Mel's Fish & Chips - Santa Rosa

Best: Fish & Chips Sonoma County

1016 Hopper Ave, Santa Rosa CA 95403
(707) 578-1954
Parking: in shopping center parking lot

Hours: Tues-Fri 11am-8:30pm, Sat 11:30am-8:30pm

Last Visited: May 14, 2011

Food: 3 to 4 stars

Atmosphere: 2 stars

Service: 3 stars
Price: $$ to $$$

I had tried to go to Mel's a few times, usually on a Sunday lunch hour and failed to find them open, but I do think they have one of the best fish & chips in Sonoma County. After trying Betty's, Fourth and Sea, and other places offering fish & chips, Mel's provides a great product (not as good as what you find in England, but pretty darn good).

This husband and wife team have owned the restaurant for more than a decade and the restaurant has been around since the 1980s.  The place is located in a strip mall, and there really isn't much room to eat in the joint. I call it a joint because it's not really a restaurant - it's a take-out counter with some seating against the window and outside when the weather is nice, but it's best if you live nearby or don't mind eating in your car. I've eaten both inside the place and in my car - I know - sometimes it's the sacrifice that you need to make in order to get good fish & chips.

While they offer fried prawns, scallops, clam strips, chicken strips, vegetables, a number of combos, I still prefer to go for a three piece fish & chips and split that. The fries are okay (and sometimes, they're even great depending on whom is doing the frying), but my heart belongs to the fried fish.  Each of the fried items are hand-battered, put in the big deep fryer, and browned in the small deep fryer.

- Artichoke Hearts - A basket of these are pretty reasonable, but you also might consider an appetizer combo so you can try zucchini or mushrooms too. Good. $3.75

- Calamari Rings - A basket of calamari rings is served in a basket.  Cooked until tender, they're good, but the batter tends to separate and become become a little soggy as it cools.  Eat this one quickly.  $3.75

- Fish & Chips - A basket of fresh cod is battered and cooked to order. The fries are the size of typical steak fries. While the fries are just okay, the fish is really good. Coleslaw comes with complete orders and it's the kind that is a touch sweet. Great! This photo shows half of a three piece order.  One Piece $5.49, Two Piece $7.49, Three Piece $9.75

- Sprecher's sodas - Ginger Ale, Root Beer, Cream Soda, Orange Dream - very satisfying with a yummy fried dish - I found the price for a bottled soda very reasonable. $1.49

During visits in 2009 and this most recent visit, I found that the prices have remained the same, something I can appreciate a lot considering how Mel's prefers to keep local clientele coming back rather than raising prices and seeing less people come into the place. 

Service has ranged from very good to not that great. I'm giving them a three star rating because when you get Wafa, one of the owners, serving you, she is so incredibly personable and friendly, that you think you could spend your whole afternoon there and that you've just made a friend.  However, the hired help can be a bit unfriendly and make you want to head to the car and eat your food there.  While the food has been consistently good during all of my visits, and their tartar sauce is also just chunky enough, I found service to vary enough to only give it a three star rating. While there are no substitutions in their combos, check out Mel's for some delicious cod.