Fish and Chips at the Resolutes Club
The weather is warming up and that means it’s fish and chips season! I got fish and chips on my mind, and a plan of attack. You see, it occurred to me that tourists typically wander around downtown Halifax looking for seafood delights. We set traps for them, mostly along the waterfront, and rake in the profits hook, line and sinker. Hey – the scenery is nice and you’re eating seafood in Canada’s Ocean Playground? Must be legit!
The truth is that downtown Halifax is not home to the best or most iconic fish and chips restaurants in Nova Scotia, or even Halifax. Most tourists will never experience the likes of Fredie’s, Sydelle’s, or Gazoo’s.
So, friends, where do I tell a tourist to go for fish and chips if they only have a day downtown?
Or – for that matter – where do any of us go? Covid is going to be mucking up our tourism season again, so it’ll be us locals taking day trips to downtown and looking for some good grub.
One thing that downtown does have is plenty of good pubs, so I figured I’d start there.
What downtown pub has the best fish and chips? I asked Twitter.
People responded by naming every single pub in downtown Halifax.
One of the first responses I got was a recommendation for the Resolutes Club. This is a “private members” club, but you can ring the doorbell and sign in as a guest. It’s run as a not-for-profit in support of amateur sports in the community. It is also the southernmost pub on the peninsula that isn’t a university pub. “The Rez” is a nice little dive bar, with cheap and decent food.
A one piece fish and chips is $8.50 and comes with coleslaw and homemade tartar sauce.
The coleslaw and tartar sauce were pretty run-of-the-mill, and the tartar cup was pretty small. The fries were generic frozen fries, but I actually didn’t mind them. When you pay less than $10 for a meal, everything tastes so much better.
The fish batter was actually quite tasty. It was nicely seasoned, and had a nice crispy texture. It enveloped the fish in a structurally sound cocoon. There was a bit of mush and a bit of hollow crisp, and the fish itself was not the highlight.
With that said, I enjoyed this very much. I’m a big fan of the community vibe and the reasonable pub fare at the Resolutes Club.
The Resolutes Club
5461 Inglis St, Halifax, NS
Rating: Good
(Rating Scale: WTF, Meh, Good, Some Good, Right Some Good!)
More fish and chips reviews coming soon! What are your favourite fish and chips in downtown Halifax?
3 Comments
Mary Ann McGrath
Try Peelers chip truck, run by Peter and Beaty Belyea. Sackville Drive, just up the hill from Payzant’s Home Hardware. All fresh every day and the fries are fresh cut too.
Joanne Cook
I love the fish and chips at the Old Triangle. Do put it on your list! (Caveat – I’ve not had them for months, as I’ve been in COVID-induced hibernation most of the time.)
Jeff Pinhey
Looking forward to the rest of your accounts. So sad that Phil’s is gone I’m at a loss as to where to go in town. Finding myself having my fix of “fish &” out of town but in the city? Maybe Brown Hound?