St. Clement of Rome - 1510 Bopp Road, Des Peres, MO 63131

Wayfinding / Greening


Great signs!  Not only good locations along the road and at key decision points, but also high quality, well designed signs.  Some of the best wayfinding this year.  Ordering was simple.  Choose between adult or child dinner, then choose your choices when you actually get to the counter.  I prefer this method or ordering.  Sometimes it slows getting your food a little, but it's nice to see the choices before you make your decision.  One counter for "cold" items, one counter for "hot" items.  About a 5-10 minute wait in line at 5:30.  No visible recycling, although plastic cups and aluminum cans were used.  Styrofoam plates for adults, paper plates for kids.  Bulk ketchup and condiments.

Food


Very good Cod, maybe the best of the year.  Big rounded chunks of Cod fried in peanut oil came out nice and toasty hot and flaky.  Darn good.  Breading good have been spicier for my personal preference, but it did let the taste of the Cod shine through.  Sides were also excellent.  Salad and cole slaw were the best of the year.   Other sides included french fries, applesauce, spaghetti, green beans, mac and cheese, and seasoned potatoes.  The seasoned potatoes were also a nice highlight.  Plenty of other choices for entree also:  fried Cod, catfish, or shrimp; baked cod, tilapia, or salmon.  Child dinners were a choice of cheese pizza of one piece of Cod.  Good selection of desserts.

Value



OK value.  $9 for adults dinners and $5 for child dinners which included drinks (tea or lemonade).  Desserts were $0.50 to $1.00.  Beer was $2.  For a family of 5, about $35.  Portions were large though.  You get three side dishes, so your plate is overflowing. 

Atmosphere



Good atmosphere.  Crowded cafeteria.  The only downside was that most of the seating was bench style cafeteria tables.  Good buzz of conversation.  Highlight of waiting in line is that you can see the fish fryers through the window working outside near the kitchen.  It is like the restaurants where the quests can see the chef working in the kitchen.  Friendly volunteers.  The only missing aspect was the lack of table clearers.  A lot of fish fries will utilize the parish youth to clear tables.  There were plenty of youth about, and maybe they already were involved in other aspects.

Overall
3.5 out of 4.  Very good fish fry.  Crowded, but not overwhelming.  Cod and sides were excellent.  Usually by this late in the fish fry season, fried Cod starts becoming a chore, but here it was hot and tasty.  Salad was the best of the year, and maybe the best I've had at a fish fry.  The other interesting aspect was the number of strollers actually inside the cafeteria.   I'm not sure I have ever seen so many strollers actually inside at a fish fry.  There were a lot of babies and it is good to see people walking to a fish fry.  Overall, a highly recommended fish fry. 

Reviewed:  3/30/12




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Year End Reviews

Sometimes it is hard to compare fish fries from year to year. Comparing that Cod from 2014 to 2008 can be a little tough. With that in mind, below is a yearly re-cap for each of the following years. We got a little busy in 2015, then 2017-2019 went by in a blur, so we are missing a few years, so sorry!

2020 Year End Recap
2016 Year End Recap
2014 Year End Recap

Fan Poll Winners - Best Fish Fry

Every year Friday Night Fish hosts a fan poll to crown a yearly fan favorite Fish Fry. It's a two step process with Round 1 selecting five finalists, and Round 2 voting from the final five to crown the yearly fan champion. So get ready every year for the annual poll and get your supporters voting for your favorite fish fry! We had some voting "irregularities" in 2014, so we discontinued the poll (for now).

For a recap of past winners see Past Fan Poll Winners.

Past "Fan Poll-Favorite Fish Fry" Winners:
2014: First place tie: Christ, Prince of Peace, Ballwin; Saint Mary Magdalen, Brentwood; St. Ferdinand, Florissant
2013: Saint Mary Magdalen, Brentwood
2012: St. Rose Philippine Duschesne, Florissant
2011: St. Pius, St. Louis
2010: St. Gerard Majella, Kirkwood