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Westfair Fish & Chips

1781 Post Rd. East, Westport, CT - (203) 255-3184
Posted By Michael Stern on December 24, 2004 3:52 PM
Westfair Fish & Chips is an unlikely eatery set back from Route One in otherwise posh Westport. Operating in the good old-fashioned eat-in-the-rough manner, it is little more than a kitchen with an order window and a few tables scattered about to which customers tote there own food on cardboard plates. There are picnic-style accommodations outside for good weather dining.

One prominent feature of the interior is a lobster tank; and many customers come here to buy them whole for cooking at home. "Hot lobster roll" heads the blackboard menu, and if we hadn't been jonesing for fried clams, we definitely would have tried it. Next time, for sure.

We were not at all unhappy to have an all-fried meal: clams with crusty golden cases and shrimp that were snapping fresh inside their crunch. We only regret not having ordered onion rings (75 cents extra).

Frying is the specialty of the house, and you can get whole clams, clam strips, sole, scallops, shrimp, oysters and squid ... accompanied, of course, by French fries (or baked potato or onion rings). Most of the fish are also available broiled; and the menu includes linguine with clam sauce and baked stuffed shrimp. It is important to note that whatever fish you get, you should definitely avail yourself of Westfair tartar sauce. It is bright with lemony zest and a great companion to seafood.

Also on the hit list for our next visit is chowder. Three kinds are available: New England, Manhattan, and Rhode Island. And lobster bisque sounds pretty tempting, too.
4 star rating
Overall Rating
Fried Shrimp
Hot Lobster Roll
New England Clam Chowder
Rhode Island Clam Chowder
While Belly Fried Clams
Crab Cake

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Posted By Sally Lerman on July 18, 2012 12:03 AM
I had tried this lobster roll once before, and remembered that it had tail meat, butter, all the right stuff, but I didn’t really enjoy it as much as I should have. I remembered it being soggy, but figured that might have been due to getting it take-out and driving around to try to find a more picturesque spot to eat it. So, I decided I needed to give this spot another chance and a fair shake, by eating it there.

It is a very challenging spot to find if you don’t know where you’re going. It’s in kind of a strip mall behind a strip mall. Obviously very popular with locals, always very packed, no matter what the time. The “in the know” way seems to be to call ahead and then pick up your order. There’s only one guy at the counter taking orders, charging, and bagging up, and one guy cooking. So, if you just walk in, it could really be a while before anyone takes your order, then a while longer before you eat. I don’t mind that so much; there is some minimal indoor and outdoor seating while you wait. So, after some interesting people watching, I got the hot lobster roll.

The soggy thing was apparently not a fluke the last time. The second I picked up this lobster roll, the bottom fell out and most of the meat with it. I respect a place's desire to use lots of butter on the lobster roll because, obviously, butter is delicious. But there is a fine line with butter, since you still want it to be a sandwich, not a fork and knife endeavor. In which case, why not just order a fresh steamed lobster and dip it in butter.

The bread was your standard white split-top bun, dry grilled, nothing special. The lobster meat, while it did have tail, knuckle, and claw, and seemed fresh, just didn’t taste very good. One problem it had was that the meat didn’t seem to have been picked very well. It still had that white gooey stuff that adheres to fresh lobster meat and you’re supposed to pick off. I think some people refer to it as the blood, but you’re not supposed to eat it and it doesn’t taste good. I also found a large shard of inner claw shell.

I tried to like this lobster roll, but it just kept disappointing. I didn’t see much worth returning for, except the onion rings. They were truly incredible! Maybe some of the best I've had, fresh-cooked, saltylishious, great. Call ahead and order onion rings. Judging by the onion rings, if you're into fried stuff, that may be worth trying here. I’m just not into much fried besides onions.
1 star rating
Overall Rating
Onion Rings
Hot Lobster Roll

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