Reelfish Fish & Chips

Food is always awesome! Usually get the fish tacos or the fish & chips. Today the fish sandwich lunch special is the plate of choice! Excellent as usual!

The wahoo fish and chips is off the hook. The fry breading is executed perfectly and it’s gluten free… best I’ve ever had. Beautifully decorated, family friendly, with impeccable service. We will definitely return. We wish you were in New Mexico!

We don’t live in the area so we just stumbled onto this gem. We got a family fish basket (cod), lobster rolls, and a bowl of clam chowder. My wife is from Massachusetts and has very high standards when it come to fish and chowder. I had to fight to even get a few bites. My boys finished off the fish in record time. It’s hard to find good seafood this far from an ocean, but Reelfish did an awesome job.

Stopped in for lunch and got the lunch special with cod, fries, «sour» coleslaw and a drink for $ 8.95. First, the food itself — the quality of the food was excellent. I had a hard time imagining how the fish could have been better. The outside was crisp without being oily or soggy, the inside was moist and perfectly cooked. The fries were excellent — fresh and with the perfect amount of crispness. Coleslaw was also great — I got the «sour» (I think that’s what they called it) vs. the «sweet» variety. The sour coleslaw is vinegar-​based and I assume the «sweet» variety is mayonnaise-​based, but I can’t confirm that. The only complaint I had was the portion size — or more accurately, the fries: fish ratio. Overall it was plenty of food, but only because there were a lot of fries. The portion of fish was tiny — maybe 3 – 4 oz. at best. I would have gladly had twice the fish and half the fries. See the attached photo. Maybe if you come for dinner and get the $ 10 «basket» you get a decent amount of fish (hopefully 3x what I got in my lunch special). All things considered though, I’d rather have to deal with the portion size of the fish than deal with low quality food, and the quality of the food here was top notch!

GREAT FISH AND CHIPS ! The food was super good and Fresh, Fresh, Fresh ! I loved the furniture and found out the tables were built here in Colorado by a company called
The Chairman and the wood is reclaimed oak from American barns !
Good Job Dan. I eat there at least twice a month I make the drive from Centennial.
The Best.

On a whim as I was driving by on a day when the temperature was falling, I stopped in to get a takeout «bowl» of New England Clam Chowder. I was caught short a bit when they said it was $ 7, which was more than I recalled it being the last time my wife and I ate there. And, other Boulder area establishments range from $ 4 — $ 6. The soup came in a 12 oz. container, but after I opened it up at home it was only ¾ full. The broth was flavorful, well seasoned, and not too thick, but there were only a few bits of clams and a couple chunks of potatoes. This certainly wasn’t what I would consider to be a $ 7 «bowl» of soup, either qualitatively or quantitatively.

Not really sure what this place is trying to be or do. They aren’t doing southern style, no hush puppies or greens, nor British style, no curry sauce and not real chips. Here’s what we had:
Fish sandwich with a side salad. The bread was stale and too dense. There was a sweet purple mayo sauce on the sandwich, not written on the menu, still not sure what it was but I scraped it off and ended up ditching the bun altogether. The crust on the fish was soggy. The side salad was a side salad.
The assorted fried fish basket: a lot of fish, and all were perfectly fried (so much promise!) except the halibut which was way overcooked. None of the fish was seasoned. The fish was atop a bed of fries, few over 1inch in length. In their defense everyone else seemed to have normal fries, we just got stuck with the bottom of the basket ones, but they really should not have served them.
A side of baked beans: not good. Took two bites and regretted ordering them. $ 3.25 is a bit much for 3 oz of canned beans in a plastic cup at a self service place.
2 beers: $ 6 each and served in a plastic pint. Who serves craft beer in plastic? This isn’t a ball game. It would be nice to have a lager or a pale ale if you’re serving fried fish, but instead their 5 taps were 2 IPAs, a brown, a stout, and a dark amber. Also the cashier didn’t know how to pour from a tap so we waiting several minutes while she fumbled with foam before handing us sticky plastic pints.
The environment is super casual, too casual, and seems take-​out oriented. They had 2 cocktails which were pre-​mixed and served from dispensers behind the registers. «cringe» Wine was simply «white» or «red» and it’s not cozy enough of a place to want to settle in with a couple of drinks. My guess is that the owners do not drink or have no experience with a bar. No real ambiance. If they seasoned their fish, worked on their sides, and got glass pints this place would be pretty good. As it stands it’s pretty mediocre.

Pros:
Super clean
Great staff
Food was pretty good
Clam chowder is really good
Decent beer selection for a small restaurant!
The cod was the best!
Cons:
Our clam chowder was luke warm. We were going to ask for them to warm it up but I didn’t want it microwaved… I’m not even sure that is how they would have done it though. But I’d go in just to order that!
My Shrimp Po Boy, while good, only had 6 pieces of shrimp… That’s not even a piece of shrimp in every bite. I’d make the bread size a bit smaller if only serving six pieces. I don’t eat/​need that much bread anyway.
The fish and chips combo platter was nice. The only issue was a few of the pieces were a bit too greasy.
The fries, while also good, were like the bottom of the bag fragments. Most pieces were too small to dip.
All in all, we’ll most likely go back. The food is good and the place is nice. Just a few quality control things and I think Reelfish’s price points will make it worth it… Which is why I gave three stars. We felt it was a little expensive for the quality/​presentation.

I had the gluten free battered fish and chips! It was super fresh, I was very surprised being that I grew up in California. I always was told never eat fish in a land locked state. This place proves that theory seriously wrong. I’m happy I found my fish place. I will be back for sure!

This was my second visit to reelfish and last. The first visit the fish and chips was very good the clam chowder was excellent. The second time around reelfish was reel bad. I had the fried shrimp basket this time with a bowl of chowder on the side. The shrimp was battered with a grease sponge and the chowder this time was as thick as mashed potatoes I tried to thin it out with my beer to no avail. After letting the staff no how bad things were I was given a refund along with a few rude comments the girl in charge said of course the shrimp was greasy it is fried ya kmow! If she had any culinary knowledge she would know that deep fried food done right should not be like a grease sponge! I guess it makes a difference who is in the kitchen. We will not be eating here again and I would not recomend this place. Sincerely J.L. Dowell

I’ve been there a few times now. The first time was right after it opened, and my only complaint was that the fries seemed stale. The fried fish on the other hand was as good as it gets.
I came here again today for lunch and again the fries in the basket seemed stale.
I told the cook, and without hesitation she replaced them immediately with fries straight out of the fryer. That was a great remedy for the situation. Again the fish sticks were incredibly delicious.
The tart coleslaw was incredible as well.
Lastly, the aquarium they have here is awesome!
Overall great experience; they just need to work on the freshness of their fries, which is why I only give them 3 stars. The fried fish sticks and environment however is five stars

Good big salad with perfectly grilled sockeye. Would like a smaller option. Fish salad not that great the second day. Creative décor, not a sit down service, so best for lunch. Kinda pricy.

Yummy, yummy!
We live about 30 minutes away, but have been wanting to try Reelfish since we found them (via Unilocal) several months ago. Today was finally that day.
We tried the gluten free cod, gluten free haddock, and of course, the chips (fries). We had a taste while we were there, but then saved the rest and brought it home, where we reheated it on a cooling rack in a 200* oven.
One thing that I loved was that our fish was just as good at home two hours later as it was when we first tasted it at the restaurant. We opened the containers on the drive home so that the steam didn’t make anything soggy, then just popped it all in the oven for about 25 minutes before we were ready to eat.
One thing that I didn’t love was that our fries just didn’t taste fresh. They were mushy and luke warm when we were first served, so ended up being mushy and hot once reheated. Bleh. I don’t mind that they’re not thick cut – in fact, I prefer them as they are. I lived in the UK for 7 months and found that while most chips were thick, there were a number of joints that served thinner hand cut chips, very similar to Reelfish. My point is… the issue isn’t that the chips are thin, it’s that they didn’t seem fresh.
I know some others have said that their food was overly greasy; I did NOT experience that at all. You have to understand, fish and chips are fried foods. They were much LESS greasy than I’ve become accustomed to and I really appreciated that my fish wasn’t swimming in oil as I ate it.
Specifics:
–Service: Spectacular! It seemed like everybody really wanted to be there and wanted us to have the best experience, possible
–Cod: Unbelievably delicious. I mean, I thought it would be good, but it exceeded my expectations
–Haddock: Okay. Two of the pieces were wonderful, but one was just not that great. It was kind of hit or miss – not bad, just not as good as the cod.
–Tartar sauce: Meh. It was a bit sweet for our taste.
–Chips: See above
–Gluten free batter: OH HECK YES! So good. Also, for anybody who might wish to get take out or take leftovers home, we were told GF reheats better than the traditional batter because it’s crispier.
We’ll definitely be back when we’re in the area again. We’re looking forward to trying the halibut, next!

The walk up service was great! The food was good but could have been fried just a little bit longer. Good selection of fish. Would try again if driving by the area but not worth the trip from Loveland just for the meal.

Finally stopped here for lunch. I was pleased to see scallops so I ordered them (after the cashier got off their phone app). The scallop was tasteless. The batter was nice accept they were dripping in oil. Pretty terrible for $ 20 including a soda. The sauteed greens were good. Nice atmosphere and clean. Wish I had tried the fish but probably won’t be coming back now.
I’m upping my review one notch because Management cares enough to follow up. To be clear the Scallops weren’t over priced as they are always expensive. I might be back to try the fish if I’m in the area. Thanks

Excellent cod and batter. The fish was nice and moist and the batter was not overly greasy.
I’m British and it still doesn’t compare to a proper British fish and chips but honestly little on the states does, but this is s good effort. Considering we’re 1’000s of miles from the Atlantic this is darn good…

Came here for my birthday dinner with my husband and thought it was a sit down (get waited on) restaurant but it’s order-​at-​the-​counter style. I took off one star because their beer mugs are all plastic, and it just wasn’t right for a Guinness. (It’s also a little pricey).
Food was great. We split cod fish n chips and mahi tacos with mango salsa. The fry ratio was perfection. Got one bone in my taco, so be careful.
Nicole really made our experience a great one. She checked in us multiple times and was happy to grab us our requests. It’s always nice to see efficient people who like their jobs.

Husband and I thought this was a very good fish n chips place. We had the halibut and it was so fresh that when I had a piece 2 days later, it was still very good. Nice batter, much better than most as it wasn’t thick and dripping grease. Plus the selection of different fish was a new concept. Most other places use cod or haddock. But they aren’t my most favorite and sometimes I’m in the mood for halibut or salmon or whatever and this is the place for me. Being nice n big and very clean is a large plus as I’m not piled right on top of a fellow diner. All in all for us it was good experience.
The only recommendation is make is to add fresh cut and cooked potatoes chips. They are the only thing I can think of that would heighten the pleasure of eating here. Thank you.

Thanks to my fellow Unilocalers I heard about this place so I had to try it. I love this place for semi fast food that is very good. I ordered the Cod with a side of sweet coleslaw and my friend ordered the shrimp meal with a side of sweet coleslaw. Both of the meals were very good, crispy coating and cooked just right inside. The sweet coleslaw was just as I like it creamy and sweet. The fries were a little soggy from having the fish resting on them they should probably rethink that strategy.
The prices were good, the service was friendly and the place was pleasant and clean. I will be back here when I need to grab a good lunch.

A nice new addition to the food options in Boulder County. We have a few suggestions for improvement, but I’ll get to those later.
Reelfish is a fast food fish & chips place. By fast food, I mean you order at a counter, and get your food fast (even though it’s cooked to order). No negative connotation intended. The menu isn’t extensive, but has some very nice options. We each ordered the 3-​piece cod basket, which comes with chips. (A platter includes a drink and an additional side.)
I took Sweetie here as a surprise. His eyes rolled back in his head when he smelled the place. There isn’t much he likes better than good f&c, and here they were, not too far from home. He being an expert, I’ll relay his review. The fish was nicely cooked. His only quibble was, since the pieces were different sizes, they weren’t cooked consistently– two perfectly, one noticeably overdone. The chips were freshly fried (maybe even freshly cut), and were served piping hot. Excellent! (He suggested the improvements that I list below.)
The atmosphere is nice for a fast food place. Clean, bright, and attractive. I love the fact that customers don’t have to bus their own tables. Really adds something that we didn’t have to carry our mess to a trash can, open a dirty swing door, and see everyone else’s mess jumbled inside. And the tables are cleared and cleaned very quickly, so you don’t see the mess sitting out, waiting.
Overall, a nice place to visit once in a while.
The suggestions for improvement?:
1) Lower prices. The food is good, but for a fast food place with rather small portions, the prices are too high.
2) Either bigger pieces of fish or less batter. (For the prices charged, the pieces should definitely be bigger.) The pieces looked decently sized, but weren’t really, because a lot of the girth consisted of batter. Proper fish to batter ratio is very important.
3) Reelfish should use real chips. Real chips, the traditional kind, are similar to what we, in this country, call steak fries. They are much better suited to the f&c combo because (as Sweetie explains it) they both absorb malt vinegar better and provide a softer potato-​y counterbalance to the crunchy fish. Since Reelfish seems to want to be authentic, I hope it considers this suggestion.
4) The beer is way too expensive, especially for the fast food venue. $ 6 and $ 8. Really? The place would sell a lot more beer, and thus make more money, if the brews were more reasonably priced. (I can get 12oz of very good beer on Pearl Street for $ 4.50, non-​happy hour.)