Photograph by Bailey Garrot
Considering Atlanta is landlocked, it’s somewhat peculiar that seafood is just as synonymous with the city as barbecue, soul food, and chicken wings. Seafood is everywhere. From Brookhaven to Bankhead and everywhere in between, you’ll find a drove of refined, traditional, neighborhood, and niche seafood destinations to appeal to almost any palate. But if you set your sights specifically on finding a fried-fish sandwich, the list shrinks quite a bit.
This is the South, so it’s no surprise that the long-standing tradition of the Friday fish fry factors in to scoping out a pleasing combination of fish and bread. Platters are typically on the menu at many restaurants, so the option of a fried-fish sandwich can often be narrowed down to casting your sights on the right place, at the right time.
One example: Every Friday in the Castleberry Hill neighborhood, Paschal’s Restaurant places a sign on its front door announcing Freddie’s Fried Fish Friday. This weekly menu add-on includes Paschal’s signature fried-fish sandwich. Now, I don’t know who Freddie is, but his catfish sandwich is prepared Southern style—dredged in seasoned cornmeal and flour then fried. This sandwich is served with lettuce, tomato, onion, and tartar sauce on a bun. The combo is nostalgic, reminiscent of church and community fish-fry fundraisers or of entrepreneurs with corner pop-up stands serving hot fish plates and sandwiches.
Photograph by Bailey Garrot
If you’re seeking a good bite throughout the week, you’ll find some restaurants have fried-fish sandwiches available on days besides Friday. The Cod Royale at Pure Quill Superette on Memorial Drive in Edgewood is the eatery’s refined spin on the McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish. The Royale is battered cod with pickles, shredded lettuce dressed in tartar sauce, and a drizzle of house-made cheese sauce on a soft bun. The seemingly simple execution of the sandwich is purposeful, to ensure the indulgent amalgamation of fish and cheese is sampled in every bite.
The sandwich was once only offered during breakfast and lunch hours, but chef-owner Hudson Rouse felt it was important to expand the sandwich’s availability.
“With a movie business here and people that are working third shift, we didn’t wanna tell anyone no,” Rouse says. “So we started selling the lunch [fish] sandwich all day, from nine o’clock until three o’clock.”
Photograph by Bailey Garrot
C&S Seafood and Oyster Bar locations, including Brookhaven, offer their Nashville Hot Crispy Fish Sandwich on the lunch menu Tuesday through Friday. As a nod to the trendy, spicy style it’s named for, flounder is dredged in a beer batter and then tossed with seasoned breadcrumbs before being deep-fried. It is then tossed again in a traditional Nashville hot sauce. The sandwich is dressed with a vinegary cabbage slaw and tartar sauce on buttered Texas toast. The acidity of the slaw and the coolness of the tartar sauce balance out the mild spice of the hot sauce. The preparation lacks the expected heat of Nashville style, so you may need a side of hot sauce to amp it up.
Atlanta’s restaurant scene continually mixes and merges Southern tradition with new concepts and techniques. The spectrum is wide, and it’s reflected in the eclectic menus at eateries across the metro area, including those offering fried-fish sandwiches.
It was both momentous and satisfying when rappers T.I. and Killer Mike partnered to reopen the longtime staple Bankhead Seafood in Atlanta’s Westside in 2024. The restaurant carries familiar offerings inspired by its founder, Helen Brown Harden, such as the fried-catfish or fried-pollock sandwiches. The fish is dredged in seasoned flour and cornmeal mix and deep-fried, giving it its signature crispy crust. The cooked fish is heaped upon extra-thick slices of white bread with lettuce, tomato, pickles, cheese, and tartar sauce. It’s a big, hearty sandwich with lots of flavor. Keep in mind that pollock is a small fish, so the breading may be overpowering for some. [Editor’s note: Bankhead Seafood temporarily closed this summer, just after this article went to press for our August print issue. An official statement called it a “short break” to update the menu and operations but no reopening date has been set.]
Photograph by Bailey Garrot
Fishmonger in Poncey-Highland takes a different approach toward elevating the traditional catfish. The Hot Fish Sandwich deconstructs the traditional seasonings and accompaniments of the classic fried-fish sandwich and kicks it up a notch. According to sous chef Matt McKenley, this is not a take on the trendy Nashville-hot style of preparation, but an example of how to highlight the catfish for the sandwich.
Fishmonger’s take starts with a catfish filet dredged in seasoned flour and cornmeal, then pan-fried and drizzled with chili oil. Placed on a sesame seed bun, the fish is dressed with a house-made celery salad—a combination of shaved celery, pickled fennel, mustard, and spices—topped with buttermilk dressing and fresh herbs. The sandwich is served open-face, because, as McKenley says, “We eat with our eyes first.” This is a pitch-perfect sandwich. The seasoning on the tender, succulent catfish gets better with the tangy crunch of the celery salad.
At Alici Oyster Bar in Midtown, the Fried Cod Sammy is a far departure from the coastal Italian flavors on its menu and instead gives patrons a taste inspired by New England sandwich shops.
Starting with a beer-battered cod filet, the sandwich is topped with a Jamaican-inspired coleslaw, remoulade sauce, and chili crunch—a blend of roasted chiles, onion, garlic, and spices—all served on a soft bun. If you’re feeling fancy, you can also add caviar atop your cod. This sandwich is huge and requires a big bite to fully appreciate the execution. With the tangy sauce and chili heat melding with the fish, it’s a satisfying experience.
Squeezing the sandwich to get a good bite can get a little messy, but for line cook Asher Clarke, who created the slaw for the popular sandwich, that’s not a bad thing.
“I think about the experience that I’m trying to deliver,” he says. “I want people to not even care about the mess, because the food is good. It makes me happy, and I hope that people feel that.”
Clarke is on to something. Satisfying the urge for something crunchy, flaky, salty, sweet, and savory all in one bite—whether it’s found at an old-school eatery, a local fave, or somewhere posher—makes trying Atlanta’s fried-fish sandwiches worth every bite.
This article appears in our August 2025 issue.
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