We had high hopes going to this restaurant. It was a special occassion. Atmosphere was so so so. Small cozy bar. Back deck looked like it'd be a great place to hang out in the summer. Amanda (apologies if wrong name) was an awesome waitress. Portions are quite large so unless you have a BIG appetite, you're taking food home. We ordered 2 fred's favorite seafood platters. Our feedback is as follows: 1. Baked potatoe was old & brown; inedible 2. Crab cake tasted more like a seafood cake. It was bland & had no old bay flavoring 3. Scallops were soggy. Prepackaged frozen & tasted like it. 4. Shrimp was the best item. Prepackaged & frozen but actually were pretty good. 5. hushpuppies were bleh. over fried with more crunch then taste. well there it is. read more

Seemed promising, the building is very nice and clean and the host was nice. Other than that, I'll start off by saying they were very busy and we understand that it gets hard for servers when it's busy. That being said, our waiter, Clovis did not check on us often, he was nice but would set the food down and quickly walk away before we could say anything. We had talked to him about having a gluten allergy (we're not just rude, picky people from California, never even been there, two of us have a legit allergy.) We made sure the catfish was made with corn and not wheat, so it had been discussed. The menu did not specify that the jalapeño poppers were breaded and after informing the waiter of the allergy, he didn't inform us either. We had expected actual jalapeños that were stuffed. These were gas station/sports bar, tiny, frozen and microwaved and breaded for $9.00....we broke one open and looked inside and it didn't even look like it had a jalapeno in it at all.... When we mentioned we couldn't eat them, he assured us he would take them off our ticket and not charge us..... he didn't, he charged us for them... .....My husband was the one family member who could eat the hush puppies said they are definitely just in bags, frozen and microwaved and not very good. For food that expensive, we just expected it to be better quality. We were not brought lemon for the tea or the fish and no ketch up for our french fires and the french fries were the only thing that were worth paying for. The catfish was okay but certainly not anything special, not much flavor and some of the pieces were overcooked. The BLT salad was good, we should have just ordered the salad the french fries because instead we paid $64 for food that wasn't worth it and not the best service. We were in the restaurant for at least an hour, most of that time waiting for food and service. We waited so long for him to come back so we could mention the fact that he still charged us for the appetizer, we finally just had to talk to someone else. When we asked to speak to a manager, about still being charged for an appetizer we were told would be comped, no manager was brought out, the server instead was brought back and he offered to just give us $10 from his tips..... We told him to just keep that and we left.... We won't be back and we will discourage others from coming here. If they charge a tip to our card, we will be enraged and will be going back to complain because we left if blank on purpose.... read more

Fred's Fish House is a good restaurant if you're looking for a nice and quiet area to get something to drink, and something good to eat. Although, I do have some complaints. One is that the fried shrimp was doughy and wet in the middle once a while back, and the cheesecake was room temperature. But once, a young blond male bartender got us a good drink, and hot, fresh food. His service was exceptional, and very hygienic. I would like to give this 4 stars, but this is essentially 3.5 stars. read more

Kinda puny meal for the price, hush puppies too thick and cole slaw too much celery seed for me and kinda dry. One tablespoon of pickled tomato. The service was as good as the one fella working everything! He tried hard and was nice. Id skip it next time. read more

The food is always fantastic. The fried fish is never greasy or heavy on the stomach. The fries, onion rings and hush puppies are delicious! The staff are always super friendly. read more

Fred's Fish House - Outside - Seafood Near Me - Mountain Home, Arkansas

See all

Fred's used to be very good but no longer. Our entire dining experience was poor. The clam strips were literally the size of peas.... Basically I was eating fried batter - yuk. We ordered fish and shrimp but they were out of butterfly shrimp. My wife ordered a beer but they were out of that brand. Each meal was supposed to come with coleslaw but the waitress forgot to bring it. The entire experience was not worth the drive. We will not be going back to Fred's. read more

Amazing food and service the service is top notch and the food is very tasty, those who come here will not want to read more

Great tasting. Nice and friendly staff. Huge portions. Couldn't ask for more. Highly recommend. I'll be back. read more

Fred's Fish House - Catfish, butterfly shrimp, hush puppies and fries. - Seafood Near Me - Mountain Home, Arkansas

Overpriced, small portions of overcooked tiny pieces of fish. Overcooked greasy hush puppies. Never eat here again

Yum ! ~ I have eaten here when ever we roll through for years... missed it when they were rebuilding, so this review is for the Newly Rebuilt Fred's Fish House. I came with the family for my wife and I's 24th anniversary, staff was very nice, food was fast and delicious. I got the Cajun Big Un' with a saddle of Frog Legs with an order of Okra. I had a good sized go box for snacks later on...Five stars all the way! Tip: if it's a cooler day, sit outside, it's way less noisy. read more

Fred's Fish House - Cajun Big Un' with a saddle of Frog Legs and and unsweetened tea with lemon. - Seafood Near Me - Mountain Home, Arkansas

Be aware that if you get the one male server, it would be a real good idea to ask for a different server. This guy doesn't like older people. read more

A disappointing and mediocre meal: a Cajun, fried catfish sandwich. The promised 'ginormous' catfish portion turned out to be anything but--a routine portion. The Cajun flavors were barely discernible. I had eaten the same dish on a previous visit and the fish was moist and flavorful. This visit served up too-dry fish and over-cooked French fries. Very disappointing. Perhaps the kitchen was having an off night, but if this meal was typical of Fred's fare, I will not be returning. A mediocre meal, spotty service and a partial lake view are not enough to recommend this restaurant. read more

Cocktails were great. Fried green tomatoes fantastic. hush puppies and catfish were very dry and flavorless. Baked potato was great. Service was subpar for 3pm. When we were leaving, there was trash, cans, cigarettes butts and rubbish all around the entrance. cigarette butts in spider webs. We have patronized Fred's for many years. It has always been good. Felt like it has really gone down hill, especially our last 2 visits. read more

This place was highly recommended. Only three stars because the service was not up to par. We waited a long time to be seated and waitress barely checked in on us. The view from our table was amazing though! I really enjoyed my fried catfish meal. Unfortunately, my fiancé didn't enjoy his chicken fried steak. It was thin and dried out. Not sure if we will try this place again since we live 3 hours away. read more

We were just there and our service and food was excellent. There were 20 in our group and I don't believe anyone had a less than perfect experience! The place is well lit and was clean! read more

Never disappointed at this place! Each time I go to Arkansas we eat there! GREAT food and service!

Help up front (rude), ran out of baked potatoes (really) on Father's Day weekend. Chairs are very uncomfortable, loud, atmosphere, not worth the wait to set and then wait a very long time for our meal, server nice but they need more staff, ran out of drinks all the time at table, not worth what their asking per plates. Won't go back and I'm local read more

My family has been coming to Fred's every summer for... possibly as long as I've been alive. I'm not a catfish fan, but even I like it because of their amazing seasoned breading! I usually get the butterfly shrimp, and that is always delicious. Their hush puppies are my comfort food! Love the new remodel and I'm so happy they were able to rebuild! I got a t-shirt this time after wearing out the one I bought 15+ years ago. read more

Been a long time Fred's customer returning every summer for more than 25 years. Ambiance: The new Fred's isn't the same. New building has too much space dedicated to the outdoor seating and bar meaning that big groups have a big wait. Made worse by the fact that lots of booths only seat 4. Food: The slaw seems the same. Hush puppies are sweeter and not as flavorful. And the fish is thicker cuts which fry inconsistently leaving some of them gummy and not well done. Service: Service was incredibly slow on a Monday night. We were seated at 2 tables due to having 6 and they couldn't accommodate us unless we split up. The table of 2 was done very quickly. Table of 4 waited forever. Wish we had the old Fred's back. read more

It is not the same Fred's as it once was. The fish was seasoned good and portioned in nice large pieces. The hush puppies were cold and hard. I got one small slice of onion, and what once was a small bowl of pickled tomatoes in now reduced to a cup the size of a tablespoon. The service was ok, nothing over the top. The new look since the reopen feels like just any other restaurant. I noticed one table that a family sitting at was very wobbly. They really had to watch their drinks carefully. read more

Food overcooked Service crummy Too loud And over two hours to get seated! The hostess kept skipping us - i finally got perterbed eenough to really complain and I have never taken almost 4 fricking hours for dinner Used to be our fave when we were in town not anymore!!! read more

Staff was great , however. Food is extremely over priced and not worth. I ordered Scallops, Oysters and clam chowder soup. And was ove 60$ Not reasonable for the taste that came with the food. My soup was cold. And the oysters were just disappointing. read more

The food was ok, nothing to write home about .. just food .. wait was average .. not many customers inside .. menu is limited , prices are high for the area. Service is mediocre .. there where Flys flying around .. nice view out the windows of Norfolk Lake . Great patio space. Strange how they limit you on condiments like mustard and mayo you hve to ask and then they give one small packet , also napkins they give one small one and if you need another you have to ask. read more

The new building is absolutely terrible. Feels like tables set up on a basketball court and is too noisy because of it. Food was better at the old place too. Maybe it was the old grease. LOL. Don't want to go back even if asked to. read more

We enjoy stopping at Fred's for fish when we come to Mountain Home. It's always fresh and made to order. Their hush puppies are crispy and delicious. I especially love their bean soup that is their secret recipe. The serve onion, pickles and tomato relish upon request with your fish so be sure to ask for it. The grilled veggies can also be steamed and substituted in most entrees. I've had their BLT and fried pickles which were both tasty. This place is typically super busy during peak hours so be prepared when you decide to eat there. read more

Fred's Fish House - Three piece granny with grilled veggies - Seafood Near Me - Mountain Home, Arkansas

The "Granny" catfish dinner is perfect. I always have one piece of catfish left to take home and enjoy later. They have the best coleslaw around, and Jo Jo's are seasoned perfect. We celebrated our anniversary there this year and are ready to go back again already! read more

This is a great place to eat. Good fish and great hush puppies! The service is very good! Fast friendly fair priced.

The fish was just OK. Our server didn't seem to know what she was doing. The atmosphere was not friendly and it sounded like you were in a huge tunnel. Way too noisy. read more

I have eaten here a several times, but noticed some unsanitary practices and peered into the kitchen enough to know they need some food safety and cleaning improvements. Haven't been back even though the food is tasty. read more

Every menu item is fantastic!! Each meal also receives a compliment of pickled green tomatoes, & coleslaw!the portions are very adequate, in fact, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to find a small enough portion. I don't have a big appetite & usually prefer to order from the children's menu for that reason. The 3 pc catfish dinner was more than enough & was delicious!! Plenty of seating & very friendly, attentive staff‼ Give Fred's a tey.. you'll be glad u did!! read more

This place has excellent fish fry, views, staff and plenty of seating. It is THE place to be to get a great fish fry and man do they know what they are doing. They get you seated promptly no matter the line, or wait. We had the fried pickle app and the loaded app to share and we were not disappointed. It had a little bit of everything of there to try off the menu and it was cooked to perfection. I had the 3pc granny Cajun style with all the trimmings- wow! The flavor of the breading on the catfish was impeccable. Lots of flavor and crunch! The trimmings that it came with were fresh onions, green tomato's which were incredible and their homemade pickles... the pickles are out of this world! Also, the coleslaw here is hands down the best I've EVER had. I loved every bite. The staff was absolutely amazing, definitely a well oiled machine. I cannot wait to go back and eat this meal again read more

See all

edit to add: after the long wait half our food was cold. Would give less than a star if possible. I can't comment on food quality yet but service is terrible. Called at 7:07 to inquire about wait time. Was told there was no wait. Arrived literally five minutes later at 7:12 and put our name on the list for the wait.... two parties arrived just after we did. A party of six and a party of eight. To make a long wait story short I held the door for one of those parties to leave after they finished their meal as we were headed inside to finally be seated... an hour later. 20 minutes after we arrived a party of 12 arrived and was seated in ten minutes. It's currently 9:24 and we've not received our food. We were told our name didn't get on the list around 7:45 even though we watched our name be written on the list. Finally at 8:10 following a 50 minute wait we were seated. Currently 9:27 and have yet to see our food. When we tried to voice our concerns to the manager she wouldn't stop talking over us long enough to actually hear our concerns. She was very abrasive and yelled that it was our fault for having a party of ten and that they didn't take reservations. Got it, understand. So why was the party of 12 seated before the party of ten? We had heard that this used to be a great spot to eat, but apparently that's no longer the case. read more

Food was good, but for me it had to much sugar in the hush puppies and in the coleslaw

We love Fred's. Obviously, the old Fred's, before the fire, was a nostalgic place with good food. Always packed! This was our first time back since they reopened. Sadly, It is not the same. But new things come with a new way if doing things. Maybe the owners will see some of the reviews and make some changes. read more

Love going to Fred's, it always delivers on one's expectations. I spent two (2) weeks at Norfolk Lake and dined at Fred's at less four times. I had the catfish with all the trimmings a few times. Also had the crab cakes with sides. All of the food was excellent and would gladly recommend Fred's to everyone. The ambiance was great, can't beat it. I had a wonderful server, couldn't ask for a better one. When you visit Fred's, always ask for Dillon. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming to all of us. Enjoy you visit there, eat up. read more

Slow and disorganized Food fair at best and overpriced Not the same Fred's One and done There will not be another visit read more

Service was great, but the food is a hollow shell of what this place used to be. The steak wasn't cooked the way we asked and was mushy. The fish was bland, and asking for tartar sauce is like asking them for a free meal. Won't be back read more

A few of the locals and the yelp reviews said that this place was really good and that I should try it. Being a guy who loves his catfish, I couldn't leave without trying this place. The place is right on the water, so I figured the catfish had to be fresh. The server was very pleasant and explained some things on the menu for me. I ordered a sampler that came with catfish, scallops, shrimp, potatoes and hush puppies. The menu said that their hush puppies were "award winning", so I had to try those. It also came with a side of coleslaw and some pickles. Not everyone makes good coleslaw, but theirs was actually pretty good. As far as the fish goes, I was disappointed. I don't think they seasoned the batter at all. I meant to get the spicy fish, but forgot. I'd hope that the spicy catfish had more flavor. Another issue I had with the fish was that it wasn't full of meat. Half of the filet had meat and the other half was just crunchy batter. The hush puppies were supposed to be the big thing here, but I didn't really get what all of the buzz is about. They are a little on the sweet side and are more crunchy than what I prefer. There wasn't much flavor in those either. They reminded me of a fried ball of Jiffy cornbread. The scallops were really small and the shrimp just tasted like something out of a frozen box that was deep fried. The potatoes (jojos) weren't that good to me either. I'm used to potato wedges being fried, but I think these were baked with some type of flour batter on them. There was nothing that I tried from there that would make me want to come back, however, I am interested in finding out how the spicy catfish tastes. I'm not in much of a hurry to try it though since the regular catfish I had was such a let down. read more

Fred's Fish House - Sampler: catfish, scallops, stuffed crab, hush puppies, potatoes (jojos) and butterfly shrimp - Seafood Near Me - Mountain Home, Arkansas

See all

I've been going to Fred's Fish House for about 25 years. Every year I come to town for deer hunting . Fred's is always on the list to eat at. I went to Fred's last night after the remodel. In my opinion the set up was bad, the food was so so without a lot of taste. Had the 3 pieces of catfish as always and it was subpar to say the least. As I went to pay with a debit card I was informed that there is now a 3.5% service fee for using a debit card or credit card. Total BS!! I paid in cash because it was the principal of the surcharge. Freds just lost a longtime customer with myself and my group of 10 other friends. A shame, a total disappointment ... read more

Burned down. No service. Unknown if they will rebuild. Always was a great place and a must stop every time in town.