Pete’s Fish & Chips

For the uninitiated, and who’ve read poor reviews, you need to know that a la the soup nazi on seinfeld, pete’s simply has its on culture and this is a part of the experience. if you’re thinking long john’s you’ll be disappointed. here are a few tips. 1. read the menu before you place your order (i.e. know what you want). if its your first time go w/​the 1pc fish and chips. ask for extra sauce. 2. cash only (but there is a generic atm machine). you place your order to a mysterious person behind a dark screen window who only quickly opens it to take your $ and give you your change. 3. no tartar sauce (aside from «cash only» this is the most important thing you should know). they do serve seems to be a watered down ketchup. 4. the fish itself is really a fish stick in the shape of a square, but It will be The Best Fishstick you’ve ever had in your life. most likely you’ll want more.

Now, full disclosure, I’m born & bred NJ shore guy, raised on the best seafood. this place is OK. i mean, we are in Arizona, far from and ocean. that said, its pretty good. the fish is fried and tasty, the sauces are good. i like the casual set up of the place. always a line, that’s a good sign. good fries, good tarter sauce. cash only, they don’t mess with credit cards. good. i wish the fish wasn’t square patties, but real fillets. but again, Arizona. pretty good. I’ll return.

I love this place I’ve gone here since I was a kid. I always get the 2 piece Fish & Chips and I always get extra sauce because it is so delicious. Petes is one of a kind place. It beats other places that try to copy then.

Everyone just so you know Pete’s is kind of a dive, but we love the way they have been making their food, you will love it or you don’t. Obviously the fish is the best, dipped in their sauce you’ll be wanting more. I haven’t tried much of their other food but what I’ve tried is my fav. The fries are okay.

I give this place two stars because it does physically exist and you can exchange money for something that once was fish.
This place serves pre-​made froze fish squares, french fries, and bean burritos that you can find at any supermarket frozen food section. And not the good supermarket frozen fish the cheapest most generic stuff you can get. Like what comes in a less well to do public school lunch on Good Friday. Not inedible, but not good…
And the service… God the service is awful, the guy who took my order had me repeat myself 6 times, still got it wrong and didn’t even acknowledge me at the drive thru window for all of the almost 12 min it took my food to come out. Instead he sat there with his buddy discussing the finer scientific points of the art of «Blood Bending» as portrayed in «Avatar: The Legend of Kora»
A few other notes
CASH ONLY! No $ 50’s or $ 100’s ever
CLOSED ON SUNDAYS!
NO ONION RINGS OR CHICKEN STRIPS ON FRIDAYS!

CASH ONLY!
CLOSED ON SUNDAYS!
NO ONION RINGS OR CHICKEN STRIPS ON FRIDAYS!
Been going here for 30 year I love this place
outside dining only
Get the Seafood combo to try the shrimp and fish!
Messy Fish sandwich is great too!

Love this place!!! The food is always hot, crispy, and very good! I always get the number two to share with the husband. (Includes two fish, 6 shrimps, fries, and a drink) for about $ 10 with tax!!! I usually never eat seafood at fast food places because it’s usually gross, but at Petes it’s so good! Definitely recommend!
Oh and cash only!!!

This is my first and last visit. Ever since we have moved to Arizona, specifically the Phoenix Metro, people have been raving about Pete’s Fish and Chips. So my husband and I decided to try it. We ordered a number 2 and the number 3 chicken strips both combo meals. Service was Speedy but not friendly. This is a cash-​only place. The order was delivered quickly. And this is the best this place has to offer. We received our Combo Number 2 fish shrimp and fries. The fish patties were pre breaded pre-​made Frozen, the shrimp was flat and pre breaded hard as a rock. Not my idea of fresh or good seafood. I did like the chicken strips comma but neither one of my two boys did. Tartar sauce for fish with extra was not included with the meal. The mail came with some sort of a red ketchup type sauce. I like their traditional horseradish red sauce. I was not overly impressed nor will I go back. Just not my cup of seafood.

My coworkers and I are down here from Utah for a work conference. Them, being native Arizonians were excited to come to Pete’s. I’ll be honest, when we pulled up, the looks of Pete’s didn’t match their hype. It looks pretty grungy, but I thought I’d give it a chance and keep an open mind.
The prices are a little steeper than I initially expected and they only accept cash.
I ordered the 3-​piece Fish and Chips. It was pretty good. When it came out it came out with something called Pete’s sauce, which is their specialty sauce. It was tasty, but it didn’t really go with fish all that well so I went and bough a couple Tartar sauces. It was pretty weird that the Tartar sauce wasn’t included with the fish in my opinion. Plus I had to pay 50¢ per sauce. It also came with fries which were pretty good, but I couldn’t buy ketchup to did them in because Pete’s doesn’t serve ketchup for some reason.
The restaurant was outdoors so I won’t say much about cleanliness, but all the tables seemed to be kept clear and clean. It was a cool day when we went so it wasn’t too hot, but if it is a hot day they have a water mister system that they can run to keep their patrons cool.
Overall it was a good experience, a little pricey, but I would go again. You definitely need to try it al least once though!

We went here for a quick lunch. This is fast food deep fried fish and chips. nothing spectacular about it nothing bad either. I had the sloppy fish sandwich with cheese. This was a breaded manufactured fish filet, probably a frozen one, on a bun topped with a cheese slice and coleslaw. The service was fast, the food ok. I will come here if I’m in the area and it’s lunch time, but I won’t travel across town just to go to Pete’s. The price is reasonable. They are a cash only place.

I saw this place advertised in Arizona Beehive and decided to give it a try. I ordered the #2 combo. I was not impressed with fish squares not shaped like fish but the shrimp with their secret sauce was tasty. I complained about the cold fries and was given a hot batch. They don’t give drink refills so I ordered a new one without ice since I had plenty from my empty cup. It would be more convenient for them to charge a fee for card carrying customers. Don’t think I’ll be back and will try other nearby fish & chip places that are highly recommended.

The worst petes I had ever had since I’ve been going to this location. I’m from Mesa and used to love this place, but the drive from my now home in Scottsdale was not worth it all. The «chips» were so tasteless and dry with nothing but hard bits included. The shrimp was dry as well and had a stale taste to it. The last time I made a trip to this location, same thing except I just thought I would give it another try. Nope. Not again. Pirates fish and chips is my new go-​to fast food seafood fix.

Honestly, this is not a good fish and chips place at all. I am surprised that they have been open since 1947. They serve frozen fish squares and french fries that you can find at any supermarket frozen food section. The fish was even overly fried — too hard and dry. Also, the fish doesn’t come with tartar sauce — they charge extra for that. Instead, they give you Pete’s special sauce, which is ketchup and hot sauce mixed together.
The only good thing is that they are pretty cheap. Two square pieces of fish and french fries for $ 4.25.

Went here today to get a number 2 (shrimp fries and a piece of fish) with a Sierra Mist luckily before walking away with my order I checked my drink which turned out to be nasty tap water, went back to exchange it and the lady at the window was nice about it. Then I get home and I’m missing all of my shrimp from my number 2 at that point I said whatever too hungry to go back. So I finished my meal and here I am a couple of hours later vomiting cramping and with a headache. Do not eat here you’re better off going to long john silvers.

I had the worst food for Pete’s today my shrimp and fries where overcook and the shrimp was overcooked you need to go back to the old way. That was great move then but today was not was the worst ever

I have been going to Pete’s Fish and Chips since I was in diapers. I don’t know about the fish, but I ALWAYS get the shrimp and chips and an extra serving of the sauce. The one in Tempe had better shrimp but the one in mesa will always be my favorite.
I had moved to IL for 9 years and had my dad send me a gallon of Pete’s sauce fed ex, just so I could get my fix.
I agree that it isn’t the fanciest restaurant, and yes you have to buss your own table, but how is that any different from any other fast food place.
Remember AZ is landlocked. Any place that claims to serve «fresh caught» is totally lying.
For those of us who have lived here our whole lives Pete’s is the end all be all of nostalgia. Yes it is all deep fried food.
For those complaining about the extra charge for tartar sauce, consider yourselves lucky 10 years ago the sign said «we don’t serve tartar so don’t even ask».

It’s okay. I don’t see what the fuss is all about. What pissed me off is I ordered tartar sauce the first time I went here, and when I got home, it was nowhere to be found.
I’ve been back a couple times and it seems to taste a lot better after my initial trial.

Reading the reviews for this place cracks me up, mostly because they are all true, the 1 stars and the 5 stars… too funny.
Yes, the biz operates in a very counter intuitive manner, I mean come on, cash only (they do now have an ATM at the front, after 70+ years in biz…), no restroom, the employees are anything but friendly, even when they call your number, they say «24», not even «number 24» or «now serving…» just the number, and in such a disgusted tone. And nothing but outside seating in the scorching heat (although they do have misters)?
But really, would any other tactics do this place justice? The place is nasty, in a nasty part of town, what, should they have spent some money unnecessarily, given the place a little spit shine, made it pretty, trained the staff to be more chick fil A like? No across the board, their biz is perfectly in line with the totality of their circumstances.
Now, where I do disagree with the 1 star reviews is the food. It may be nothing more than «glorified fish sticks» accompanied by «watered down ketchup», but dammit that watered down ketchup has el pato sauce in it and the fish sticks are much larger than the kind you buy at the store, plus they are deep fried. So five stars for the food!
My wife gets so angry because this is my chosen place for birthday lunch each year. I must admit, there is a component of nostalgia to my five stars and that would be due to the re-​enactment of cherished moments of my youth (as I shed a lone tear…) because Pete’s was one of the few strong holds that continued to offer Dr. Slice after many others stopped. Anyone remember Dr. Slice? How they ever stopped making that, I will never know.
Any who, should I ever find myself on death row requesting my last meal, Pete’s Fish and Chips will lay claim to that honor!

The fish is nothing more than glorified fish sticks. The «special» sauce is watered down ketchup. The «tartar» style sauce just tastes like mayo. The staff is completely rude. And the non-​refillable drinks are packed completely full with ice, so there is hardly anything in the cup to drink.
Would have been nice to also have some regular hot sauce or lemons as options for the fish too since the sauces are so bland and mediocre. I guess the sauces are a perfect match for the bland and mediocre frozen fish rectangles and fries.
I am seriously baffled as to why it was so busy and why people ever recommend this joint to anyone. Absolutely stunned that it’s been in business for so long and that people actually like it.
I just ate there for the first and last time. Not only was everything about it terrible, but now I’m extremely sick to my stomach.
I wouldn’t force my worst enemy to eat this garbage.

Love love love this place! I’ve been going here since I was a child and nothing has changed since then. It is a particular taste and you will have cravings for the magnificence that is Pete’s Sauce. The Rice Krispy is the best you’ll ever have, perfectly melty and tasty! Don’t forget to get Onion Rings if it isn’t Friday, you won’t regret it! Also Don’t Forget to Bring Cash!!!