The Old Chelsea

A hidden gem in the Tenderloin. I was surprised by the quality of the fish at this hole in the wall. I pass it all the time, but for some reason the idea of seafood in the TL never appealed me.
Finally, someone else wanted to try it too. So, I thought, «ehhh, no finals coming up. How bad could it be? Gotta live a little.» I walked in about 9 pm on a weeknight to find a woman and her son working behind the counter. Admittedly, I was surprised by the price points, $ 10 for an order of fish and chips. Normally, I wouldn’t blink an eye, but once again we’re in the middle of the TL!!!
When I finally got my order, I was pleasantly surprised. The fish was perfect! The fish was fried at the right temperature, and the crust stayed on without crumbling off. They used a liquid batter which coated the fish perfectly. Some places try to make do with bread crumb coating, and that’s not okay! The fish was meaty, and juicy. Not dry like some of the places that use freezer burned fish. The bited of cod were meaty and broke off easily and melted into your mouth with each bite. With that said, I don’t remember the fries (a.k.a. «the chips»). I’m sure they were good, but I was more focused on the fish.
They have a lot of other fried goodies on their menu. I want to try the scallops next. The adventure will be continued…

Old Chelsea is one of those SF places like «MaMa’s» where you don’t know it till you try it. In the example like MaMa’s, you have to invest in a 45 – 90 minute wait to experience one of the best Breakfast-​esss-​esss (trying to figure out if you can pluarlize Breakfast) you’ll ever have.
O.C. is one where you have to invest, «faith». .. yes, it is dingy, but the food completely makes up for it. You didn’t come here to expect some 4-​star Fisherman’s Wharf restaurant, did you? But the it IS one of the best Fried Foods you’ll ever eat.

«The Old Chelsea» is THE iconic hole in the wall: literally nothing in here but grundgy blank walls, a few dingy grimey tables, and fried everything fried by a young frying expert — who manages this place as his dad manages Picadilly Fish N’ Chips on Polk.
I had been meanin to try the famous fish n’ chips at Edinburgh castle for the longest time now which I had heard was delivered straight from this place. So, on my trek up Larkin one evening I looked up and saw the source!
Inspired by the sheer excitement of treasure hunting and hunger pains, in I ventured.
Ordered 2 fish + chips for about $ 8.50. 20 minutes later I was served an insanely piping hott, fried-​on-​order basket full of FRESH-​CUT thick fries + 2 huge well-​battered fish pieces. Served up with the fixins: malt vinegar, ketchup, salt, and tartar sauce.
The batter itself could use a bit of seasoning, but besides that the food is all that fried stuff you could have ever wished for! (They also fry up zucchini, onion rings, and mushrooms as you wish).
All in all, don’t come here expecting anything except well-​fried food and a happy frier. Major props to Issac and his dad for keepin it real. You’d be impressed to know that someone so young is an expert at fryin 6 days a week, keeping up with the pace, all with a smile on his face. Talk about dedication.

Yuck. If you want good food or even half decent food get as far away from here as you can. First look at the tables, condiments on the tables and walls they all scream I don’t give a damn.
The breading on my fish was not fully cooked, both that and the fries were disgustingly soggy. I ordered in so no excuse for that.
In a nutshell, these people do not know what they are doing and don’t care, it shows up in the lack of care in the place and the food. Stay Away.

When I lived in the lovely neighborhood that is the Tenderloin, I used to go to Chelsea’s all the time. They, without a doubt, the BEST fish & chips in the city — possibly the whole state!
They cook the fish just right, while using just the right amount of batter. The fries are done with an equal amount of care.
I’d give this place five stars, if it wasn’t in such a shady neighborhood. Also, there’s no sit-​down service, except maybe a couple of stools. You can also order their food at the Edinburgh Castle around the corner on Geary. Otherwise, strictly for take-​out. You’ll just have to leave your fine jewelry at home when you stop by.
And you must stop by!

The fish was real good. The batter didn’t seem as greasy as a lot of other places i’ve gotten fish and chips. The chips looked like they were fresh cut and were very good, though some may like them a bit crispier (they are on the mushy side). I liked it and will be going there again.

Father and son owned business, i believe. They definitely work hard to maintain their business, and of course, to satisfy their customers. That’s a plus already.
I went a few weeks ago and ordered a variety of things off the menu. MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE: Their fried oysters! YUMMM x7658790976. Honestly, I’m not that big of a fan of oysters unless they’re made jusssst right, which they did. Oh, yes they did! Not to mention, they were at a pretty decent price for the amount they gave us. Though, I cant tell you how much it was because I don’t really remember, lol. Oops.
Everything else was satisfying, but if you’re ever in the area, get the freaken oysters! They’re an absolute MUST ;-)
Also, be careful when you drive in this area. A lot of reckless drivers and one way streets!

It’s possible that this place has questionable consistency, but in my experience this is some of the best fish and chips in sf, and I haven’t gone wrong yet.
Sure its seedy, tenderloin location is what one might call… sketch. Sureee, there might be someone sleeping on the sidewalk or the slight hint of vomit in the air. Pish posh to that.
This place is humble, owner operated, and has nothing but the best intentions. Oh sure some places have the best intentions at heart and still fail, but not The Old Chelsea. Its the lightest, fluffiest fish accompanied by some amazing chips. Even the ketchups great in my opinion!
Go in and give it a try, today. Oh, and if you happen to have a craving for fish and chips at a later hour, The Old Chelsea also supplies the Edinburgh Castle Pub around the corner made to order. So you can have a late night pint, and your fish to go with it, brilliant!

Wow. You say these are the best in the U.S. Looks like I’m done eating fish and chips in this country.
The fish was surprisingly fresh for such a… humble establishment. But you’d think they would have gotten the frying part down by now. Their batter was spongy and fit too loosely on the fish; I could peel it off in one piece.
It’s a fried food’s job to help you forget you are eating something that has just been dunked in hot fat. This is best achieved by a seamless integration of crispy batter and tender flesh. Here I felt like I was eating fish with a side of oil and flour.
The chips were just not crispy enough. The insides were nice and mushy… but then so were the outsides. No color on them at all. I think this is a simple matter of having the fryer temperature set too low.
The Old Chelsea’s greatest injustice, though, was underseasoning everything. Adding salt to food is both the easiest and most important thing you can do, and they screwed it up. Or maybe even didn’t do it at all, as far as I could tell. At least there was plenty of malt vinegar and iodized table salt to douse my food in.

HAHAAAAAAAAA…
OMG, i was sooo hungry and i wanted to have dinner with some friends, and we found this place
the fish actually tastes like a FOOT, and the chips thats beyond describable,
i liked the ketchup though ;)

Great place for fish & chips.
The oysters were a little fishy but the calamari is quite tasty.
The onion rings lack any unique flavor and a bit salty, but they aren’t bad.
If you get it togo be sure to get the malt vinegar on the side and try to unwrap it as soon as possible to prevent the food from getting soggy.
Also, if you’ve got high blood pressure (then why would you be eating fish and chips anyways?!) or have a slight aversion to salt, add it yourself ’cause the owner is a little heavy.

I walked into this empty joint, Sunday after sundown. A wise-​looking man with a smile at once nervous and easy took my order for a two piece with chips and proceeded to the frier. He battered the fish as three impassive family members sat behind the counter, eyes glued to Korean news on the TV alternating with a soccer match. I sat down and drifted off into reverie. Some minutes later I took my newspaper-​wrapped package home and savored the contents with a bottle of Anchor Steam from the corner store.
Yeah, it could’ve been crisper, I think in retrospect. But at the moment, I was content. I’ll be back there again.

Real English-​style fish & chips at super-​cheap prices? It’s hard to argue with that.
However, the menu is basic, the staff are brusque and the décor is dreadful, so you usually want to take it to go. Unfortunately, they’ve taken 15 – 20 minutes each time I’ve gone in there, which is both far longer than I wanted to be in there and ridiculously slow for chips.
I reserve this place for my English-​style-​chips cravings only, and balance the cons against the cheap price.

Somehow these fish and chips are way more impressive if you order them from the Edinburgh Castle, around the corner.
They’re not bad though. The batter fries up pretty light and crisp.
I’ll have to try some of their other items sometime.

The best fish and chips I’ve ever tasted anywhere. Served up in traditional Brit style on newspaper, with malt vinegar and salt. Now I may be partial. but this place has been in existence since the 70’s, that I know of. Their staying power is in quality and simplicity.
The menu is basic. very fresh battered and fried fish which I believe is cod, shrimp, scallops and oysters, served with fries or onion rings.
Five pieces of fish with fries for about $ 14 feeds 2 people easily. Several different combinations are offered.
Nom nom nom nom nom
Is lust too strong a word? OK. I covet Old Chelsea Fish and Chips.

For quick, dirty and relatively cheap, the Old Chelsea is fine. Fish and chips wise I’d give them three stars, but they also do onion rings which i love and they make them up on the spot to order.
They also get an extra star for being a local business but if you are really hunkering for some fish and chips, I wouldn’t necessarily send someone here. Still my faves are probably The Bitter End (although I haven’t been there in years).

We were searching for food on Geary during our hookah night. The first place we stopped had JUST closed minutes earlier and wasn’t serving anyone else. After settling for Thai food, we were crossing the street when the scent of fried fish waltzed up and popped us in the face. That’s when we all noticed the bright yellow sign across the way.
Quick detour to Old Chelsea revealed a bare-​bones operation: plain white walls, a few tables and chairs, and a simple menu displaying their offerings. After a quick discussion, we decided to get the fish, oysters, clams and scallops with a mix of chips and onion rings. So 4 massive orders for between $ 30 – 35.
We hauled our wares back to the hookah place, spread them out, and just dug in. My favorite from the bunch was definitely the fried scallops — crispy on the outside, but moist and flaky on the inside.
Definitely going back, but really, four kinds of fried seafood with fries and onion rings was sooo much overkill for me! There were five of us in total snacking away, and we couldn’t finish all four massive orders. Probably should’ve gotten the sampler on the menu instead.

Found this tiny place while walking along Larkin street some time ago. English fish ‘n chips prepared by a Korean family in the sketchy tenderloin neighborhood.
This place supplies the fish ‘n chips to the Edinburgh Castle Pub on Geary.
The menu: fish (1 – 5 pieces) with chips or onion rings, plus prawns, scallops, oysters, or clams with chips or onion rings ($ 4.50-$ 15).
The sides alone: chips, onion rings, mushrooms, or zucchini are $ 2.75
To go orders are wrapped in newspaper (very traditional), but not to worry they use parchment paper in between, so no ink on your food.
Expertly fried, golden, hot and delicious. Yummy!
Condiments available: salt, malt vinegar, ketchup, and tartar sauce packets.
A limited assortment of soda cans are available in the refrigerator on the right side. Blimey nice choice when fried foods tickles your fancy, Jolly good!
Some people said that this place is better than Piccadilly Fish & Chips on Polk. The verdict? That’s a bloody great question. I haven’t been to Piccadilly in years, so I’ll have to revisit them to compare.
CASH only.
Only open for dinner: Sun-​Thu 4pm-​11pm; Fri-​Sat 4pm-​midnight.

When I first moved to the city 15 years ago, I lived at Bush and Hyde which is just a hop, skip and a few tranny streetwalkers away from Old Chelsea.
Deep fried take-​out was altogether too common a practice in those days and I’d alternate between here and Piccadilly
(same owners) on Polk St when I didn’t want to brave the ‘loin. I’d more often then not get a bit extra (i.e. 3 when I ordered 2 pieces) which was a nice surprise when I unwrapped that greasy package. I think it was my stunning good looks and charming personality (I’m Korean) so YMMV.
Tasty, cheap, owned by Koreans (OK. Probably the real reason behind the freebies being Korean as well). What other criteria do you need? ;-)
When you see one of the workers scurrying down the alley with a bundle of fish and chips, don’t think it’s because they have a delivery service. Well they do, but it’s only to one address: Edinburgh Castle.

I am so glad that I didn’t discover how wonderfully delicious this place is until right before I leave SF. I would quickly weigh 300lbs because this is not only in my neighborhood but some of the BEST fish n’ chips I’ve EVER had.
There are criteria for good fish n’ chips.
Allow me to share:
1) Fish should NEVER be frozen when going into the fryer
2) Fish should be hand battered right before going into the fryer
3) Fish AND chips should be placed on white wrapping paper AND wrapped in newspaper
4) Fish and chips should be salted ONLY with sea salt
5) Malt vinegar served with fish n’ chips should be so acidic it makes your tongue sore
6) Fish n’ chips should be prepared in a dirty hole in the wall that is reminiscent of a fishing shack or a boat.
7) Fish n’ chips should be relatively inexpensive because it ain’t gourmet cuisine
The Old Chelsea delivers on all those standards. Plus the old guys working there are gruff, pay more attention to the sports on TV than to you and clean things up with their bare hands.
Relax on the «cleaning things up with their bare hands» part.
Hot oil kills all bacteria.
Duh!