Fish and chips from The Fish Hut in Kitchener

Eating fish on Fridays during Lent or specifically on Good Friday was not part of my religious upbringing and is not now within my current religious traditions, however there we were tonight, in line at The Fish Hut in Kitchener, waiting for our take-out order of fish and chips.

The Fish Hut is our favourite place to go for fish (halibut) and chips. Tonight it was the location of choice for many others as well. The place was hopping! In fact, it was so busy the phone went unanswered as the staff steadily fried vats of fish and chips and rang up sales. Before heading to the restaurant, we had tried calling a couple times to see if it was open, but no one picked up. We decided to drive down to check things out and found the OPEN sign shining brightly and cars coming and going.

The restaurant (take-out and eat-in) is not big, and the place is not big on ambiance, but the fish (at least the halibut, which is all we ever order) is very good. The batter is crisp, not overly greasy, and not so heavy that you can’t even taste the fish. The hand-cut fries are also good. We typically share a two-piece dinner with an extra piece of fish.

I imagine that most people who came and went through The Fish Hut’s doors this afternoon and evening were Catholic as it has been their tradition to abstain from eating meat on Fridays, especially during Lent. However, surely some of those who left clutching their brown paper bag filled with fried fish were Protestant like me.

Why was I dining on fish on Good Friday? Perhaps religious solidarity with my Catholic friends and neighbours. Or maybe it was a way to commemorate the day and its religious significance in a very practical way. (Fish has meaning to Protestants too!) Or it could be that I just didn’t feel like cooking, or that we just had a hankering for fried fish. And possibly, it was just something to do.

Whatever the reason (probably a combination of all of the above!), the fish and chips tasted especially good tonight. If you live in Kitchener, you just might find me there on another Friday night. Or perhaps a Thursday…..or a Wednesday……

The Fish Hut
24-450 Westheights Drive
Kitchener, Ontario
(519) 584-2325