After trying 10 options, the best fast-food fish sandwich doesn’t even taste like it came from a drive-thru.
I embarked on a mission to find the best fast-food fish sandwich. Sometimes, instead of the typical fast-food burger or chicken nuggets, I crave a different type of drive-thru meal. And if you don’t eat meat or are choosing to forgo meat during Lent, then drive-thru fish sandwiches will save the day on busy Fridays. Here’s where to find the most delicious fish sandwich that can be delivered right to your car window. I sampled and ranked every sandwich based on the fish fillet, the bun and the toppings.
There were definitely some surprise hits out of these fast-food joints:
Arby’s
Burger King
Culver’s
Dairy Queen
McDonald’s
Popeyes
Portillo’s
Wendy’s
White Castle
10. McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish
This is the original fast-food fish sandwich that debuted at an Ohio McDonald’s back in 1959. Ray Kroc was skeptical that this new sandwich concept would work, but it turned out to be a big hit. The Filet-O-Fish has been a staple on the menu ever since.
Unfortunately, even though it is the original, it wasn’t the best sandwich we tasted on our drive-thru journey. The fish had a mass-produced feel, and we weren’t a fan of the slice of cheese. However, at $4.49, it was one of the least expensive fish sandwiches we sampled. It’s also always on the menu, while other sandwiches tend to come and go seasonally. If you want an old-school classic for a great price, the McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish fits the bill.
9. White Castle Fish Slider
The Fish Slider from White Castle ranked next on our list. It also came in at a budget-friendly $3.09, but, of course, it is a slider-sized sandwich. One thing we came to realize on this sandwich-tasting journey was that we tend to prefer fish sandwiches without cheese added as a topping. We liked that the sliders come with the option of cheese or no cheese.
White Castle includes tartar sauce (a must when it comes to fish sandwich toppings) as a packet on the side. This was nice because we could then add as much or as little as we wanted to the sandwich, rather than it arriving in one big glob inside the bun. Overall, the fish sandwich slider was a bit unremarkable, but we are glad it’s on the White Castle menu as an option for fast-food fish during Lent.
8. Burger King Big Fish
The Big Fish from Burger King is described as “100% White Alaskan Pollock with crispy panko breading, sweet tartar sauce and crunchy pickles on a toasted brioche-style bun.” While this description sounds mouth-watering and fresh-tasting, the reality arrived with more of an assembly-line feel. The price was an affordable $4.99, though, and this was the only fish sandwich we sampled that had pickle slices added as a topping. The pickles were a welcome addition and offered an additional crunch.
NEXT PAGE
ADVERTISEMENT
