I've driven past Slap Fish on my trips to HHI for the past decade--was never sure if it was "fast food" or beach seafood shack or what...and while locals either love or hate the place, I was encouraged to give it a chance and it would surprise me.
I visited during the last week of February, so definitely "pre-season" and there was no wait (or many patrons) at 6:00 pm.
I must confess that I am a New Englander, so we take our seafood pretty seriously; I'm not daft enough to order lobster in SC, when it should be coming from Maine, so I passed over those options, but I was curious to try the "New England Clam Chowder". We also ordered the fried pickles w/ Jersey sauce, an order of the special Jax shrimp (akin to bang bang shrimp), 2 fish sandwiches, a shrimp burrito, and I had an ultimate taco.
You order at the counter, grab your utensils and condiments off to the side, along with fountain drinks & iced tea. They sell draft beer, a limited variety of bottled beer, some Truly-type seltzer cans, but I had to have a Mexican Coke, even though it set me back $4.50.
Sit in the dining area and the food is delivered to your table. First off: the NE clam chowder was hot and filling, but it was more like a loaded baked potato soup--too viscous (not dairy based), some clam flavor, but too much bacon. I spied some clams, and there was a spicy finish; truthfully, I could not finish it but folks unaware of how it should be wouldn't bat an eye. The fried pickles were large spears in a light, tempura-like batter; the group agreed we'd have liked them cut into smaller bites to make them easier to manage. But tasty.
The fish sandwiches were piled high with fresh cod filets, lightly breaded and sitting atop a brioche bun piled with lettuce & tomato, served with seasoned fries (paprika-forward). We got a side of the homemade coleslaw, and everyone agreed it was fresh and delicious.
The shrimp burrito took a bit of time to come out after all the other dishes, but it was large and half was taken home to finish later.
My ultimate taco was fabulous! It arrived garnished like some sort of fancy-pants entree at a high-end restaurant--a huge surprise and very filling. It lived up to its description requiring two hands to hold it. My favorite of the night was actually the special Jax shrimp, which we added on a whim--shrimp was perfectly breaded & fried, all very plump & juicy. I'd have eaten another order of them if I'd had the room.
I believe Slap Fish is worth a visit--perhaps several visits. If you discount the New England clam chowder (get a native in the back to show the cook how to make it!), every piece of fish was fresh and delicious. Again, I'm not sure how Slap Fish measures up in the height of the summer season, but I was pleasantly enlightened on my first visit. read more