Red Fish Blue Fish: Best fish and chips in Victoria

My husband studied briefly in Victoria and on Canada Day, we ended up being in Victoria so I asked him for a food recommendation. He immediately suggested Red Fish Blue Fish for their fish and chips and chowder.

Red Fish Blue Fish has 4.7 stars ⭐️ and 5K+ reviews on Google, so it definitely is a popular spot. We came here on a Tuesday (stat holiday) right before 11am when they opened and there was already a short line waiting.

Red Fish Blue Fish
1006 Wharf St, Victoria, BC V8W 1N8

The vibe

The restaurant itself is situated on the pier so it’s more like a shipping container/shack. It is a pretty casual set-up, you line up and order at one side, and food comes out on the other side.

There is limited seating on the pier – mostly bar seating facing the water all in one row. There is another dining area in the back with more bar seating (again in a horizontal row). People eat and move on pretty quickly here so you can wait for a spot or just take your food somewhere else to eat as there are a lot of seating areas in this area.

Food review

We ordered everything to share between 2 people. Prices are in CAD and rounded to the nearest dollar for simplicity.

Chowder ($12)

My husband is a big fan of seafood or clam chowders. Whenever he sees it on the menu, he always orders it and this place is no exception.

You can order the chowder in a cup ($8) or bowl ($12). We opted for the bowl as we are sharing.

Unlike New England chowder, which has a more white colour, this one resembles Boston chowder, which is more red. On my first sip, I could immediately tell that even though it is red in colour, it is quite different from a Boston chowder.

This chowder uses chipotle coconut and sweet corn with Pacific white fish confit. It has a smoky and curry-like taste, which I actually really enjoyed 👍.

Fish and chips ($33)

I wanted to try both the cod and halibut, so we did 1 order of fish & chips cod + 1 single order of halibut only, totaling to around $33.

It was kind of hard to taste the difference between the cod and halibut, so I would suggest to just go for the cod if you don’t have a big preference. Both fish were fried really well and the inside fish meat was flaky and moist. The batter was crunchy and not soggy at all, and also not too thick.

The coleslaw was a refreshing little touch (very small amount) and the fries were crispy and delicious.

Final thoughts

Loewe’s rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Given the quality of food, wait time and price, I give Red Fish Blue Fish 5 stars! This is definitely a top tier fish and chips and I have eaten a lot of fish and chips while living on the west coast. Is it the best fish and chips I’ve had? Maybe not (tough competition), but certainly a top 5 here. I also highly recommend the chowder!

If you are visiting Victoria for a day or weekend trip, make sure you check this spot out and get here early!

Sincerely, Loewe