!

Very good fish n chips and happy staff.

Food was great. Served fast.

Although I love Chess from all locations, Freshwater Rd. is my absolute favorite! The staff are super friendly and they do what they can to make my order perfect, and to make me feel special.

Food was awesome as usual! Great service, very friendly staff! Cheers.

Great local cuisine!!

Always great food, great service.

Best Ches s in St. John s and yes there is a difference. Everything was warm fresh and crispy. And we even brought home some pies and cheesecakes!

Never knew local fish could cost so much

Always a stop during our trip to NL. Great Service Awesome Food Food : 5/5

Change the hours on your google page. They re incorrect

Food was pretty good

Maybe I was unlucky, but the quality of the chicken was not good.

Food great

St. Johns is Chess. Nuff said. If you havent eaten it, get on it.

Great fish and chips

Food quality was very poor. Fish & Chips, onion rings were full of oil. Food

Best fish n chips in Newfoundland

Ive recently been on a fish and chips binge in Newfoundland, so it was interesting to be able to go to all the different places over the last couple of weeks and compare them. Im writing this review after the conclusion of my two week fish and chips expedition :-) The food: I did dine in. It surprises me to say it, as I did not expect to say this but the best overall fish and chips I had was at Chess. The fish was the best and chips were good if a little too crispy for my taste. The only downside was the gravy which was out of a can or packet Id say. The other great thing is that you can buy beer with your meal, which not all fish and chip places offer. Service: The service was good, no problems. Atmosphere: The Freshwater Rd location has been there a long time, but they have remodelled. I actually dont like that they removed some of the booths. I think that the vintage part of the restaurant is the best, which is where I sat.

Twas a pleasant surprise having heard a few negative comments by friends. Our server was lovely and accommodating- the restaurant has had a refreshing and coordinated makeover and most importantly the food was very good. The fries were good old Newfoundland style, the batter was crispy and by no means greasy and Dawns chicken breast was also deep fried to a crisp finish. Hats off to your visual upgrade as part of you image. Well be back.

Awesome fish & chips. Fish was so crispy with very, very little oil on them from been deep fried. Highly recommend them. Oh by the way friendly and awesome staff. Had a nice chat with them all.

Well established delicious fish and chips restaurant. Not overly priced with quick service.

OMG. Best fish and Chicken wings ever. Love Chess

Fish was drowned in gravy which should have been on the side.

Great greasy feed!

Some good fish and cdg.

Terrible meal for me. Fish must have been recooked 3 times, they didnt have lemon, they didnt have onions. Little dressing and little gravey to go with the recorded fries. But they did charge me a sugar tax on my pop. What a disappointment it was to come here. We bought a lemon pie and our bill for us both was $72.00. Do not come here if you want a nice decent meal.

Excellent service and great food

Highly recommend.

Friendly staff and great service.

Best fish & chips in town!

Best fish and chips.

I can t believe they still serve food on paper plates

Oh me nerves some good eats here folks....get your feed of fish n chips here

Delicious cod fish and fries! Mmmmm

It is what it is

Does it get any better than this place, the last meal I had there was awesome.

As a visiting tourist - visiting Ches s on our first night felt like an authentic start. Over all the meal was fairly good (perhaps not our best fish and chips in Nfld. But good just the same for Cod out of season). Definitely recommend a meal here for those looking for an authentic experience, we were there on a Thursday night and it was definitely busy with walk-ins and takeout orders.

They close pretty early :(

Excellent staff & excellent service & food.

Went for lunch and was looking to have scallops. They were out of scallops. Then asked to have shrimp. They had no shrimp. Had fish and chips which were mediocre at best. Won t be back.

Went there for a late lunch on my last day in St Johns... partly due to all the good reviews. The fish and chips were disappointing. The batter was thick and hard. And part of the fish was just batter with very little fish. The home fries was ok. Overall, I dont understand whats the big fuss about the place. I have had much better while out in Newfoundland. It is definitely below average.

Since they were crazy busy (Friday supper hour), there was a slip up where not every part of my take out order was ready on time. I was pressed for time, so they offered to work with me and let me walk out immediately with a reasonable substitution. Ive eaten from here a lot, and this was the first time I had any kind of issue. I dont blame them for the delay, and I give them a lot of credit for doing so well to accommodate me around it. So while I didnt get exactly what I ordered (I could have, if I waited a while), it was a really positive service experience.

Decent fish and chips. Fresh fish a bit over fried.

Meh

I dont understand the dressing on things thing thats going on in NL, but it was okay. The fish & chips themselves were middle-of-the-road out of my 4 or 5 places I tried while in NL. A little heavy on the batter, but no major complaints, just not exceptional.

Something is happening here in this restaurant, I have no idea what. Onion rings arrived cold, had to be sent back, were obviously just thrown back into the frier and then re-served. Meal of fish and chips were extremely DARK and unusually oily, meaning undoubtedly: the oil was old and/or the meal was overcooked. Both of us agreed that it was both, and that absolutely the oil had not been changed for awhile, accounting for the darkness of the products. While the taste of the fish was not rancid, it was far from fresh. As well, the fish itself had been advertised as fresh, which it certainly WASN T. It was definitely cooked from frozen. They forgot our dressing and gravy with the order, and even though we were one of only two parties in the restaurant, we were required to prove that we had ordered the extra items by showing them our receipt. We were then asked whether or not we had really received no dressing and gravy after all. We then had to show them our food to prove we were gravy-less and dressing-less. I have frequented this restaurant for years, but this is the fourth time we have felt the food was just NOT FRESH. Human mistakes happen all the time, that s in general not a problem for me, but after so long one wonders if it might be a management problem. We spent over 70 dollars on that simple meal, so for that amount of money one should receive good, fresh food. I have visited the location on Torbay Road and all was okay there. This one location must be struggling. I have no other explanation.

Absolutely delicious!

Authentic Fish Parlor. Popular with the locals.

The stuff is super friendly and nice. Besides that, food is embarrassing. I paid almost 18$ for a very small frozen burger and fries. Both of them DID NOT HAVE SALT AT ALL. How do you serve fires without salt? Simply disgusting. If I pay 18$ for a burger and fries I expect some decency. Why would you think youre better than a fast food? You are simply a very bad, overpriced fast food. Not recommended at all.

Worst fish and chips i have ever had Save your money

No longer have birthday meal even though it s advertised all around the store, ordered dressing but discovered there was none when arriving home. Also ask for a glass of water and was charged for a bottle. Will not return to this location.

The restaurant came recommended, but disappointed. In their defence the cashier appeared very new, and this may well be a one-off experience. Seafood platter with a side of gravy, and glass of water - the order took over 30 minutes although the restaurant did not appear busy, and the water didn t arrive. The food was okay, however the oil tasted old. The restaurant itself was unkept.

Dips nevvver arrive. 4 times i have ordered via doordash and not get them. Today decided to place a pickup order, and asked for extra on the phone. Thankfully i checked bag and got them over the counter. The blonde chick acted like i was asking for sauces from her own pocket. Food was overcooked anyways... staff might some refresh training. I remember this being the best location in town.

Good food, friendly staff.

Fish and chips were very greasy

It was dirty in the restaurant and the batter on the fish was so thick and oily. Would not recommend eating here. There is much better fish and chips in St. John s

First meal at St John NL, recommended by the lady who sat next to me in the plane. I was not disappointed. The fish was done on point, fresh and crispy! The poutine was great with lots of cheese and gravy. The reasons for four stars instead of five is they only have packaged tartar sauce which is a bit disappointing. Also, the poutine was a bit cold when served.

Great fish and chips and chowder!!

Fantastic cod, shrimp and scallops served by a very sweet young lady who had only been there for three weeks. Highly recommended by a friend who visited a year ago and we werent disappointed.

Very informal, relaxed. We sat in but clearly lots of takeout business. We all had 2 piece fish and chips. Fish was fresh and not overly greasy, fries were fantastic. Had gravy on the side, it was really good.

Great little eatery in St Johns NL. Food was delicious. Friendly staff. Open late.

Busy but service was quick

Fast service, easy to use web-based order system. Parking: I am only aware of on-street parking, which is available on both sides of the one-way street. Kid-friendliness: A family-friendly eatery, with approriate seating options to accommodate children of different energy levels. Wheelchair accessibility: If wheel chair accessible, I am unaware of the entrance.

Not bad

Slow service, it was completely dead. 40$ for a small basket of chicken strips fries, and a burger(the burger was tiny and burnt ) with Small fries. My burger was completely charged and burnt, I could ve done better at home. Honestly worst burger I ve ever had .My uncle Ordered the fish and chips, it was sub par to say the least . What a shame being that this is the original location. Maybe it s new owners, but the lack of caring shows in the food and slow service. Really disappointing. For my aunt and uncle it was 60$ for two two piece fish and chips . So Overpriced, this isn t Ches s . Very disappointed, we were on vacation as well. Not happy with the overall experience. We won t be back sadly :(

Great find! We had the fish and chips for 2 and it was excellent. Unusually, we ate I and the service was excellent! Great staff...great food!

Great fish and chips! Great service!

The food was great and the service was friendly and helpful, so far was the best fish I have had in St Johns.

Fast, friendly.

No matter how good the food is, it must be in correct correlation with price, and how much food you get.This is definitely a classic place to eat. But its most certainly not a higher end restaurant. I paid more here than I paid at much nicer places, just for a 2 piece fish and chips, and a beer. Great food and service, but far too pricey for my return at this point.

Best fish and chips in town

Great food, great service! A tad pricey i could agree with others but food was delicious!

Good food, great service. We were clearly tourists and the young lady at the counter took her time with us and made nice suggestions.

Food quality has dropped off and are so disappointed over visits there in previous years

Went back for a nostalgic visit. The last time was in 1986. Fish and chips were good. Tartar sauce was more like mayonnaise with just a small bit of relish. Had to pay extra for a small container of coleslaw.

Good fish place needs cleaning

Fantastic Fresh fish!! Service was amazing

Home from alberta, and couldnt wait to Have a feed. Cod bites special with dressing and gravy Still the same! Johnann was incredible and the food and service were top notch!

One of my favourite meals in st Johns so far. If your looking for your run of the mill laid back chippy, this is your place. Nice staff, great fish and chips and quick service! Also good price for the quality!

My girlfriend works there!.. And yes, she always cooks the best fries!. Tony tailors up the road even says the same! . Scott is an awesome cook as well!.

Food is delicious but expensive, but so is everything these days. A treat to eat out anymore