Fish Type: Walleye (AYCE) Price: $11.00
Overall, I would highly recommend this Fish Fry.
| Fish Score: Excellent Potato Score: Good Tartar Score: Excellent Bread Score: Good Miscellaneous Score: Good |  |
Comment: Some of the sweetest words in the English language are All You Can Eat Fish Fry. There are a lot of places that offer the bottomless delight on Friday nights but I have not found many that allow you to mix-n-match all the varieties of fish available. In fact, Hooker’s Resort may be the first.
We arrived at Hooker’s around 8:30 and were not surprised to see the place was plenty busy. We put our name on the list and were told the wait would be about 30 minutes, which seemed like a long time for this late in the evening, but we rolled with it. It turned out we barely even had time to grab a drink at the bar before our name was called. Our “half-hour” wait turned into a quick ten minutes.
The waitress was at the table instantly, sans menus, and simply asked if “we had been here before?” Since we hadn’t she quickly went over the steak and fish options for us. Among the delicious sounding choices was the AYCE Fish Fry of which you can choose from: cod, walleye, bluegill, frog legs and shrimp. I was not surprised at the variety per se (although it is pretty good) but more at the fact you can get walleye first, then cod, then bluegill and on and on. Most places it is AYCE haddock, or ocean perch but that is it, there is no changing among multiple types. Hooker’s is unique in this regard.
We gave her our orders and sat back to enjoy the house salad and warm rolls as we waited the short time for our fish. There was no slaw but the salad with three dressing options more than made up for it. I chose bluegill for the first round and it arrived just as I finished my salad at which point our waitress also asked if we wanted to re-up on fish to which I simply responded: “walleye.”
The bluegill was very good, but this first round could have been hotter. The 6 fillets were good sized and enjoyed well seasoned batter which worked well with the fishy tasting bluegill. The walleye which came later was even better and had the same batter but was much hotter and flakier. I would have tried the cod as well but by 8:30 they were out and I think I actually got the last order of walleye which was lucky in itself. Since the cod and walleye were out I got one more half order of bluegill which was fresh fried and better than the first round but still not quite as good as the baby walleye.
The tartar sauce was also simply brilliant. It was a great mayo-relish combo but was a little sweeter than most which really worked well with the multiple styles of fish. The French fries were straight cut with the skin on and did their job but were nothing special. Like the first round of fish mine could have been hotter.
If you are going to run a waterfront establishments on Wisconsin River you had better serve up a mean Fish Fry, Hooker’s Resort does. The classic supper club ambiance is great and the bar area was hopping with the anticipation of live music later in the evening. Overall, it is clear this is a classic Fish Fry and is worthy of the praise it has received. The food was fantastic and service was quick and friendly too. The AYCE mix-n-match is really unique and helps to make this Fish Fry worth the short trip north.
www.hookersresort.com
W9370 County Road V
Poynette, WI 53955
(608) 635-7867
