Review
We were meeting some friends and planned to eat around eight, but since some of us didn't have much else going on we decided to rendezvous a little early and have some drinks beforehand. As we waited for everyone to show up we tried some appetizers and looked over the menu. The cheese curds looked like they came from the A&W and were very "Sysco-blah," as was the guacamole in the chips and guac platter. In addition to the lackluster apps, the closest the Vintage gets to Friday Night Fish Fry is the $8.25 fish-n-chips which is served every day. Needless to say, the Vintage did not start this Friday on a positive note.
Eventually everyone in our party of seven arrived and our friendly young waiter came to take our orders. We had a fairly mixed bag of tastes this evening and he did a good job taking care each one individually. He scurried away to put in the order and bring us some more drinks. The fish-n-chips came about 15 minutes or so after the order went in and was hot, but not scalding, when served.
For your $8.25 you get three tiny pieces of cod. The petite fillets were cloaked in a fairly heavy beer batter which was overall lacking in flavor. The cod itself was actually fairly tasty, but my three little guys got greasy quickly which led to my last piece being a little spongy. In general, it was not that great and the portion size was incredibly small, certainly not enough for a big appetite.
Like the cod, the French fries did not arrive in the quantity I had hoped for. The Julienne cut fries tasted slightly better than the fish, although the skin-on potatoes were slightly undercooked. The tartar was also underwhelming, and barely even qualifies as tartar in my book. It was very thin and was more like ranch dressing than a creamy tartar. The smooth concoction tasted good, but is not a classic tartar, and really didn't improve the fish at all.
Being that this isn't a real Fish Fry, there was no bread served which left me feeling incomplete. Neither the zesty, vinegar laden slaw, nor the laidback, low pressure service we received was not enough to make up for it.
Overall I don't think this fish is recommendable. The small portion, average food quality, and lack of bread are just too glaring of shortcomings. It is really too bad because they have done a great job revamping the atmosphere and making the place aesthetically pleasing. Unfortunately, like a pair of vintage pants, the fish-n-chips at The Vintage Brewing Company kind of stinks. However in this case, the small portion size and lackluster sides are the culprits, not mothballs.
Our first visit to The Vintage Brewing Company was a total failure partially because they were sorta new, and partially because we had a long wait, but mostly because they only had fish-n-chips (not a real Fish Fry). Well, we recently learned that as they've developed, they've added a full-fledged Friday Fish special, and it is "arguably one of the best in the city." We'd also heard that it was All You Can Eat which instantly made our old review obsolete and in need of replacement.
The wait this time around was short and our party of seven got a big table (3 small tables squished together) in the main dining room without much dely. As soon as we all sat down our waiter came over, chitchatted for a sec, then sped off to get us another round of drinks. When he came back with the booze food orders were taken and the game was afoot. The Friday Night Fish at the Vintage is cod and comes in three different sizes - small - $13.99, medium - $15.99, and large - $17.99. The small starts it off at three pieces with each subsequent jump receiving one additional "six ounces" piece *waiter does hand gesture to indicate the enormity of the pieces*. Most everyone went for the standard 3-piece since $14 is already pretty pricey and going above that is just kinda crazy - at least for cod.
The food came in due time and was nice and hot, we'll give them that. The pieces of fish were similar to the waiter's gesture although were longer and skinnier than I would have expected (one piece was roughly the equivalent of two pieces at Wilson's stacked end to end). The fish was actually pretty good, and quite a bit better than we recalled it being. It had a light breading, and was devoid of grease, but was a tad over-fried on the ends since the long fillets tapered off. It was nothing if not a unique cut since cod is usually served in much smaller or much larger pieces. Overall, it was good, and better than we remembered.
Like the cod, the steak fries were respectable, but plagued by minor imperfections. In this case, their numbers were small and there were a lot of "nubbins" (must have got the bottom of the basket). Even with the oddballs, the thick-cut spuds were acceptable, as were the gen-u-ine Tater Tots. The Ore-Ida originals were perfectly cooked, displaying yet again, that deep-frying is the way to go when you're talkin' taters. I mean, we've all made Tots at home, but they never come out quite like this - crispy, golden, plush - just the way the parent corporation intended.
A relatively scant amount of what appeared to be homemade tartar sauce joined the party and while it was good, only one cup came for the three big pieces of fish. I immediately requested backup, as I knew that the tiny allotment wouldn't stand up to a three-piece of this size. The sauce was thick and creamy, and enhanced the fish in the necessary ways - not many complaints here. There were some grumblings over the coleslaw however...
What was claimed to be "spicy slaw" was basically a raw tasting mix of incongruous chunks of plain ol' dry cabbage in a tiny bit of vinegar, doused with chili powder. The mix was off-putting, to say the least, and you couldn't even cleanse your palate of it with bread since none was provided.
While this visit was a step up from our previous trip, I'm still not sure we can recommend this Fish Fry. It is just a bit too expensive for what you get even, and though the fish, fries, and tartar were all good the lack of bread hurt and the un-edible slaw took away just enough to make the meal unworthy of the $14 price tag. It was just not a knock-your-socks-off affair and while I'm sure there are some people who don't mind paying a little extra for the atmosphere and flair of The Vintage, it's just not enough to make this the Fish Fry for me. Arguably the best? Yeah, think I can argue that...