Cap'n Jim's Fish & Chicken to Go

Reviews

• ★★★★½ Fried Fish Visited Aug 19, 2020

  Cheap Fish & Fries With Excellent Flavor

  Cap'n Jim's is a long-time San Antonio fast food fish restaurant that used to be located across from the Mission Drive-In theatre. Back then, people would park for the movie and walk across the street to pick up boxes of fish and fries to eat in the car while watching. I've been eating here for about 40 years at this point, going back to when I was a little kid at that old Roosevelt location.
  
  The restaurant has since moved from the old Roosevelt location to where it is now. I spoke with the guy working inside about having eaten at the old location as a kid, and I later found out there was actually another sit-down restaurant location at one point that was damaged in a fire and burned down, which led to the restaurant being sold and eventually streamlined into the fast food fish place it is today.
  
  There's no dining area here, just a walk-up window, so you're either taking your food home or eating it in the car. They sell boxes ranging anywhere from a single piece of fish up to 30 pieces, and every order comes with fries. At the time of this review, the fish was only about $2.50 a piece, which is a hard price to beat for the quality you get.
  
  The fish itself has really good flavor, since these are actual long slices of real fish, not processed square patties. The coating on them is thin but crispy, giving them a nice texture. They also have other items on the menu like shrimp and fried chicken, and some people swear by the fried chicken here, but in the 40 years I've been coming to Cap'n Jim's I've never actually tried it, since I come here for the fish.
  
  Don't let the old building and cheap prices fool you, because the food here is good, and I know some people would probably pass on it just because it isn't a fancy sit-down restaurant. But it's a staple of San Antonio that's been around for over 50 years, and it's stuck around because the food keeps bringing people back. It's a great option if you're looking for a simple fish and fries meal for a small family, without breaking the bank.

  — Paul