Memorable | One of the Best
Westfair Fish & Chips
Review by: Michael Stern
Westfair Fish & Chips is an unlikely eatery set back from Route One in the Gold Coast community of Westport. Operating in the good old-fashioned eat-in-the-rough manner, it is little more than a kitchen with an order window and a few tables scattered about to which customers tote their own food on cardboard plates. For good weather dining, a few picnic tables appear outside.
One prominent feature of the interior is a lobster tank; and many customers come here to buy them whole for cooking at home. Hot lobster rolls are abundant, their meat so sweet that you hardly want any butter. But we usually go for the fried stuff, which is Westfair’s forte. Whole clams sport crusty golden cases; shrimp are snapping fresh inside their crunch.
The fry kettle also yields clam strips, sole, scallops, oysters, and squid … accompanied, of course, by French fries (or baked potato or onion rings). Most fish also are available broiled; and the menu includes linguine with clam sauce and baked stuffed shrimp. Whatever fish you get, do avail yourself of Westfair tartar sauce. It is bright with lemony zest — a great companion for seafood.
In addition to lobster bisque and seafood bisque, three kinds of chowder are available: New England, Manhattan, and Rhode Island.
Westfair advises customers in a hurry to call ahead and place their order so it’s ready when they arrive. Otherwise, there’s a wait while it is prepared from scratch.
Directions & Hours
Information
| Price | $$ |
| Seasons | All |
| Meals Served | Lunch, Dinner |
| Credit Cards Accepted | No |
| Alcohol Served | No |
| Outdoor Seating | No |
What To Eat
Westfair Fish & Chips Recipes
Discuss
What do you think of Westfair Fish & Chips?
One Response to “Westfair Fish & Chips”
Sally Lerman
July 18th, 2012
I had tried this lobster roll once before, and remembered that it had tail meat, butter, all the right stuff, but I didn’t really enjoy it as much as I should have. I remembered it being soggy, but figured that might have been due to getting it take-out and driving around to try to find a more picturesque spot to eat it. So, I decided I needed to give this spot another chance and a fair shake, by eating it there.
It is a very challenging spot to find if you don’t know where you’re going. It’s in kind of a strip mall behind a strip mall. Obviously very popular with locals, always very packed, no matter what the time. The “in the know” way seems to be to call ahead and then pick up your order. There’s only one guy at the counter taking orders, charging, and bagging up, and one guy cooking. So, if you just walk in, it could really be a while before anyone takes your order, then a while longer before you eat. I don’t mind that so much; there is some minimal indoor and outdoor seating while you wait. So, after some interesting people watching, I got the hot lobster roll.
The soggy thing was apparently not a fluke the last time. The second I picked up this lobster roll, the bottom fell out and most of the meat with it. I respect a place’s desire to use lots of butter on the lobster roll because, obviously, butter is delicious. But there is a fine line with butter, since you still want it to be a sandwich, not a fork and knife endeavor. In which case, why not just order a fresh steamed lobster and dip it in butter.
The bread was your standard white split-top bun, dry grilled, nothing special. The lobster meat, while it did have tail, knuckle, and claw, and seemed fresh, just didn’t taste very good. One problem it had was that the meat didn’t seem to have been picked very well. It still had that white gooey stuff that adheres to fresh lobster meat and you’re supposed to pick off. I think some people refer to it as the blood, but you’re not supposed to eat it and it doesn’t taste good. I also found a large shard of inner claw shell.
I tried to like this lobster roll, but it just kept disappointing. I didn’t see much worth returning for, except the onion rings. They were truly incredible! Maybe some of the best I’ve had, fresh-cooked, saltylishious, great. Call ahead and order onion rings. Judging by the onion rings, if you’re into fried stuff, that may be worth trying here. I’m just not into much fried besides onions.