Tugboat Fish and Chips 6

The owners are very kind. I get my food fairly quick. A little pricey but tasty and it’s nice and also clean. They have daily specials as well.
You can park up front where the laundromat is or you can park behind the building in the parking lot (farther down Fruitridge)

I can’t even give this place one star but will for the tarter sauce. The fish was mushy, fries were old and reheated and burnt. The malt vinegar was rancid, ketchup was old the only decent thing was the tarter sauce. I won’t ever eat here again!

Good every time I go I buy extra sauce as I do every place I go lol I always get the combo with fish, chips, and pawns. The times I go, I’m usually the only one there, so that’s great for me. Give them a try and you’ll be back!

Ok. So as I was growing up. We use to always drive by this place. And never got a chance to stop by to try it out. Bout 20 years go by. And this same spot is still here. Never checked reviews. Just went in. And ordered their rowboat. I kinda figured like most places it’ll be small portion size. Btw. Did I mention I happen to just be next door doing laundry which is why I had the chance to stop by. Haha. Anyways. When I came back to pick up my order. It was huge! I’m talking this looks like I was ordering for 4 – 6 average size people. These were large size portions. Not to mention their snack size calamari was a really good size. The lady who helped me at the counter was really nice and friendly and talkative. Definitely recommend coming here. Food was cooked perfectly. Not greasy at all.

Service is absolutely horrible. Asian woman at counter last night acting like she was doing both of us a huge favor by taking our order, listening to us while rolling her eyes. Who the F rolls their eyes as they take your order? She took big deep breaths and the portion of hush puppies FOR TWO PEOPLE ORDERING TWO ORDERS OF HUSH PUPPIES is ridiculous. Supposed to be 6pcs each of us! Count how many are in the photo! What BS! 17 minutes later, food comes out. This was around 7pm. Only two other people inside and they already have their food.
I got hardly any fries for my 3pc fish MEAL with fries. I have been to Tugboat in Rancho Cordova. Not only is the other location less expensive, service is very kind/​grateful to have you for a customer and they have a rewards card!
This fruitridge location has no rewards card. The rude Asian woman at the front counter, WALKED OVER TO OUR TABLE TO LOOK AT HOW MUCH FOOD WE WANTED TO TAKE HOME before saying it was ok for us to have a to go box. She gave us a paper tray (like for fries) and a small paper bag. Absolutely horrible service. The fish also was a bit too fishy for cod that is fresh enough to eat. Glad we didn’t get sick! Won’t ever come back.

I don’t like to write bad reviews, in fact this is my first one. The lady at the front counter is extremely rude and stingy. No matter how large your order is, expect to be charged for any extra sauce you ask for, and expect a tiny amount of fries with every order. My fiancé who is a big fan of fish and chips has stopped coming here after many bad experiences with this lady, and I never cared much for fried food myself, so I won’t be going back ever again. Where they lack in service and quantity, they do make up for with pretty good food. However, the food is not worth it to me when it means you have to deal with ugly attitude for customer service.

I came in with pretty low expectations, but was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the fish. The chips are some cheap off brand stuff they must buy at a food supply place, but the fish was really fish, and to me that’s what matters.
The woman in the front was a bit rude, but the fish is good. The prices aren’t really that cheap compared to what you get (biggest issue is the tasteless fries) but I was happy with my $ 8 meal.

My friend and I came here today (a Saturday) for lunch. We were the first customers, there were plenty of seats to share. I ordered 2 pieces of fish and my friend ordered fish and chicken. The portions came out big, and price was reasonable. The batter, it was cooked perfectly to my liking, and the chicken was moisted and tenderness. I gave these foods 3 and half stars and another half star to the service because the lady who served us wasn’t too friendly and cheerful.

I brought my daughter here to show her what «real» fish and chips should taste like. We were not disappointed.
I also got the shrimp, which was equally delicious. I can’t wait to go again.

Good. We miss Bj’s. Fried fish and chips are a big hit with my husband. I love the clam strips.

Very good food. The prawns and fish were cooked great. The owner has a brusque attitude, but she smiled at us when we walked in. Next time in hankering for fish & chips, this is where I’ll come.

The service is delightful. The fish and prawns is my favorite, my husband likes the 3 piece fish and side of prawns. The food is fresh crispy. I like my fries extra crispy, so next time I will ask for them that way. Party on! Foodie Carolyn

I love the food here; however, in what I assume is an effort to cut costs, when you order a side like zucchini it just gets piled in with the fish and a very few chips/​fries. You can spend 20 bucks on two dinners and a couple of sides and you end up with each dinner just piled into one bag… hardly appetizing, but an easy excuse to reduce portions since a legitimate sized portion of fries and a legitimate sized portion of whatever veggies won’t fit in the tray.
Oddly the Carmichael location has not resorted to these tactics.
My three stars are for the food itself and the wonderful tartar sauce…
I will continue to patronize this location and I really hope someone points out that their tactics may drive loyal customers away.

Fish and chips isn’t always my first choice when it comes to food. There was one spot in SoCal off Ocean Beach Pier that had the best fish and chips ever! No place has been able to compare. Neither does Tugboat.
However, I had a craving and it was for fish and chips. Only thing that really popped up on Unilocal was Tugboat, which also happened to be a spot someone had recommended to me before as well. First off, you can’t really complain for the price you pay here! The fish and prawns combo is usually about $ 8.50? However, it was the daily special for about $ 7.35 and it was exactly what I came for. I added on some fried mushrooms for $ 3.49 and a water bottle. totaling to a little over $ 12. Their french fries are nothing out of the ordinary. Their batter is pretty good. Thin and crispy, not too oily! Their fish came out as one long skinny strip and I believe they battered and deep fried the tail separately, which I really enjoyed. The prawns were my favorite! Although they could be a tiny bit more plump, I love shrimp and these went very well with their cocktail sauce. The mushrooms were hot and juicy, be careful when you eat these! You get 5 pieces on a skewer and they went great with the ranch. I liked that the lady had brought out all the condiments I needed along with my food. I had a lineup of ketchup for my fries, ranch for my mushrooms, tartar sauce for my fish and cocktail sauce for my shrimp. It was nice lunch, indeed.
Tugboat is a bit far so I probably wouldn’t go out of my way for it. Since it was just down the street, it was convenient. I would probably have given food alone 3 stars but because of the price and service, I upped it one!

This is one of my favorite fish and chips spots. It’s super fresh and never greasy light and crispy just the way it’s supposed to be… The only thing that I do not enjoy about this restaurant is the lady at the register she is super rude rushes you through your order I came in at 8 o’clock she told me I couldn’t eat in the dining room because it closes at 8:30. So I said I’ll come in some other time she stopped me and said you can eat in the dining room you have 30 minutes lol I mean RUDE ! Right next time I’ll have to get it to go and hope that it doesn’t get soggy by the time I get home haha

It’s a cute little place. It’s been here for years and I’ve never actually tried it until today. We’re getting the tugboat platter and crab cakes.
Service was prompt. They bring the food to you if you’re dinning in. Price is reasonable.
Parking is small in the front but there’s more in the back.

Always get our English fish and chips fix here. Have never found a better place this side of the pond.

This place was my go-​to spot back when I was in high school (C/​O 2012)! I vividly remember how great the fish and fries were… memories…
Fast forward to 2014…
When my girlfriend and I walked in, we were barely acknowledged by the lady working at the front. She pretty much just stared at us until we were ready to order. Generally I calmly walk out of places that have poor customer service. However, we were starving and had a huge craving for fish and chips.
Our food arrived quickly (one positive thing), and the fish portions were large (another positive). However, the fish was drenched in grease (not to mention flavorless), and we received a very small portion of fries. Honestly, I felt like our meals were the equivalent of going to Long John Silver’s or purchasing a Van de Kamp’s meal at a local grocery store.
I’m a pretty optimistic person, so I would like to believe that we just came on a bad day. However, I definitely expect more from a place that has served the community for so many years. Until it improves, I don’t mind paying the extra money for JJ’s Fish and Chicken (5 minutes away).

This place has decent fish and chips but the lady owner couldn’t be ruder. I picked up an order of fish and chips for me and my gf to share and I asked for extra vinegar to go .40 cents. It’s not that I care about the money but her attitude when she said it was atrocious. I’m a restaurant manager and that was defiantly not a. Hospitality moment I would like to remember.
Will I go back? probably not. .40 cents well spent maybe invest those in guest relations.

I’ve been eyeing this place for ages and am glad I finally stopped in because I now have a go-​to fish and chips spot.
I eat fish and chips rarely because it always sounds good, but I’m always grossed out and disappointed with how soggy and greasy the breading is. I’m really not a breading fan in general, I always prefer everything grilled. But, the fish and chips hankerin’ came upon me so this was lunch on Saturday.
It’s a hole in the wall in a weird little strip mall. It looks worn and dated inside, but I didn’t come for the ambiance, I came to get nasty on some fried food.
I wanted to try a little bit of everything, so I got the seafood sampler. It was like $ 10 and came with fish, prawns, oysters, scallops, and of course chips. It came out quick and smelled great. The breading was lighter than I’ve ever seen before, more like tempura than the thick corn-​dog breading you usually see. It was crispy and the bottom of the plate wasn’t greasy at all. I consider this actual magic.
I threw lemon juice, malt vinegar, and tartar sauce all over this mofo and inhaled it. The fish was tasty. The prawns and scallops were good considering they were deep fried. I wasn’t a big fan of the oysters, just a little too salty but not bad. The chips were unremarkable but a nice compliment to the seafood.
Next time I go back, I’ll probably get the 2 pieces of fish with maybe a side of scallops and prawns, but I’d also like to try some of the other stuff. They have all kinds of fried veggies and other seafood based treats.
My boyfriend got the chicken sandwich, which is basically a chicken strip in a sandwich. It was good though, if you’re in that mood. And we were.
The service wasn’t overly friendly, but they got the job done. I wish they had beer, but they just have sodas.
⁴⁄₅ stars for being good for what it is. I will be back!