Fish and chips is a loose category in Columbus, stretched across seafood boils, corner fry counters, and rooms that only sometimes put the dish on the menu by name. This guide covers the places worth knowing for fried and fresh seafood generally, from Morse Road to downtown, with the actual fish quality doing the talking.
№ 01
Lee's Seafood Boil
$$
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Crawfish and jumbo clams come by the pound here, tossed in a seafood boil sauce diners order extra hot without hesitation. The Columbus room draws weekend crowds hard enough to pack out by early evening on a Sunday, a sign the format works. Service gets consistent credit for staying attentive even at full tables. Casual, loud, and built for groups splitting a table of shells.
What to ordercrawfish, jumbo clams, shrimp
№ 02
M&M Chicken & Fish
$
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The fried fish dinner comes out crisp and hot, and the catfish dinner arrives seasoned and coated with a texture worth ordering again. Fries land as a strength too. This is a counter-service, quick-turn stop, not a sit-down seafood house, and the plaza setting keeps prices low, though the posted online menu has run higher than what's charged at the register.
What to orderfried fish dinner, catfish dinner, chicken wings
№ 03
The Pearl
$$
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Confit wings and jalapeño corn spoon bread carry this New American brunch and dinner room past standard seafood-adjacent fare, with a beet salad built on apple, egg, avocado, and candied cashews. Deviled eggs and devils on horseback round out a shareable start. It skews toward small plates for groups rather than a fish-and-chips plate, but the kitchen's range shows on a Mother's Day-level menu.
What to orderJalapeño Corn Spoon Bread, Confit Wings, Beet Salad
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Sushi and nigiri are the draw at this Japanese room inside the Japan Marketplace, where the quality of the fish gets called out specifically by regulars. Service is warm from the door, with kids' cups offered without being asked, and the room reads as upscale without pretense. Worth the plaza parking lot for anyone treating sushi as a serious category in this city.
What to ordersushi, nigiri, maki
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Crab, shrimp, and oysters go into the boil that gives this room its name, and diners consistently rank it among the strongest versions of the dish in the city. Service draws praise as informative and outgoing on good nights. At least one account describes a serious customer-service breakdown after a large bill, a flag worth weighing against the food's reputation before committing a group to it.
What to orderCrab Boil, shrimp, oysters
Frequently asked
What is the best fish and chips near me in Columbus?
Columbus does not have a deep dedicated fish-and-chips tradition, so this guide widens the lens to the seafood spots doing fried and fresh fish well across the city, from Morse Road boil houses to sushi counters. Each entry carries an Insider Score based on the public review record, and no restaurant pays to be listed.
Are seafood boils and fish and chips the same thing?
No. A seafood boil is crawfish, crab, shrimp, or clams cooked in a seasoned liquid and served in the shell, usually by the pound. Fish and chips is battered, fried fish with fries. Columbus has more boil houses than dedicated fried-fish counters, which is why this guide covers both.
Which of these restaurants is best for a group?
Lee's Seafood Boil-Columbus and Kai's Crab Boil are both built around shared pounds of shellfish and get credited with strong service even when the room is at capacity. The Pearl works well for a group brunch built on small plates rather than seafood specifically.
Is Eddie Merlot's worth the higher price?
The record is mixed. Some visits, especially during Restaurant Week, get called some of the best dining in the city. Others describe inconsistent execution on the ahi tuna and lamb pot stickers at a price point well above the rest of this list. The Insider Score reflects that split, and no restaurant pays for placement.
