Churches, restaurants and organizations are all getting in on the Lenten action this year. And with so many fish frys in Greater Cincinnati, it's hard to know where to start.
Here's a list of 22, plus unique items to order there. Events accept different forms of payment, so bring both cash and credit if you’re unsure. Note: This is not a list of all the fish frys in town.
American Legion Post #318
Dinners include your choice of fried or baked fish, shrimp or chicken tenders, served with a side of french fries and one other side of your choice. Homemade desserts are also available. Soft drinks are available for purchase, as is beer and wine. Patriot Center, 6660 Clough Pike, Anderson, post318.org.
Dates: 5-7 p.m. Fridays March 4 -April 15.
What to order: A fried cod filet sandwich on rye, and upgrade to a side of macaroni and cheese.
Germania Society
The Germania Society Klubhaus reopens for its 2022 Lenten fish fry, offering a full menu complete with fish dinners, sandwiches, New England clam chowder, cheese pizza and sides ranging from baked macaroni and cheese to collard greens and french fries. The Klubhaus dine-in bar will be open during the festivities, and the event offers drive-thru beer and wine for those on the go. An 8-ounce fish dinner with two sides, cornbread and dessert will run you $16. The featured fish will either be cod or orange roughy, depending on the supply chain. Germania Park, 3529 W. Kemper Road, Colerain Township, germaniasociety.com.
Dates: 5-8 p.m. Fridays through April 8; drive-thru closes at 7:30 p.m.
What to order: Whatever you order, get a side of the cult-favorite homemade tartar sauce.
Guardian Angels Parish
Guardian Angels Parish is hosting a drive-thru fish fry every Friday during Lent, excluding Good Friday (April 15). The menu includes fish sandwiches, shrimp, crab cakes and sides ranging from onion rings and hush puppies to mozzarella sticks. There will also be pizza from LaRosa’s and coleslaw from Raising Cane’s. The parish is offering select dine-in events in the undercroft, including alumni night on March 11 for the grads of Guardian Angels School and their families and a March Madness viewing party on March 18. 6539 Beechmont Ave., Mt. Washington, gaparish.org.
Dates: 5-7 p.m. Fridays through April 8.
What to order: Veering off track from traditional sides, Guardian Angels also offers fried pickle chips and jalapeno poppers.
Immaculate Heart of Mary
This year, IHM is doing dine-in, carry-out and drive-thru for its fish fry, and there are plenty of options to try. There’s a hand-breaded fried or baked cod platter, a shrimp platter, crab cake platter, whole pizzas, grilled cheese and combos that blend the best of both worlds (aka fish and shrimp or fish and crab cakes). Sides include a from-scratch mac and cheese. 5876 Veterans Way, Burlington, facebook.com/ihmfishfryburlingtonky.
Dates: 4:30-7:30 p.m. drive-thru and 5-8 p.m. dine-in and carry-out Fridays through April 8.
What to order: The famed Tommy Boy platter: fried cod inside a grilled cheese sandwich with your choice of two sides.
Kolping Society
The Kolping Society is offering a drive-thru fish fry Fridays during Lent, except for Good Friday. Guests can choose a fried or baked fish or shrimp dinner for $12 and $13, respectively. Bottled German beer is also available to-go with fish fry dinners for $5 per bottle. A Graeter’s Ice Cream truck will also be on hand on April 8. 10235 W. Mill Road, Mt. Healthy, facebook.com/kolpingcincinnati.
Dates: 5:30-7:30 p.m. Fridays through April 8.
What to order: A Warsteiner pilsner, Paulaner dunkel or a Hofbräu dunkel (or original) to drink at home with your fried fish.
Lehr’s Prime Market
Every Friday during Lent, Lehr's hosts a fish fry featuring a haddock sandwich basket (beer-battered haddock on marble rye with tartar sauce) and a la carte options like hush puppies and creamy coleslaw. 740 Main St., Milford, lehrsprime.com.
Dates: Noon-7:30 p.m. Fridays during Lent.
What to order: Make sure to accompany your bigger-than-the-bread fried haddock with a side of hush puppies and special “puppy sauce.”
Mary, Queen of Heaven
Mary, Queen of Heaven is widely known in Cincinnati as the home of the Codfather. Izzy’s CEO John Geisen becomes the Codfather for a day by dressing mafia-style and carrying around his giant stuffed cod for photos. Try foods like shrimp tacos, baked cod, a fish sandwich, butterfly shrimp and more. MQH also sells beer. Order food for dine-in, carry-out or drive-thru. 1130 Donaldson Road, Erlanger, mqhparish.com. Read CityBeat's interview with Geisen and learn more about the MQH fish fry at citybeat.com.
Dates: 4-8 p.m. Fridays March 4-April 8.
What to Order: The signature Holy Haddock sandwich: fried haddock on a bun with tartar sauce and pickles. Served with french fries and coleslaw.
Nation Kitchen & Bar
Nation Kitchen & Bar is expanding fish fry Friday to a daily offering with its giant 8.5-ounce fried haddock sandwich. The monster meal, which costs $15, comes with saratoga chips. And you can feel good while eating good, as $1 from each fish sandwich order will benefit St Aloysius' after-school programs. 1200 Broadway St., Pendleton; 3435 Epworth Ave., Westwood, nationkitchenandbar.com.
Dates: Available for lunch and dinner daily in March.
What to order: That big ol’ haddock sandwich.
Nine Giant
Nine Giant is bringing back it super-popular Friday fish fry. Chefs at the Brewpub will be panko-crusting and frying their fish, serving up the results with a side of fries, samal ketchup and remoulade. Available primarily for dine-in and in-person carry-out ordering, the eatery is also attempting online ordering but will turn it off if it gets too busy. 6095 Montgomery Road, Pleasant Ridge, ninegiant.com.
Dates: Fridays during Lent; the Brewpub opens at 11:30 a.m.
What to order: While you wait for a table at the Brewpub, hop over to the next-door Fermentorium. You can order carry-out from the bar there while sipping on the new Brainfreeze Cold IPA.
Newport Elks Lodge #273
Grab this fish fry for dine-in or carry-out. Each dinner includes your choice of protein, bread, coleslaw and a side. Here’s where things get interesting: there’s both seafood and meat (obviously not Lent-friendly, but great for those who are hungry and aren’t observing the holiday). Opt for fish, chicken, steak or shrimp. There also are single and double hamburgers and cheeseburgers, steak sandwiches, chicken fingers and sides. 3704 Alexandria Pike, Cold Spring, newportelks273.com.
Dates: 4-7:30 p.m. Fridays through April 8.
What to order: The “fish set-up” is $12 and includes a piece of fish, coleslaw, bread and your choice of fries, onion rings, green beans, hush puppies or mac and cheese.
Our Lady of Sorrows
With dine-in and carry-out options, Our Lady of Sorrows offers another great family fish fry opportunity. Choose from either breaded or beer-battered cod or eight pieces of shrimp, then get a load of sides. Sides range from green beans and french fries to mac and cheese. The church also offers beer for $3 a bottle, slices of cheese pizza for $2 and homemade desserts to benefit the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament in Ferrier, Haiti. 330 Lebanon St., Monroe, olosmonroe.com.
Dates: 4:30-7:30 p.m. Fridays through April 8.
What to order: This is an all-you-can-eat experience ($12 for adults, $10 seniors and $15 ages 4-12) so try it all.
R&R Quality Meats
If you don't want to wait until dinner for fish fry fun, R&R has you covered with its lunch menu. It offers fish tacos, a deep-fried beer-battered cod sandwich, shrimp baskets and sides on both the lunch and dinner menus. Novel options here include soup of the day and sweet potato fries. 4029 Harrison Ave., Cheviot, randrmeats.com.
Dates: 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. and 4:30-6:30 p.m. Fridays until Easter.
What to order: For an interesting take on a fried fish sandwich, try the baked-potato-crusted cod option.
St. Aloysius Gonzaga
St. Aloysius Gonzaga is offering a variety of meals for its fish fry, including a baked or fried fish dinner, shrimp dinner, fish and chips, baked or fried fish sandwich and a shrimp basket. It will also be serving other items such as pizza, mac and cheese, green beans and coleslaw. This is a drive-thru-only fish fry. 4390 Bridgetown Road, Bridgetown, saintals.org/fishfry.
Dates: 4:30-7 p.m. Fridays through April 15.
What to order: The fish and chips includes a piece of baked or fried fish (we vote fried) with fries and coleslaw.
St. Augustine
Grab a Bud Light to accompany your fish dish at this dinner. Opt for fried or baked fish, fried shrimp with cocktail sauce, cheese pizza, mozzarella sticks or a fried fish sandwich. 413 W. 19th St., Covington, staugustines.net.
Dates: 4-7 p.m. Fridays through April 8.
What to order: Order the fried shrimp dinner and choose two sides: french fries, onion rings, coleslaw or mac and cheese.
St. Catharine of Siena
St. Catherine of Siena’s fish fry menu includes a few novel options and sides, like a cod slider or three-piece cod dinner plate. Both of these meals come with fries and coleslaw or fries and mac and cheese. And while the fry at the parish is drive-thru only, St. Catharine is bringing its goodies to West Side Brewing for two dates.stcathos.org/events.
Dates: 5-7 p.m. March 11, April 1 and April 8 at St. Catherine of Siena, 2848 Fischer Place, Westwood. 5-9 p.m. March 18 and 25 at West Side Brewing 3044 Harrison Ave., Westwood.
What to order: The three-piece cod tacos, which come topped with slaw and chipotle crema.
St. Columban
Order online or stop by the drive-thru or carry-out line to enjoy everything from a fried fish sandwich and grilled salmon to Jet’s pizza or grilled cheese. St. Columban also offers fish tacos, baked potatoes, a fun gourmet salad (with feta, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds and balsamic) and traditional sides. If you want to eat inside, grab your food and then head down to the Parish hall to enjoy your meal.894 Oakland Road, Loveland, stcolumban.org.
Dates: 5-7:30 p.m. Fridays through April 8.
What to order: Gotta get the buffalo shrimp wrap with ranch dressing.
St. James the Greater
St. James the Greater has been blessing the White Oak area with quality Lenten meals for more than 10 years. Fried or baked fish, fish sandwiches, shrimp, LaRosa’s pizza, applesauce, Servatii’s pretzels with beer cheese — there’s something for everyone. Grab a “mystery dessert” for $1 if you order through the app or by phone. Dine-in, carry-out and drive-thru options available. 3565 Hubble Road, White Oak, stjamesfishfry.org.
Dates: 4:30-7:30 p.m. Fridays through April 8.
What to order: The beer-battered cod dinner, with your choice of white, rye or salted rye and two sides.
St. John the Baptist
St. John the Baptist will be serving up delicious dishes like a beer-battered shrimp dinner and baked or fried cod meals. For those wanting something less fishy, there’s NYPD pizza, pretzels with cheese, housemade macaroni and cheese and more. Drive-thru only. 5361 Dry Ridge Road, Colerain Township, stjohnsdr.org.
Dates: 4:30-7:30 p.m. Fridays of Lent.
What to order: Order a la carte to try a few options like the popcorn shrimp or fish tacos, and tack on sides like fries, a baked potato or that aforementioned mac and cheese.
St. Susanna
St. Susanna offers a handful of combo options. There’s a salmon meal (see below), a fried fish meal with two pieces of fried fish, a six-piece “colossal fried shrimp meal” and the combo meal with fish and shrimp. Each comes with french fries, green beans and coleslaw for a side. You can also buy a large macaroni and cheese or even a whole pizza. 616 Reading Road, Mason, stsusanna.org/fishfry.
Dates:4:30-8 p.m. Fridays through April 8; March 11 is drive-thru only.
What to order: A healthier salmon meal with green beans, french fries and coleslaw.
St. Veronica
St. Veronica hosts dine-in or carry-out options for fish or shrimp meals. The menu also offers stand-alone sandwiches, hush puppies and a variety of bottled beer and hard seltzer. 4473 Mt. Carmel Tobasco Road, Mt. Carmel, facebook.com/stvfishfry.
Dates: 5-7:30 p.m. Fridays through April 8.
What to order: The beer-battered cod meal with a fried cod sandwich, two hush puppies, two sides of your choice and a drink for $10.
St. Vincent Ferrer
Enjoy craft beer from local West Side Brewing alongside your entree at the St. Vincent Ferrer fish fry. With both a $10 fish dinner (two pieces of cod, two sides, a drink and dessert) and a $5 kids meal, there's something for everyone in the family. The kids meal comes with pizza and, in addition to sides like french fries and hush puppies, the parish offers clam chowder. 7754 Montgomery Road, Kenwood, facebook.com/allssvf.
Dates: 5:30-7:30 p.m. Fridays in March.
What to order: For a truly filling fish experience, grab an $8 fried cod sandwich — with two extra pieces of fish for $5. That comes with a drink, dessert and two sides.
St. William Parish
St. William’s is celebrating another Lenten season with a weekly fish fry offering food, friends and entertainment. Choose from a selection of fish options, like baked tilapia or salmon, as well as crab cakes, fish tacos, a “tavern” platter (with tavern fish, fries, hush puppies and coleslaw) mac and cheese and a homemade soup of the week. The parish added baked potatoes this year. Drive-thru only. 4108 W. Eighth St., Price Hill, saintwilliam.com/fish-fry.
Dates: 4-7:30 p.m. Fridays through April 8.
What to order: Their “Magnificod Platter” is a favorite option. It comes with hand-breaded cod, fries, two hushpuppies and coleslaw.
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