Try Llywelyn's for a Classic Lenten Fish Fry

First, I tried stopping by. At noon, there were only two cars in the parking lot. One was occupied by a chain-smoker sitting alone in his car with the windows up. The other had a man with a lap full of paperwork who kept opening the door to yell at birds, and, when he noticed me going in, to throw a random shout my way as well. The only people inside were three angry looking men playing pool who glared me back out of the building.

Well, so much for that.

Since I was on a quest for a fish fry I decided to head down to Main Street and try the local branch of Llywelyn’s. The contrast was amazing. Instead of an empty parking lot, I had to park two blocks away. Inside the bustling restaurant, every table was full. I snagged one of the few empty seats at the bar.

Looking around, I wasn’t the only person who decided to try some Lenten fish and chips. I was also tempted by the $8 Welsh rarebit, a grown-up grilled cheese with mustard, tomatoes, and, in this case, bacon bits. Alternately, in the spirit of going meatless, I could have tried the $9 house-made black bean burger with spiced black beans and veggies and topped with caramelized onions. If you’re going meatless, keep this in mind for day 30 of 40, when you’re afraid if you eat another piece of fish you’ll grow gills in your sleep.

Be warned, at lunchtime during Lent you won’t get your $10 fish and chips quickly. The cheek-to-jowl crowd resulted in slower than usual service, though the waiters were incredibly considerate and apologetic. Anyone could see they were overworked.

At Llywelyn’s, “chips” mean house-made potato chips, not fries. I’m personally not a fan of their kettle style chips. I want to like the house-made, skin on crispy potato chips, but even with generous applications of salt and vinegar, I find them a little overcooked and underseasoned.

The house fries are a compromise between British pub-style chips (thick, flat wedges of soft fried potato) and American style long, thin fries. These are about twice the width of a usual fry and coated in a light, crispy batter that does a great job soaking up vinegar.

The fish itself came as two large rectangles coated in a thick, doughy batter that had an almost creamy interior texture while being pleasantly crispy on the outside. I’m accustomed to a thinner, crunchier batter, so this was a nice variation that did a good job absorbing a squeeze of lemon and a dash of vinegar.

The tartar sauce was a bit of a disappointment. It didn’t have much tang or substance, tasting more like a slightly chunky mayonnaise.

The fish and chips weren’t badly done, but neither was anything about them truly exceptional. I’ve had better versions of fish, fries, and tartar sauce. I’ve also had much, much worse. I give the hard working wait staff and busy kitchen credit for keeping up with the dense Lenten crowd. I give them a solid B.

If you’re interested in experimenting with a variety of fish frys, everything from Pizzeria to is offering Lenten specials. You could have a dozen different versions on Main Street alone during Lent.