15 Best Door County Fish Fry Restaurants [2024]

The Friday fish fry tradition in Door County is alive and well. These are the best Door County fish fry restaurants.

The Friday fish fry has its roots in Christian piety. In the Middle Ages, Christians would refrain from eating meat on Fridays as a way of honoring the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on Good Friday. Instead of meat, many people would eat fish instead. This is still a requirement for Roman Catholics during Lent.

Because of this, fish fries are popular in Door County (and all of Wisconsin) especially during Lent. However, you can find Friday fish fries in Door County all year long.

Popular fish served at fish fries in Door County include:

• Walleye
• Perch
• Whitefish
• Cod
• Grouper

Whether you are a Christian or not, you are welcome to participate in the Friday fish fry tradition, and these best Door County fish fry restaurants will leave you satisfied.

Are you planning a trip to Door County? Make sure to check out our post on Door County’s best hotels for your stay.

Forestville

Hen House Bar and Grill

Formerly called Clark’s, the ownership has recently changed hands, and it’s now called Hen House. This is a family-friendly bar. If you’ve ever been to Wisconsin, you know what we mean. Hen House offers a Friday night fish fry that will be easy on the pocketbook and satisfying to the belly.

Besides fish fry, Hen House offers both pub fare and also American comfort food. Especially beloved is their Sunday morning brunch buffet offering breakfast foods, fried chicken, beef tips, and fried shrimp.

We love the Hen House’s good prices and low-key atmosphere. This is the best place in Forestville for family eats.

Address: 131 W Main St, Forestville, WI 54213
Phone: 920-856-6950
Map

Baileys Harbor

These restaurants are a great start for exploring fish fries in Baileys Harbor. However, we have a few additional options listed in our post about fish fries in Baileys Harbor.

Coyote Roadhouse

Coyote Roadhouse offers an all-you-can-eat grouper fish fry on Friday nights.

Coyote Roadhouse is one of Door County’s best-kept secrets. Far from the bustle of the tourist hubs, this laid-back restaurant overlooking Kangaroo Lake, near Jacksonport, offers hand-crafted pub eats and a wide selection of beers.

Outdoor seating tantalizes diners in the summer months, and the classic bar and grill interior is a comfortable place to take in a meal and spend some time lingering throughout the year.

We love to go to Coyote Roadhouse when we are really hungry. They might not make money off of us for their all-you-can-eat fish fries!

Address: 3026 County Rd E, Baileys Harbor, WI 54202
Phone: 920-839-9192
Website
Map

Harbor Fish Market & Grille

The Harbor Fish Market & Grille offers locally caught, fresh lake perch, walleye, and whitefish for their Friday night fish fry.

Besides these fried options, they also offer sea bass, ahi tuna, scallops, shrimp, and lobster. For those who do not like fish, they also offer several pork and beef items on their menu.

Florian II Supper Club

The Florian II offers fried lake perch and gulf shrimp, along with a number of broiled fish items.

The Florian II Supper Club exudes the essence of a Wisconsin supper club, with buildings from the 70s, neon signs, and a family-run operation. Now in the 4th generation of family operation, the Florian II has one of the most amazing Lake Michigan views from their dining room, and live music is at the center of the experience that they offer.

Even if you’re staying on the Bay Side of Door Couty, make your way over to Door County’s quiet side for this unforgettable experience. The Florian II does not take reservations, however, so be ready to wait at the bar for a table. This is all part of the supper club experience.

We love Florian II’s classic Supper Club experience.

Website
Phone: 920-839-2361
Address: 8048 WI-57, Baileys Harbor, WI 54202
Map

Sturgeon Bay

These restaurants are a great start for exploring fish fries in Sturgeon Bay. However, we have a few additional options listed on our post about Sturgeon Bay fish fries.

Waterfront Mary’s

Waterfront Mary’s offers an excellent fish fry every Friday night as their dinner special. Waterfront Mary’s is a popular haunt for Door County locals and has a fun, party atmosphere

In addition to fish fry, they have a full menu offering burgers, wraps, steaks, ahi tuna, pizza, and more, choices that will please a wide swath of people.

Also, Waterfront Mary’s offers a unique fish boil experience. Instead of Lake Michigan whitefish or trout, they use cod in their boils.

We go to Waterfront Mary’s when we are looking for an upbeat, fun experience on a Friday night.

Website
Address: 3662 N Duluth Ave, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
Map
Phone: 920-743-3690

Donny’s Glidden Lodge

Donny’s Glidden Lodge offers pan-fried walleye nightly. In addition, they serve blackened yellowfin tuna, jumbo shrimp, and lobster.

For those who prefer other menu options, lamb and beef dishes round out the offerings at Donny’s Glidden Lodge.

With a dramatic setting right on the shores of Lake Michigan, Donny’s Glidden Lodge Restaurant offers an unforgettable dining experience. The building and grounds of this classic Door County supper club are timeless and classy. It seems that not much has changed over the decades at this supper club, and that’s a good thing. Just like Lake Michigan itself, it seems that Donny’s Glidden Lodge has always been there, and that it will be the same the next time you come, whether that’s in a month or in a decade.

People tend to dress a little nicer at Donny’s Glidden Lodge, and given its location next to the Glidden Lodge Beach Resort, it caters to many out-of-towners.

We like to go here when we are looking for a more upscale experience.

Check out our post on Donny’s Glidden Lodge Restaurant to learn more about this great dining experience.

Website
Phone: (920) 746 9460
Address: 4670 Glidden Drive, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
Map

The Mill Supper Club

Right on the way to the Northern Peninsula, The Mill is a Door County institution. Steeped in the traditions of Northeast Wisconsin, their menu has a German specialties section, and this is a favorite spot for Friday night fish fries.

Their Friday night fish fry offers cod, shrimp, perch, scallops, whitefish, and walleye. Cole slaw, potato, and rye bread is served along with the fish.

Customers appreciate the cool old barback and the bright, clean atmosphere in the dining area.

The Mill Supper Club is Hello Door County’s pick for Friday night fish fry in Door County.

We go to The Mill Supper Club for fish fry when we are looking for a classic experience close to Sturgeon Bay.

Website
Phone: 920-743-5044
Address: 4128 State Highway 42, WI-57, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
Map

Nightingale Supper Club

The Nightingale Supper Club serves fish fries on Wednesdays and Fridays. Patrons can choose from perch, walleye, cod, and locally caught whitefish. Rye bread, coleslaw, and one additional side complement the fish.

The Nightingale is where Door County locals go to celebrate a birthday or an anniversary. To a Door County local, the Nightingale is the fancy place to eat. And, its decor does have a certain retro upscale feel to it.

However, the dress is comfortable. The ladies pair a sweater with jeans, and the men don their nicest hoodies. Yes, there’s such a thing as a “nice hoodie” for locals in North East Wisconsin.

Despite being full of locals, there’s still a place for you at the Nightingale. Get a reservation, show up early to sit at the bar, top off your dinner with an ice cream drink, and you’ll be an honorary citizen of Sturgeon Bay.

Check out our review of Nightingale Supper Club to find out more about this Door County institution!

Website
Address: 1541 Egg Harbor Rd, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
Phone: +19207435593
Map

Sister Bay

Sister Bay Bowl

Sister Bay Bowl offers fish fries twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays. Perch, whitefish, walleye, and shrimp are available and are served with coleslaw and choice of potato.

Billing itself “Your Go-To Bowling Hub and Supper Club,” Sister Bay Bowl is a third-generation family institution in Northern Door County. You can spend an entire afternoon and evening at Sister Bay Bowl. Bowl a few rounds in the late afternoon, have dinner in the supper club, and stay into the evening for their frequent live music concerts. The Sister Bay Bowl epitomizes the supper club quality of being a destination rather than a stop along the way in one’s evening.

Website
Phone: 920-854-2841
Address: 10640 N Bay Shore Dr, Sister Bay, WI 54234
Map

Jacksonport

Mr. G’s Logan Creek Grille Permanently Closed

Mr. G’s Logan Creek Grille offers a fish fry on Friday nights. This is a quintessential Wisconsin fish fry experience.

A Door County institution for fifty years, Mr. G’s Logan Creek Grille is legendary for its fun and friendly staff. Out in the country on Door County’s “quiet side,” Mr. G’s is one of Door County’s hidden gems.

Gills Rock

The Shoreline Restaurant

The Shoreline’s emphasis is on well-prepared, locally caught fish. Naturally, this means that they will offer an excellent fish fry. Their fish fry is on Wednesday nights.

The Shoreline is the last stop before Washington Island in Gills Rock, near Ellison Bay. The peninsula’s restaurant scene goes out with a bang here, with a restaurant that boasts a view as alluring as its food.

Water views are surprisingly rare at Door County restaurants, but The Shoreline has a great one. This alone is worth dining at The Shoreline.

Address: 12747 WI-42, Ellison Bay, WI 54210
Phone: 920-854-2950
Website

Fish Creek

Alexander’s

Alexander’s offers seafood every night, but they lay special emphasis on it on Friday evenings. Perch, salmon, whitefish, walleye, and shrimp are their Friday evening specials.

A contemporary take on the supper club experience, Alexander’s of Door County is one of the most highly rated restaurants on the Peninsula. The decor is more clean and modern than most supper clubs, and the menu quite a bit more adventurous. However, the central element of a supper club endures at Alexander’s. This is a place to linger.

Website
Phone: +19208683532
Address: 3667 WI-42, Fish Creek, WI 54212
Map

The English Inn

Ample seafood offerings are available every night of the week at the English Inn, including locally caught whitefish, ahi tuna, grouper, perch, pike shrimp, crab legs, and lobster.

The roots of the English Inn go back over a century, when the original building on the site, a lumber mill, was constructed. Over the years, owners have added on to the original building, but that classic edifice still stands as part of a classic Door County supper club.

Inside you will find dark wood, suits of armor, crests, shields, and swords. Outside is a lovely garden patio with miniature fire rings at every table and babbling water features. Throughout the English Inn, customers are greeted by friendly staff and top-notch food.

This is a fun place to spend the evening.

Website
Phone: 920-868-3076
Address: 3713 WI-42, Fish Creek, WI 54212
Map

Egg Harbor

The Fireside Restaurant

The Fireside Restaurant has multiple nightly seafood options and a fish ‘n chips special on Friday nights.

Fireside is both one of Door County’s most unique restaurants and also one of its most popular. Chef-owned and operated, the food quality is central to Fireside. And, the food served at Fireside is extremely unique.

Many Door County restaurants have comparatively unadventurous menus. Pub fare is extremely common, and even non-pub restaurants tend to serve rather basic recipes. The food is often well prepared and fresh but is also not particularly daring.

Fireside’s menu has a Gulf Coast flair. Cajun and creole flavors sneak their way into several of this restaurant’s dishes.

If you like less spicy food, don’t worry. They have plenty of dishes for you too.

But, if you want something a little different for dinner, this is the place to go.

Address: 7755 WI-42, Egg Harbor, WI 54209
Phone: 920-868-4800
Website
Map

Washington Island

The Koyen Collection: K.K. Fiske Restaurant, Granary Saloon & Coop Hangout

“Fresh lawyers served daily.” You’ll see this motto in a window of K.K. Fiske Restaurant, a funky and eclectic dining establishment on Washington Island.

No, K.K. Fiske is not butchering people in the legal profession. “Lawyer” is a name given to a freshwater fish found in northern climes. It also goes by the name “burbot.”

They are some of the ugliest fish you will ever see in your life. We’re not sure if this is how they got their name, but despite their ugly appearance and unappetizing name, lawyer fish are renowned for making delicious eating.

K.K. Fiske specializes in fish caught straight from the waters of Lake Michigan. In addition to serving fish daily, they also offer occasional fish boils. Keep tabs on their Facebook page for updates about fish boils and other special events, or just give them a call.

Address: 1177 Main Rd, Washington, WI 54246
Map
Phone: 920-847-2121

Frequently Asked Questions

Summary

• Friday fish fries are popular events in Door County, Wisconsin.
• Friday fish fries have their roots in Christian piety.
• Fish fries can be found throughout Door County on Fridays.
• Some fish fries are all-you-can-eat.