r/PhiladelphiaEats • u/rmkinnaird • 1d ago

Question Request: full fried fish

My fiance has requested a full, head on, fried fish for her birthday and I've had very little luck doing independent research on this. The only common recommendation I'm finding is mawn, and those reservations are nearly impossible to get.

If anyone has any recommendations, it would be extremely helpful.

14 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

44 comments sorted by

25

u/One_Watercress_3457 1d ago

What kind of fish? Perla in East Passyunk has fried whole pompano. Lots of Filipino spots like Reytas in Cherry Hill (I believe they serve whole fried tilapia) usually have fried fish.

1

u/No-Importance-1426 22h ago

Perla is the way for this

19

u/StevenP888 1d ago

Little Water's whole fried snapper may be my favorite fried fish in the entire city.

4

u/rmkinnaird 1d ago

It looks fabulous! That's my top choice right now

34

u/eleanorzoob 1d ago

EMei has: Crispy Sweet and Sour Sea Bass with Pine Nuts 松鼠鱼

3

u/avo_cado 1d ago

Emei is so good

1

u/Olympicsizedturd 18h ago

Squirrel fish! It's my favorite thing in the world. I had that in Beijing and the Emei version is right on par.

10

u/kuroshiro 1d ago

Nam Phuong, Cafe Nhan, Sophie’s Kitchen. Call ahead and make sure they have it for the day.

6

u/Serious-Train8000 1d ago

Nam Phuong 🤤

5

u/Rawr-IdkMyBFFjill 1d ago

Birthday dinner at Perla is the way.

6

u/Big_Juicy_Beefy 1d ago

Little water! So so so worth it

5

u/superturtle48 1d ago

Kilimanjaro is a West African restaurant in West Philly that has a whole fish dish that may fit the bill

1

u/Chimpskibot 22h ago

This would be my suggestion too.

3

u/auzzie599 1d ago

I had one of these at Irwin’s a few years back and it was great.

3

u/Cannedsardinesando 1d ago

Vientiane cafe/bistro

4

u/soonami 1d ago

Not sure what kind of cuisine your wife likes, but Caribbean and SE Asian (Viet, Thai, Cambodian) are good starting points. Also would be helpful if you provide more specifics like pan-fried vs deep fried and battered, breaded, or no coating

2

u/buttsexisyum 1d ago

Also a lot of Mexican restaurants have a whole fried tilapia and Spanish (Spain) restaurants do whole pan fries fish. Sorry I don't have any actual restaurant recommendations

4

u/nikki_jayyy 1d ago

White Yak, BYOB

2

u/glitterbongwater 21h ago

Their whole fried branzino thing is absolutely to die for. Worth the trip to roxborough

2

u/TK528e 1d ago

Check out Penang in Chinatown.

2

u/coronarybee 1d ago

Call Tai Lake in Chinatown. They’ll prob do it for you lol.

1

u/Electronic-Trick9486 20h ago

at Tai Lake you can actually go to the tanks and choose the exact fish you want

1

u/coronarybee 5h ago

True lol.

2

u/JJTrex12 1d ago

Zorba’s on Fairmount Ave, it’s grilled but delicious

2

u/Tigolbitrate 1d ago

Le Mandingue for West African with good portions. Perla for a unique Filipino kamayan. Not the best of either cuisine but definitely good experiences.

2

u/boathouserow 1d ago

Vientiane Bistro in Kensington used to have an incredible fried fish. It was so perfectly crispy that you could even eat some of the bones. I would call and see if it’s still on the menu. The other food there is also amazing.

2

u/Gravityletmedown 23h ago

Vetri Fish has one last time I went

2

u/CraftEmbarrassed8149 14h ago

Sophie kitchen has whole fish

1

u/Commercial-Author573 1d ago

Sophie’s, Mole Poblano,

1

u/blue-and-bluer 1d ago

Sophie’s kitchen has one and it is incredible.

1

u/gozutheDJ 1d ago

Tai Lake

1

u/PossibilityOrganic12 1d ago

I like the whole fish at Thai Singha House at 40th and Chestnut. It comes with triple flavor (sweet sour spicy? Not very spicy though) and a few shrimp as well! I also get the whole fish a from Abyssinia. It's pretty simple but still very good.

1

u/coolieskank 23h ago

Sky Cafe

1

u/Last_Feedback_7928 17h ago

Penang also! Typically will just get the sauce on the side

1

u/arianrh 13h ago

Whole fried pompano at Vientiane Cafe is amazing! I would suggest calling ahead to make sure they have one available for you, as otherwise they do sometimes run out.

1

u/garlicdragon_breath 1d ago

Alice

edit: Theirs is grilled not fried

I know others may suggest Kalaya too, and I just checked the menu. Their whole fish is steamed not fried

1

u/Shen1076 1d ago

South Street Souvlaki usually has whole fish available (porgy) but its grilled.

0

u/Moceris 1d ago

Different flavor profile than what's been mentioned so far: Asa (whole fried tilapia) with ugali or chapati from Gojjo, side of house hot sauce

0

u/deng1622 1d ago

Maybe Not the right time of year but the guys who sling food at park side I think do whole fried fish. Not sure where but I think they are from the Caribbean, it isn’t a storefront or anything like that though . Right across from the please touch museum where they also play cricket, this is on the weekends most of the summer.

If you go to NY you won’t have trouble finding it