Review: Giant Fish Sandwich from Captain D’s
One thing that has constantly puzzled me, being a fan of various food blogs that is, is the complete lack of any coverage of Captain D’s. According to Wikipedia, they have almost 600 locations, only a couple hundred less than Hardee’s, but no one ever mentions a word about Captain D’s. Considering how awesome the food is, I can’t imagine why.
If you’ve never had, or even heard of Captain D’s, think of Long John Silver’s but way better. Captain D’s is to Long John Silver’s as Popeyes is to KFC. It’s a better value and tastes more like actual cooking has taken place, as opposed to the corporate blandness that runs rampant in fast food world. I’m no longer Catholic, but I still damn sure love a fish sandwich. So with lent in full season, I say let’s check out Captain D’s Giant Fish Sandwich.
My Captain D’s only has one fish sandwich, and it isn’t on the website. Thus, I have no description, and unless you go to my specific Captain D’s, I have no clue if you can even get this bad boy. I tried calling Captain D’s corporate to see what the deal was, but no one responded, so hopefully you don’t have to live in Fredericksburg, Virginia to get what I am dubbing the best quick service fish sandwich out there. Oh yeah, spoiler alert, I really like this sandwich. The sandwich consists of two fresh battered fish filets, tartar sauce, and lettuce on a huge sesame seed bun. What kind of fish? I’m guessing pollack or white fish. Had corporate picked up the phone, maybe I could tell you. First off, this thing is massive. The bun is about the size of a Whopper bun, the two filets barely fit inside, and if you wanted, you could probably make a meal of the fish jutting out of the sides of this thing.
The fish is perfect. The inside is moist and light in flavor, while the batter is a touch fishy from being cooked in oil that has obviously been well seasoned from the hundreds of fish filets cooked beforehand. This isn’t mystery fish loaf, or fish pre-battered and frozen waiting in a freezer somewhere. If you’ve ever been to a good old fashioned, southern fish fry, you know what to expect here. 
The tartar sauce is flat out the best in its class. It’s packed to the gills (get it?) with dill and blows the competition out of the water. This isn’t just mayo and relish. It’s an herbaceous, tart, creamy sauce that makes a good thing better. The bun is super soft, and makes a great contrast to the crunchy battered fish. At $3.09 it’s a tremendous value given the size and quality. I also added a side of mozzarella sticks to my order. $1.99 for 8. How can I pass that up? Profit margins don’t seem to be much of a priority for Captain D’s, I guess.
If this review seemed like a paid advertisement, all I can say is imagine if the internet had never heard of Popeyes or In-N-Out and you had to tell them for the first time. What would you say? I say Captain D’s is pure win and you should see if one is close by.
Pros: Better than everyone else. The tartar sauce is dill-icious? This sandwich should cost twice as much.
Cons: Their website and marketing staff. That's it though.
Taste: 9.50/10
Value: 9.50/10
Grubbing on-the-go: With two fish filets, probably a bad idea, but who cares?
Price: $3.09
Overall GrubGrade: 9.50/10
More Info: http://www.CaptainDs.com
Nutrition Facts:
N/A
Categories: Reviews, Sandwiches, Seafood
Tags: Captain D's, Captain D's Fish Review, Captain D's Giant Fish Sandwich, Giant Fish Sandwich Captain D's Review
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“Giant” is a good name for this. Don’t know what it is about fish sandwiches, but I ate one of these last week, and there was a definite “giant” effect in my pantaloons. Captain D’s is my wife’s new favorite restaurant; incidentally, Captain D is what she called me that night. Boom-shaka-laka.
GREAT screen name/comment combination!
boooooo!
Looking at the menu online, this sandwich sort of sounds like it could be also known as The Captain Sandwich… but that one is on a hoagie roll with cracklins… I’d check that one out. Closest to me is a little over an hour drive away unfortunately.
I think the reason no one talk about it it that’s in less than half the states with only 600 locations. Jack in the Box is in 21 states but have almost 4 times as many locations.
Oh my god! I’m so sorry that someone covered a restaurant with only 600 locations if they aren’t in your area! How dare this free source of information do that?!
Youre hella stupid he was just stating a fact… u mad
Blogger wondered aloud twice in the 1st paragraph – being “puzzled” and “can’t imagine why”, possibly rhetorically, but still…. settle down. Richard did not say GG should not cover the spot. It is always a sad state of affairs when a Dick and a BJ cannot come together over food.
I’ve never even heard of Captain D’s until a few days ago. Spent many 1980s Friday night dinners at random Midwestern Church Fish Frys, tho apparently my parents were looking for Walleye. Once they stopped finding that, we quit going.
If you order a fish sandwich, you do not get crunchies and that is a waste of a trip to Captain D’s.
I still remember the commercial jingle from the 90s “Little bit fast food, little bit sit-down….seafood plaaaace.”
I’m glad someone else dumped the Catholic Church too!
Please don’t encourage personal disclosures like these. Being Catholic and enjoying fish sandwiches are two different things.
Just the other day I was thinking I needed to hit up Captain D’s. I can’t recall the last time I been. And never seen a review. We need more Captain D’s reviews it seems.
Damn, that looks good, and only $3, that is a deal. I have never in my life heard of this place and now I must find the nearest one.
Thanks for the review! We have Captain D’s nearby, but I haven’t gotten around to trying it yet. I’ve been wondering whether they are any good, so your review is definitely encouraging! They always send coupons in our mailers, and it seems like a pretty good value. Have you tried any of the meals/baskets? They advertise some “full meal deals” around my area for $4.99 (either 12 butterfly shrimp, fish and 8 butterfly shrimp, or 4 piece hand-breaded fish tenders; all with 2 sides and hush puppies) that I’m thinking about getting.
The meals are great. The hushpuppies dominate, but for my tastes, I say just pick up a few sandwiches and some sides. The added ingredients of the sandwiches take it over the top. Plus, the tartar for the sandwiches is different from the containers they hand out. Either way, you can’t really lose. I’m not that big a fan of their broiled options though. Fried fish is what they do best.
Thanks for the input! I’ll be sure to try them the next time I get a chance! In the ads/coupons they send out, I don’t see the sandwich, but I’ll definitely look for it based on your recommendation!
I’ve never been to a Captain D’s… not sure if I’ve even seen one. Apparently the closest one to me is a 3-hour drive away.
I can’t stand Long John Silver’s; this at least looks better.
IMO, it that ljs has been the top dog… Joke in my town among m friends, Orlando, was captain d…sgusting
I think you have your simile reversed. You surely aren’t claiming KFC is better than Popeye’s, are you?
KFC is a mere shadow of its former self. Put some damn seasoning on the chicken!! I can get Tyson’s chicken at the store for cheaper. Bowls full of $5 instant mashed potatoes & wallpaper glue gravy & 3 pieces of chicken isn’t going to cut it.
I was thinking the same thing. Can’t trust anyone who thinks KFC is better than Popeye’s.
I haven’t been close to a Captain D’s since the late 80’s. Back then, it was HORRIBLE, with breading so thick there was never any fish in there to taste. Looks like the quality of the product is better now, makes we wish I could get to one.
Now, when you said “Captain D’s is to Long John Silver’s as KFC is to Popeyes” did you mean it that way, saying KFC is better than Popeye’s? Because I would disagree with that.
Those poppy seeds on the bun are doing a damned fine sesame seed impression.
Thee three comments above me are all correct. I like Popeyes more and those are indeed sesame seeds. Whoops….
Captain D’s is definately better than Long John Silvers. I like the fact that at D’s you can get things like flounder and crab cakes rather than just “fish”.
Eh, I had both Captain Ds and Long John Silvers in my hometown, and Long John Silvers was the better choice.
LJS is greasy
Totally agree with you, I go to that same Captain D’s and it is far superior to Long John’s or Arthur Treacher’s. Speaking of that shopping center, has Hard Times Cafe ever been mentioned on this site?
I’m don’t really like Hard Times, though eventually if I still write here for the next few years, Carl’s Ice Cream, Sam’s Pizza, 2400 Diner etc, might get some attention. If you haven’t been to T&T Deli, Google it and go now. It’s the same people that ran the old Captain Sid’s back in the 90’s.
I actually have never been – very interested now. Yeah, Carl’s is an icon, definitely one of the highlights around here.
That sammie looks awesome. I wish we had one close by, but not the case, not even in the state. So sad.
Looks ok but I eat fish too often (Portuguese parents) to eat fast food fish.
Also Popeyes is better than KFC and it’s not close.
I think someone already mentioned it above, but there is a sandwich on Captain D’s menu called “The Captain.” Actually, there’s two. The other one is called “The Great Little Fish Sandwich.” Same as the The Captain, but with just one fillet.
Another commenter said the fish sandwich doesn’t come with “crunchies.” Actually, they’re called “cracklins” and they should come with the sandwich.
As for Captain D’s, I love their 4-piece battered fish platters drizzled with malt vinegar and tartar sauce to go with fries and cole slaw, or the Deluxe Seafood platter, but I’ve had better fish sandwiches at places like Wendy’s and Arby’s.
I used to eat that sandwich all the time when I was a poor college student, it was ridiculously cheap for the amount of food you get.
KFC is NOT better than Popeyes. After reading that the review cant be taken seriously.
He botched it. He meant Popeyes over KFC. I should just fix that to avoid any more confusion.
fixed now
ugh. I wish you’d posted this a few years ago. I drove by one of these twice a day for 3 years but never went because I figured it would be a gross local fast food wannabe type place. Now I live no where near one and I’m curious.
I know it’s more than a little late to comment but it actually IS on the menu. Check out “other favorites” on the online menu and it is listed as “The Captain Sandwich”
Nutritional Info:
281 grams total weight
860 Calories
450 Calories from fat
28 grams of protein
71 grams of carbohydrates
4 grams of fiber
4 grams of sugars
50 grams of fat
19 grams of saturated fats
0 grams of trans fats
75 milligrams of cholesterol
1440 milligrams of sodium
Moved from Utah (land of no Cappy D’s) to Virginia a couple of years back. Captain D’s was our FIRST Virginia meal, and not by accident. I’d scoured the internet before we moved, searching for a “cheap but tasty/purely back east” place to eat when we got into town, and Cap’n D’s was what I came up with. And OH, what a marvel! Love the stuffed crab shells and fish n’ chips! Their chicken’s pretty tasty, too–not Popeyes, but if you have a little one who won’t touch fish, the chicken should do just fine!
i believe it is called The captain the description seems to match what is on the website
There is no better sandwich than this. I get mine with cheese. The malt vinegar really goes well with the tarter and fish and the bun is like the Whopper. It is a tenth of a point above the Chik-fil-a and two tenths above the new Arby’s 1/2 lb French dip. I sometimes drive 30 minutes to get one.
The D stands for “Diabetes.”