Reviews for The Bait Shop

03/25/2024 - MenuPix User

02/01/2024 - MenuPix User

12/31/2023 - MenuPix User

12/14/2023 - MenuPix User

11/20/2023 - MenuPix User

01/23/2021 - JoeS
I recently moved to Friday Harbor and have tried The Bait Shop on two separate occasions. The first time, I ordered the cod, fries and coleslaw along with a cup of King Crab bisque. The cod was over cooked, almost burnt. The fries were under cooked, not even brown, and were limp and greasy. The coleslaw had absolutely no flavor. As for the bisque, when you are paying $7 for a cup (not a bowl) of soup that is supposed to have King Crab in it, you expect some chunks of crab. There was absolutely no crab, it was all broth. I decided to try The Bait Shop a second time yesterday, thinking that maybe I just got them on a bad day the first time. This time, I ordered the clam strips, fries, slaw and the bisque. Once again, the fish was over cooked. The clams were tough and chewy. Worse still, the batter was so thick, you hardly could see a clam, let alone taste one. The fries were at least lightly brown this time, but still very greasy. They didn't give me any coleslaw (I didn’t find out until I got home), so I cannot comment on that, other than the poor customer service for not providing the coleslaw. And as for the bisque, zero crab meat and all broth. I will not give The Bait Shop a third try. I really wanted to like this place. I love seafood and there are very few inexpensive seafood places on the island. However, once you have had good cod and clams at places like Chinooks or The Seafood Brothers in Seattle, you don't want to waste $20 on a meal you can barely stomach. I am not sure why so many have rated this place five stars. Possibly they have never had good fish and chips or maybe they are employees of The Bait Shop? One good thing I can say about The Bait Shop is that they are appropriately named, and that is absolutely what their food is good for.