The best place in the St. John's area for fish and chips. A great place to take visitors from away. The views are incredible here and you can sit outside on their deck in nice weather. Sometimes the line up is a bit long but the food is worth the wait. You have to order at the counter before having a seat which gives it a more take-out kind of atmosphere.
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I can neither say I like or dislike this restaurant because simply put half the meal was amazing and the other half was disgusting.
I entered By the Beach and definitely appreciated it's beautiful view and that it was obviously a popular spot (busy inside). Next I ordered and definitely did not feel welcomed by the older lady at the register, in fact I felt she was quite rude. I ordered 1 piece of fish, small chips and seafood chowder.
My meal arrived and I first tried the chowder, or what would be better described as blended cod with some carrots thrown in it. I cannot believe they serve this to anyone, it was terrible. I had everyone at the table try it to make sure I wasn't going crazy. I wasn't, it was not edible. I left it on the edge of the table, still completely full and I hope that was a good hint.
Then I tried the fish and wow. It was the probably the best fish I had ever had. Obviously this is why people come to By the Beach. Light batter, fresh and perfectly cooked, it was great. The chips were okay, some were soggy while the others were cooked well.
The grumpy lady came by when we were finishing up, I thought maybe to check on our meals, nope. She asked me to pass her the vinegar and ketchup that were extremely dirty on the outside (I noticed earlier when I got ketchup all over my hand, gross). So I passed them over, didn't even say thank you. Then she gave me clean ones to replace the old ones, no thank you again. Also the concrete mix (aka chowder) sat right in front of her, full, on the edge of table, we were now done our meals, didn't even phase her to ask if there was something wrong. Sigh.
In summary By the Beach has a great view, amazing fish, okay chips, mediocre or possibly terrible service and seafood chowder that I wouldn't feed to a pet.
Actually reminiscing while writing this has definitely convinced me to dislike By the Beach. Give it try yourself though, but seriously don't try the 'seafood' chowder...
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Beautiful View, Good Food. My bf and I were recommended here by the clerk at the car rental agency. It was about 20 minutes from downtown St. John's located right by the water. The menu consists of fish and chips, fish and brewis, cod cakes, chowder--typical Newfoundland style food. You pay for your meals first at the counter and then they bring it out to you. Everywhere you go in Newfoundland that sells Fish and Chips, does not specify what type of fish, as they assume you'll know it's their island specialty, cod--why anything else? I had the 1 piece meal ($8.99) and received a large piece of delicious, flaky cod. The batter was perfect and crispy. Usually I like to drench my fish in lemon but there was no need to as it tasted great. The little pieces of homemade fries came unsalted and were hot and crispy. Although it was a 1 piece meal I could barely finish everything off as the portions were that big. My bf had the 2 piece meal and upgraded his fries to poutine. He also couldn't finish off the massive portion size, but enjoyed the food very much. Besides the food the highlight of the evening was being able to eat while watching the beautiful sunset on their patio. This place is in a beautiful area and will definitely fix any fish and chips craving!
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