St Cecilia Mexican Fish Fry

maybe this place has gotten too much attention this year, and it’s affected the lines and quality of food, i don’t know. but the line was ridiculously long, moved at a snail’s pace, and the food was pretty disappointing. they capped the line about 30 minutes after we got there, so you’d better arrive before 6 or else you’ll be turned away.
margaritas in line were definitely the highlight of the evening, and the $ 9 large was huge enough that it lasted me THREE HOURS — aka how long it took us to get in the door to the gymnasium. we arrived at 5:30 — swear i’d intended to get there earlier, but work had other ideas — and finally sat down to eat at 9pm. by that time, they were out of chiles rellenos, and the natives were growing restless at the announcement. they pretty much started giving away beers — buy-​one-​get-​one Tecate for $ 2 — to appease the folks who’d been waiting so long for such a let down. for our $ 12 each, we ordered the jack salmon and bean tostadas with fries (though husband’s came out with orange rice instead) and refried beans. the fish was pretty icky. definitely frozen, chewy, dark cornmeal coating, and overly fishy, like an unpleasant catfish. (and i love catfish! in fact, i would recommend the St. Peters fish fry in St. Charles just for their whole catfish. yum!) but after all that time in line, i still couldn’t finish the fish. yuck. the chips & pico de gallo we had while standing in line would probably take second place after the margarita.
on the bright side, it was a nice evening, so i actually didn’t mind too much the unbelievable line snaking back & forth across the parking lot. chatted with husband, people watched, kicked off the weekend… i think the dancing & music inside would help keep you entertained while in line, too, but they were all done with that by the time we got inside, so we didn’t really get to enjoy any of it. except when i went inside to stand in the margarita line, which took about 20 minutes to get through.
i don’t know that i’d go back or recommend this one to a friend. true, it is an experience, and if you’ve got good company and aren’t particularly hungry and the weather is nice, it’s not so bad, but the food isn’t really worth the wait if you don’t get to check any of the entertainment inside. i’d say arrive before 4:30 or be sorely disappointed.

I finally experienced the cult-​like following that is St. Cecilia’s Mexican fish fry. The most unique of it’s kind come Lent. The gym is so crowded & this place is packed in well over fire code, but the operation runs like a well oiled machine.
I came with a group of veterans. For $ 6 more per entrée you can submit an online order check in, and escape the horror of a line that wraps around the antiquated gymnasium like a tornado. With the amount of money being shelled out on booze & Mexican fare, you’d think the church would be updated to look like the Taj Majal.
St. Louisans far and wide should come here at least once. It’s essentially a local bucket list type experience. Food wise I’d recommend the tamales, chile rilleno, and a la carte chips & pico. The salmon is good, but be cognizant of eating any bones as its served as the full fish. The line starts to fizzle out past 7:30, but note that you may have limited options due to certain items running out. A night to remember!

Friday morning, say a prayer that the weather will warm up before you head over to St. Cecilias for their Lenten Fish Fry… because you will be waiting outside for at least 45 minutes!
Then, once you finally make it in the building you realize the line wraps around the entire gym (which takes at least another hour), which sounds miserable but it really isn’t so bad. They sell drinks, candy, and snacks to make your wait time bearable. And if you go with your friends it is a great time to catch up.
The food is good (not amazing, but definitely better than most fish frys) and the atmosphere is just awesome! The children from the parish do traditional dancing, and their is a mariachi band who will perform occasionally! It’s just such a fun event!
Very family friendly! But if you have small children, I would suggest do not bring their strollers inside because space is really limited.

It’s not really about the food, for me. The St. Cecilia Fish Fry is a great exercise in community spirit, tremendously fun to watch and experience. If the weather is decent, waiting in line is part of the fun. Canned beer is served so it’s like hanging out in a beer garden. errr beer parking lot. People are pretty chatty. I met a nice lady who was going to Santa Fe and shared with her some restaurant recommendations from my recent trip. If ya get hungry, the chili cheese tamales at 2 bucks a piece do the trick — and may be the food item I liked best. The pico is chock full of zippy jalapenos — you can munch on this in line, too.
Try to sit in the gym to catch the dancers and musicians — live entertainment always makes me smile.
This event is a STL must-​do!

For $ 10, you pick two entrees and two sides. I had the cod (just your typical yummy fried filet) and a stuffed chile with fries and mac and cheese. It was all delicious. The chile (chile relleno) seems to be one of their specialties. It’s stuffed with cheese and fried… and when does THAT ever fail? They also had salmon which looked really really good too! (Check out their menu for more.)
They had Mexican beer for $ 3.
They had live entertainment.
They didn’t have enough tartar sauce. We had to hoard a bunch of packets for ourselves.
What really blew me away about this fish fry was the hospitality. Sure, the line was long, but along the way you could pick up drinks (beer!) and chips and salsa, and everyone working was so super nice. They had music playing and girls doing traditional Mexican dancing the whole time. Their priest even got on the mic and thanked everyone for coming. And they do this every Friday during Lent!

I’d been hearing about the St. Cecilia Fish Fry for years; it seems to be legendary here in St. Louis. The stories of long lines just wasn’t worth the hassle to me, and the fish fry season goes by so fast! They should just make it a year round thing, but I guess they have to follow some sort of biblical teachings which results in this event only occurring 4:30−8pm on Fridays during Lent (approximately six Fridays between Mardi Gras and Easter). I highly recommend going if you get a chance!
It is true about the long line that stretches all the way around the small gymnasium and out the door into the parking lot. When I arrived around 4:30pm, people were lined out the door. I’ve been told that it shortens towards the end of the evening, but you run the risk of some items being sold out. As I slowly entered the gym, anticipation grew with a feeling a sensory overload. The gym was packed with tables and people were moving every-​which-​way in a sort of organized chaos. As we moved along in the line, we passed various tables selling everything from t-​shirts to Mexican beer to church tours. St. Cecilia’s has really turned this into an impressive money making machine. I’d estimate the line to be two beers long once I got inside, but the people watching makes it enjoyable.
Once you get to the front of the line, you place your order and they give you a number to display on your table. Thankfully they bring the food out to you; otherwise it would end up on the floor as you try to find an open table. Menu options include two kinds of fish: jack salmon and cod fillet. The jack salmon, served with the bones in it, is the better option over the cod fillet which is just a frozen square fish patty. Honestly, I recommend skipping the fish and ordering the Mexican food. The chile relleno, stuffed with cheese and smothered in a red sauce, was delicious. The fried quesadilla was also tasty, but the puffed shell lacking in filling. I was surprised to see the quesadilla deep fried, which is common in Mexico, but rare here in the United States. Side items included options of mac & cheese, French fries, cole slaw, rice and refried beans. They also sold tortilla chips and pico de gallo at one of the tables in the line. Overall, I found the Mexican food to be very authentic and delicious. Just when I thought I couldn’t eat anymore, I spotted kids pushing around tamale carts and dessert carts. The sweet pastries looked amazing, but I opted for the tamale which was slightly spicy and delicious. To top off the experience, as I was stuffing my face, we were entertained by several children dressed in traditional Mexican attire dancing to music.
I must say it was quite a fun time and worthy of 5 stars, just be prepared for long lines and a crowded gym.

I haven’t been to a Cardinal’s game. I don’t know what a Slinger is. I’ve never slept with any of Nelly’s cousins.
A friend took pity on me and my St. Louis scorecard and dragged me in frigid weather to what I’ve deemed as a St. Louis MUST: St. Cecilia’s Mexican Fish Fry. Fish Fry crashing is the new wedding crashing.
Concerned about the effect I would have on deeply religious people, I toned down my prolific use of the F word and cashed up for a night of fun.
We arrived early (5?) and there was already a line extending into the parking lot. I wouldn’t say the line moved quickly, but it didn’t move slowly. Eventually we made it into the bustling gymnasium, warm and noisy. The line snaked around the perimeter of the basketball court, which was filled with tables and happy people. It wasn’t long before there was a pitcher of beer in my hand (6 dollars for a pitcher or 2 dollars for a cup) and I was wondering who these mystical creatures are who drink beer in their churches.
We passed the time in line by chatting with each other, chatting with strangers around us, listening to festive music, watching people take silly pictures, fending off children selling raffle tickets, and watching young people dance in elaborate costumes. Before we knew it, we were ordering. For $ 11, we were able to pick two entrees (the choices were cod, salmon, tostada, quesadilla, shrimp, or chille relleno. We also got to pick two sides (choices were mac & cheese, cole slaw, fries, rice, or refried beans). We were given a number to take back to a table, because sitting at a table masks the fact that you’re still waiting. It was nice that they brought us our food, though, so we didn’t have to carry it around while looking for a table.
We found it difficult to find a table. We eventually made it through the hallway full of obliviously-​in-​the-​way teenagers and scoured the two back rooms, which were sort of depressing, to no avail. Back in the main room, a church volunteer assisted us in finding a table. Some lady tried to steal our seats, and I think I was kind of mean to her. Lady, if you are reading this, I’m sorry. I’ll try not to be mean to you next time, especially if we’re in a church. A lot of people scandalously cheated the system by having people wait in line with money and orders while they saved a table. The system would work more efficiently if people didn’t do that, because someone will be done eating by the time they order and pay, freeing up that space anyway.
When the food arrived, I was beyond excited. Does beer give you the munchies or something? Gobbled down some of the best, creamiest, cheesiest mac&cheese ever, devoured my elementary-​school-​lunch-​ish crinkle fries, and slammed down some deep-​fried fish. The tostada was meh, but the experience overpowered.
Annoyingly, the silverware, condiments, and gratis lemonade were located in one of the back rooms, which took like 10 minutes to navigate to. Hopefully they will fix this next year.
Constant performances, plenty of volunteers cheerfully helping people, and surprisingly heavenly tres leches cake. An evening here wasn’t a déjà vu of my cholo-​esque childhood in Denver, but it was a whisper of home, and an open-​armed welcome to my new home of St. Louis. I will definitely be back.
Note: 4:30 to 8 every Friday in Lent. I would say get there early or late. At five, we waited over an hour in line and to get our food. Two hours all said and done. You might need to park a f ew blocks away. It was worth the wait and a fun experience. Not a bad Friday night at all. Come as you are, but dress warmly! It’s an indoor event, but you will likely be outside for longer than is comfortable.