What comes out of the fryer

Hand breaded, cracker fried, dusted in seasoned cornmeal — depending on what you order. The fried baskets all come with fries, homemade coleslaw and garlic bread:

Grouper basket — Gulf grouper, light fleshed and mild. $24
Catfish basket — the southern classic, cornmeal dusted. $14
Shrimp basket — light, crispy, cracker fried. $15
Alligator basket — locally caught wild gator in Everglades spices. $19
Chicken basket — for the one at the table not eating fish. $13

Round it out with hushpuppies ($8 for nine, crispy outside, tender inside) and onion straws with remoulade. Fried fish also comes as a sandwich — mahi, grouper, catfish — or as a full dinner with two sides and garlic bread.

Friday at the Fish

If it is a Friday fish fry you are after, know that Friday is also a live music night — bands start at 7 pm, and the room fills up with the Conway and Belle Isle crowd. Come early, order the grouper, stay for the set. Prices follow the current menu; we are open every day from 11 am to 11 pm at 7937 Daetwyler Drive, about fifteen minutes from the airport.

What is a fish fry, exactly?

Fried fish is a dish; a fish fry is an occasion. The tradition — church halls, fire stations, lakeside markets — is a communal meal built around battered or breaded fish with fries, slaw, hushpuppies and bread on the side. That side lineup is exactly how our baskets are built, which is why we call ourselves a fish fry restaurant and not just a place that fries fish.

Where else Orlando fries fish right

Credit where it is due — this town has real fry spots beyond our door. Washington Shores Fish Market on the west side is the old-school market-counter experience; Outpost Neighborhood Tavern runs a proper tavern fry; and the church and fire-hall fish frys around Lent are their own Central Florida institution — watch the parish boards in February and March. The rest of the year, the fryer on Daetwyler Drive does not take days off.