J J Fish and Chicken

the best fish i ever had !!! catfish dinner was so f (%)#- good ! they have me as a new customer and will be coming back didn’t get name of guy but this place is the best !!!

I’m from LA & this hole in the wall caught my attention!
Bomb diggity Whiting & chicken! Had a great conversation with the cook too, which made my dining more comfortable!

The prices are so cheap for a place not in the city. The food is so good to. Had the gizzards, wings, jumbo shrimp and they were all really good. You have to put lemon pepper on everything, it makes a big difference. I will be back for sure.

Thoroughly disappointed in this place. Anyone who was raised or has lived in Chicago knows about JJ fish. This place is not doing right by their city counterparts. Although everything was edible I found the portions to be small. I’ve never seen a chicken wing as small as they serve here unless it was attached to a Cornish hen aka a babychicken. It gets worse; the catfish steaks are more fat and bone than meat and the hush puppies were dry and chalky while still managing to be under cooked. Yuck! On a good note they did serve authentic Chicago mild sauce with their food so that was cool and nostalgic lol. I think the root of the problem is possibly the owner. For some reason he felt it necessary to sit in a chair counting every piece of chicken and fish dropped in the grease and placed in a bag. Do your self a favor and stay away from this cheap knock off.

Updated Review: July 2015
About 2 weeks ago I was contacted by Ali to come in and give the restaurant another try on the house. The BF and I was in the area eariler this week so we went in and I ordered the catfish fillet meal. Upon arriving home I was disgusted as I bit into a piece of fish that was still raw inside. I called Ali and he said when I’m in the area to come in and we will try it again. Yesterday afternoon we were in the area and I ordered the same meal. I arrived home and actually enjoyed it. As far as ratings goes, I believe that Ali has superb customer service however I feel at minimum if you have a business that serves primarily fish your cooks should be properly trained to do their job. This is just my professional opinion being that I cook. I’m not typically one to give a business a second chance, that’s the BF and definitely not a third but this business proved that the third time really was a charm. Hopefully things are on the up and up for the food at this chain. The older man was there today as well however no longer watching over the employees and only came to the front once during my visit. The employees appeared happier today as well and they were the same two as the first visit.
Previous Review: March 2015
Decided to have something for take out tonight and this was the spot. I had the chicken wing dinner and my bf had the catfish and chicken wing combo. Although both meals came with coleslaw it was not in the bag I didn’t mind that being I never eat it and normally tell them I don’t want it. I suppose I was occupied by watching the cook make everything. I believe there’s some type of trust issues going on there as the owner stands over the cashier and counts the food out with the cook. I thought it was strange but I don’t know what he’s been through, I guess the struggle is real. The employees doesn’t really seem happy there, for me thats a scary experience within itself as a customer at a restaurant. The food was edible but the chicken wings were unbelievably small. Wherever the chicken is coming from they are clearly not allowing the chickens to mature. After researching it you can actually purchase small chickens for a discounted price so I’m going to assume this is the reason for the tiny wings. There were about 4 other people there waiting on food. While in there my bf asked me where could they possibly be cooking the tips and links? After looking at the cooking space I responded maybe they deep fry them too. Now that I’ve read the other review I suppose they are not making it at this location. I typically wouldn’t eat food like this and my stomach has already started hurting, hopefully I don’t get sick… blah. This was my first time there and I’m not going back.

I have been going to this place for over a year and to be honest, the food is not bad as long as you order fish and chicken and not any of the «specialty» items such as rib tips and hot link. I had to be adventurous about a month ago and I ordered the items mentioned above. The paltry amount of rib tips in the order had been around for a while and was not freshly cooked. I doubt if they had been cooked in the previous few days. The hot links were dry and also had been «warmed up» and not freshly cooked. What a waste of money that was!
A few weeks ago I called from my car to order 2 of the 10 piece chicken wing dinners ($ 6.99 each). I was told that they could not sell me separate dinners and that I would have to buy the $ 20 piece wings for $ 15.99. WTH! They were trying to charging me $ 2 more and would not give a me a good reason. The lady on the phone would only say that is what the manager told her. So, I told her to give me 1 order of the 10 piece wing dinner. I then had my wife (who was with me) call in another order for one 10 piece dinner. Upon arrival, I walked in and paid for my order. Then my wife got out of the car, came in and paid for her order. I asked again why they wouldn’t sell me 2 of the dinners and the cashier (lady n the phone) said that it was by order of the manager. The only person there was the cook and I assumed that he was in charge as I often see him there with whomever the cashier is. He just shrugged his shoulders and said something that was incomprehensible and turned his back to me.
My recommendation is if you get food from this establishment, let the buyer beware! And please, please do not order the rib tips and hot links. Stay on the main menu with fish and chicken and if they don’t try to up the price on you, you should be ok.

If I give this place 0 stars, I honestly would. I am very particular on how you treat customers, and honestly not a customer who thinks she is always right, but there is a way to business and a way to have your customer base go elsewhere.
We have frequented this location often since we have resided nearby in the last 3.5 years. I never had a problem until a couple weekends ago. I called early in the week to get a price on 150 – 200 chicken wings and was given a specific price. I called a day before our gathering to see if I needed to come in and place a deposit as well as the time frame for such a large order.
The day of the party came and I called, placed the order, confirmed the price for the 3^rd time and headed to pick the order up. I arrived and was told a price nearly double what I was quoted. I explained to the cashier that was not what I was told over the phone, and she explained that she was looking at the wrong menu item. I politely explained, I was given that amount 3 times and couldn’t understand how she made that mistake 3 times. I asked to speak with a manager and he basically shrugged his shoulders and said, oh well. I was highly upset, given I had an event in 20 minutes (our daughter’s party) and we had no food! I was willing to pay the price I was given over the phone and happily leave and continue to frequent this location. The manager was not willing to reason with me and more than likely that food go to waste.
Please do not frequent this location as they are clearly not in the business of retaining customers.