Mister Fish and Chips in Clairemont

I haven’t been to Mister Fish and Chips in quite a long time (2009 to be exact!). I was over in Convoy and decided I should visit them again. The exterior and interior got a facelift and I discovered they had a “grand reopening” back in 2013.

Front Counter at Mister Fish and Chips in San Diego, CA

Menu at Mister Fish and Chips in San Diego, CA

The lunch special at Mister Fish and Chips is a good deal at $8.50 for a a main, a regular side order, drink, plus coleslaw or salad. I wasn’t interested in any of the lunch special offerings though. I had my eye on the 21 shrimps basket!

21 Shrimps at Mister Fish and Chips in San Diego, CA

You can get the shrimps alone for $6.99 or add a regular side for $9.99. I got it with a side of onion rings. There is indeed 21 shrimps in this container! These are more “popcorn shrimp” style with tiny little breaded fish. Some pieces are bigger than others but it is a hefty amount of food once you get to munching on all of these shrimps. Normally I am not a fan of cocktail sauce, but they make their own cocktail sauce in house at Mister Fish and Chips and it is really good. It has a good mix of flavors that tasted yummy with my little shrimps. I also really enjoyed the tempura battered onion rings – they had a light, crispy coating and the onion stayed firmly in place in the batter and did not get pulled out when I bit into it. 

Mister Fish and Chips in San Diego, CA

Last Friday I was still thinking about Mister Fish and Chips and decided to take Jake (and Maya) to check it out again. They have a few tables outside so it’s dog friendly! 

Dinner at Mister Fish and Chips in San Diego, CA

Here’s our dinner spread. Why oh why didn’t I also get a salad?!?! Everything was fried! Not that anything tasted bad but you need something to cut through the grease!


The owner of Mister Fish and Chips came out and brought us a basket of condiments and explained what each item was in the basket. He told us all of the sauces in bottles were made in house (ranch, cocktail sauce, and tartar sauce). He also brought us out a pitcher of ice water. He was very friendly and welcoming and made our visit even better by chatting with us about the food. 

Jumbo Shrimp and Fried Scallops at Mister Fish and Chips in San Diego, CA

I ordered 4 Jumbo Shrimps [$8.95] plus 4 Scallops [$4.99] since Jake and I were sharing the sides. The Jumbo shrimp is fan tailed shrimp. I squeezed plenty of lemon on top and happily munched on these with a dip in some more of Mister Fish and Chips yummy cocktail sauce. I did add a touch of sea salt to both my shrimp and scallops and this added the extra boost of flavor that I wanted from the coating. The shrimp tasted kind of creamy inside – it was very tender and delicious! The batter was perfect – not too greasy tasting, light, and super crunchy. 

The scallops have the same kind of batter as the other seafood items here (minus those baby shrimp). This makes for a very crunchy exterior! 

Fried Scallops at Mister Fish and Chips in San Diego, CA

Here’s a peek at the inside of the fried scallop. The scallop was very tender, a bit sweet, and had a nice soft texture (and paired well with the crispy coating). It was A LOT to eat both the shrimp and scallops, and I didn’t finish them. While neither had a greasy-oily flavor, it is still fried food and becomes overwhelming after awhile. 

Fried Fish at Mister Fish and Chips in San Diego, CA

Jake opted to try two pieces of Fish [$7.00]. The owner told us they use Alaskan Cod for the fish. Jake let me have a bite and the fish was incredibly tender. The fish didn’t flake apart into a ton of pieces but mostly stayed together. The cod was moist and juicy inside and had a really great flavor. Jake commented that he really loved the fish. He was impressed with the flavor, commenting that a lot of white fish sometimes has a “dirty” flavor (like catfish, which are bottom feeders) but this version tasted pure and fresh. The tartar sauce was also decent. I normally don’t eat it since it usually has relish in it, but the house made version at Mister Fish and Chips is relish-free! Winner, winner! 

French Fries at Mister Fish and Chips in San Diego, CA

Jake didn’t realize just how LARGE a large side order is here and we had a MOUND O’ FRIES on our hands. The fries are pretty greasy… but that seemed to make them extra crunchy?? We ended up not even finishing the fries and missing T, who would have certainly helped us finish the fries off if he were still here! 

Next time we come here I am DEFINITELY ORDERING A SALAD. And skipping a fried side order. Salad needed to help balance out the (delicious) greasy fried food! 

Mister Fish and Chips
5647 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111


11 thoughts on “Mister Fish and Chips in Clairemont

  1. Surprisingly, not many good options showed up when I looked up “fish and chips” on yelp… Soo mentioned this place so I want to go soon! We recently tried Fancy Fish in Mira Mesa and felt a bit of the same way about lots of fried items! They have a “fry-day” special for around $7.50 if you want to check it out with me this Friday! =)

    1. Hi Lynn –
      Fish is like the only seafood that Jake will even consider eating. We’ve tried a few places and he really loved the fish here. I can’t remember what I tried at the Fancy Fish now, ha. But I’d be totally down to go again! Is the “fry-day” special good for dinner, too?

    1. Hi Soo –
      The owner here is awesome! He was so nice and friendly. Even though it kind of put me into a food coma, I’m already looking forward to going again (and making sure I get a salad next time, ha).

  2. Tried this place on your recommendation and really liked it! Onion rings were delicious. Loved the caddy of sauces that were nice & cold, right out of the fridge – condiment heaven! Ranch, tartar, hot sauce, ketchup, cocktail, what more could I ask for? Agree a bit more seasoning on the fry would be welcome, but we had fresh ground salt & pepper shakers on the table to add our own. Really hit the spot!

    1. Hi Dianne!
      I’m thrilled to hear you visited and enjoyed it! I also love the caddy of sauces to really customize the dish to your liking. I appreciated it was made in house, too. Glad to hear you enjoyed your visit! Thanks for sharing your comments.

    1. Hi CC – Oooo, I figured you’d have been here already but it’s not really in your neighborhood haha. I think you’d really enjoy the fish here! It’s flaky and the batter on the fish is really good! The shrimp is also really awesome. I preferred the jumbo shrimp over the smaller popcorn shrimp. So good!

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