St. Louis Fish Fry Feasts You Must Try in 2020

St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church
(8750 Magdalen Avenue, Brentwood; 314-961-0149)

Your prayers have been answered — one church here in St. Louis that offers its delicious fish-fry eats in drive-through form. The "God's Cod" drive-through at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic School makes it easy to get your Lent on, even if you're in a hurry. There's a fish fry every Friday until Easter from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. The full menu is available to dine in or carry out, and the drive-through has an abbreviated menu. Pick up a single meal, a family meal or even a whole cheese pizza for the kids on your way home from work.
—Nancy Stiles

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Photo credit: Flickr / 5chw4r7z

Parroquia Santa Cecilia
(906 Eichelberger Street; 314-351-1318)

Parroquia Santa Cecilia, a.k.a. St. Cecilia, is the unofficial church for Mexican-American Catholics in St. Louis. Families come together for its Lenten events and bring to the table an entire new universe of fish-fry fare, with the emphasis on fare, as opposed to fish. St. Cecilia fish fries are perhaps best known for their chiles rellenos — big-ass mildly spicy poblano peppers jammed full of cheese, then dipped in batter and fried until the exterior browns and the cheesy depth-charge inside achieves molten status. Praise the Lord and pass the cervezas; these calorie bombs are addictive to the very last gooey bite.
— Rease Kirchner

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Photo credit: Kelly Glueck

St. Pius V
(3310 S. Grand Boulevard, 314-772-1525)

The Lenten feasts in the basement hall of St. Pius V are the everyman's fish fry. Cod baked or fried. Fried catfish. Three sides, one of which will almost surely be cafeteria-style mac and cheese, plus dessert. It's beautiful in its simplicity. The hall is always filled with families, and you are guaranteed to see little kids dancing away in the aisles to a live band that shifts its makeup through the evening as members of the crowd join in. The lines can be long, but not that long. And if you're lucky, the volunteers will swing through with free cans of Budweiser, like friendly beer angels to ease the burden.
—Doyle Murphy

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Photo credit: Doyle Murphy

Epiphany of Our Lord
(6596 Smiley Avenue; 314-781-1199)

For more than 50 years, the Clifton Heights parish has honored this Lenten tradition with a massive feast every Ash Wednesday and Friday during Lent, except Good Friday. In addition to the traditional fried cod, Epiphany serves cornmeal-crusted catfish, pollock and battered shrimp. The parishioners are proud of their homemade sides, including creamy mac & cheese (the highlight of the feast) and vinegary coleslaw.
—Cheryl Baehr

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Photo credit: Cheryl Baehr

St. Joan of Arc
(5821 Pernod Avenue; 314-752-4171)

This south city parish is the workhorse of St. Louis fish-fry scene. The long cafeteria's arranged to accommodate lengthy lines. Carry-out to the left, dine-in on the right, and keep it moving. Once the line hits a certain point, St. Joan volunteers have been known to pass out free beer. The side dishes are where it's at. They're definitely homemade and among the best on the scene. Macaroni and cheese studded with a heavy dose of black pepper stands out, as do the al dente and flavorful green beans.
—Robin Wheeler

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Photo credit: Robin Wheeler

St. Ferdinand Catholic Church
(1765 Charbonier Road, Florissant; 314-837-3165)

If you live in North County — heck, if you live north of the Bootheel — you know that St. Ferdinand is the gold standard of fish fries. For over 60 years, this Florissant church has been serving its flaky fried cod by the pound to hungry Catholics — and they don't just do it during Lent. St. Ferdinand's seafood supper is so popular, the parish operates it every Friday of the year. Here you'll find little more than cod, catfish, spaghetti and green beans — washed down with Busch beer and consumed under the basketball scoreboard in its school's gym. And perhaps this is the reason for its staying power — it's the quintessential fish fry experience.
—Cheryl Baehr

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Photo credit: Flickr / Jeffrey W

Our Lady of Guadalupe
(1115 S. Florissant Road; 314-522-9264)

St. Cecilia's in south city gets all the attention when it comes to Mexican fish fries, but it's not the only local Catholic church that caters to a large Mexican congregation. Near the city-limits line that separates Cool Valley from Ferguson, tiny Our Lady of Guadalupe brings the Lenten fiesta to north county. There's Midwest fish fry staples: flaky cornmeal-breaded cod loins, the usual sides and hush puppies! Even better? Potato tacos. Corn tortillas are filled with mashed potatoes, roasted jalapeños and green peppers, fried, then topped with salsa, shredded lettuce and queso fresco.
—Robin Wheeler

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Photo credit: Robin Wheeler

First Unitarian Church of St. Louis
(5007 Waterman Blvd; 314-361-0595)

Vegan falafel, pita bread, veggie chili and dolmas aren't traditional fish fry fare, but then, little about the menu at the First Unitarian Church of St. Louis' UnFish Fry could be described as traditional. This annual vegetarian dinner not only takes meat off the menu, but also fried food in general. The decidedly healthier, Mediterranean-inspired eats include the above mentioned entrées, as well as mac 'n' cheese, dolmas, green beans, cole slaw, salad and applesauce, and the usual buffet of baked goods for dessert.
—Liz Miller

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Photo credit: Liz Miller

St. Clement of Rome
(1510 Bopp Road, 314-965-0709)

Most fish fry joints offer a side of pizza in addition to the usual fried cod and baked tilapia, but St. Clement of Rome is our new favorite spot because they offer Imo's Pizza! And Imo's salad! It's all cool, though. You're giving up meat for Lent, not Imo's. Right? That would be a very serious sacrifice.

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Photo credit: Jaime Lees

Edibles & Essentials
(5815 Hampton Avenue; 314-328-2300)

If you want some high-quality fancy fish fry, get yourself to Edibles & Essentials every Friday through Lent. They'll be serving their famous beer-battered Fish n' Chips each Friday evening. If you've had anything from Edibles & Essentials, you know just how important it is not to miss out on this treat.

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Photo credit: courtesy Edibles & Essentials

SqWires Annex
(1415 S 18th Street; 314-865-3522)

They host a fish fry every Friday through Lent from 4:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. where $16/adults and $11/kids gets you an entree, two sides, dessert & beverages. SqWires Annex offers crispy & baked fish, shrimp, hush puppies, mac & cheese and more. You can dine or grab your food to go, but you might want to stick around for the live music and the cash bar.

Find out more here.

Photo credit: RFT file photo

St. James the Greater
(1360 Tamm Avenue; 314-647-0167)

If you don't want to go to the all-vegetarian fry at the First Unitarian Church of St. Louis but still want some vegetarian options, check out St. James the Greater on Tamm Avenue in Dogtown. In addition to serving up fish dinners, they also feature the greatest of non-meat staples: a gooey grilled cheese sandwich. And with sides like cole slaw, green beans and french fries, there's a little something for everybody at St. James the Greater.

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Photo credit: Google Maps

Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church
(1910 Serbian Drive; 314-776-3262)

This is some next-level fish frying. Not only does Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church serve up Lenten classics, they've added fish tacos to their menu. Holy Trinity knows how to keep the people happy. Here you'll dine on some tasty tacos and wonder why anyone would go anywhere that doesn't serve them. We predict a fish taco takeover across St. Louis by next Lent season.

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Photo credit: Google Maps

Holy Redeemer Catholic Parish
(17 Joy Avenue, Webster Groves; 314-962-0038)

Enjoy live music, great food and a great space for families at Holy Redeemer on Joy Avenue in Webster. In addition to indoor and outdoor play space for the little ones, this fancy fry offers smoked salmon and fish or shrimp tacos in addition to the traditional God's Cod. And if your kid doesn't like seafood, they can dig into a slice of pizza, instead.

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Photo credit: Google Maps

St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church
(4711 Tamm Avenue, 314-353-1229)

Held in the school cafeteria (as is Catholic school tradition) this fry offers a selection of seafood, with adult dinners priced at just $10. Any adult item can be turned into "Pastor's Platter" for just $2 more and that means you get a couple of shrimp in addition to your catfish, cod or Swai fillet.

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Photo credit: Google Maps

St. Agatha Polish Roman Catholic Church
(3239 S. 9th Street, 314-772-1603)

This fry offers fried talapia instead of fried cod, and they also offer other variants not found at churches nearby. St. Agatha will load you up with veggie sides, for example, and Polish sauerkraut. Yum.

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Photo credit: Google Maps

St Anthony of Padua Catholic Church
(3140 Meramec Street, 314-353-7470)

Choices are plentiful at St. Anthony of Padua's. In addition to the plentiful sides, visitors can choose from fried salmon, fried catfish, baked tilapia, breaded shrimp or fish tacos. Hush puppies and dessert are included, and there are even margarita's on the menu. Rejoice!

Find out more here.

Photo credit: Google Maps

Mary Queen of Peace
(676 W Lockwood Avenue, 314-962-2311)

Offered on just two nights this year (March 6 and April 3), this church has a traditional fish and chips dish on the menu that you won't want to miss. They're offering entertainment, too, so you can make a whole night of it. Food is served from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the school gym and then after that you can stick around for some live music.

Find out more here.

Photo credit: Google Maps

St. Peter Catholic Church
(243 W Argonne Drive, 314-966-8600)

This Kirkwood church offers fish deals not just for adults and kids, but for seniors, too. The menu includes cod, tilapia, shrimp, chicken strips and pizza, so there is something for everybody. With sides like baked mac and cheese and butterfly shrimp sold à la carte, you'll want to make sure to bring a few extra bucks for small indulgences.

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Photo credit: Google Maps

St. Gerard Majella Catholic Church
(1971 Dougherty Ferry Road, 314-965-3985)

Offering some of the cheapest à la carte options in town, you can score an adult-sized serving of fish here for just $7. And with all of the traditional options on the menu (cod, hush puppies, shrimp, green beans), St. Gerard Majella proves that you don't have to go live in south city to score some quality Catholic Cod.

Find out more here.

Photo credit: Google Maps