Baraka Diner Fish & Chips

I tried this place for the first time last night and I reviewed the Unilocal posts before trying it and it looked amazing online. So we gave it a try. When we got there, the menu on the wall looked different from what I saw in the pictures. There wasn’t any gumbo or fried catfish, which was a huge disappointment because we don’t have much of a cajun specific restaurant in Concord.
First and foremost, looks like this restaurant is ran by 1 person, which is a huge responsibility and can also work to his disadvantage. The owner is really nice and I do hope he succeeds in the business, but from my experience yesterday, I’m not too sure.
Since we were there, I went ahead and ordered the fish and chips (which was given high reviews) and the 4 piece fried shrimp. *sigh* The shrimp was really small and for the price I paid, I was really disappointed. I mean, they were probably as small as something you would get from Sizzler or from the frozen section of any grocery store. The fish and chips came with 3 battered pieces of cod and was mediocre to me. I’ve had a lot of fish and chip dishes from different places and this wasn’t on top of the list.
Overall, the experience was ok and I probably would not come back since the items I really wanted to try weren’t on the menu, but are shown in pics here on Unilocal.I wish the owner luck and I hope he can improve his menu and maybe hire some help.

This is a one man operation. He sticks to a limited menu which makes it work. The fish is freshly battered and nicely crisped. The tartar sauce is excellent. Fried shrimp were light, flavorful and not at all chewy. The hamburgers are Nieman beef and also well done. The owner (I assume) is polite, earnest and hard-​working.
The restaurant itself is barely adequate. Not much space. Only one tabe that can hold more than one person. I’d say get take-​out, but I’m always leery of take-​out fried food. Steam produced by a closed styrofoam container doesn’t do a world of good to crispy food.
Will we be back? You bet. I hope, however, he can move to a new spot and hire some help. To get him there, we’ll keep going back and put up with the shortcomings.

This establishment perfects the art of fish & chips. Crispy. Fresh. Tasty. Delicious. Exactly like you would imagine it if you were at the shore. The portion was the perfect size to where I didn’t feel like a fat blob after consuming fried food. The coleslaw, tartar and cocktail sauce were all satisfactory. I highly suggest the fried clam and fish combo so you can have a nice sampling.
The owner won my respect when he fed a homeless man who wandered inside seeking a meal. He told the man that this would not be a routine scenario and not to come back expecting the same. The owner didn’t have to do this but he did out of the kindness of his heart. Kudos to him for this gesture. I’m glad I got to witness it. Please support this establishment and you will be rewarded with great seafood!

I just want to emphasize that I hate giving this place a two star review. The guy that helped me was exceptionally friendly which goes a long way in any customer service establishment. His friendliness really sticks out to me and his restaurant was also very clean overall.
The food was kind of gross though. I just wanted a snack, not a full meal, but it still left so much to be desired. I had zuchinni sticks with a simple garden salad. Seems simple enough! The zuchinni sticks were a generic frozen fry-​up that you can find in your grocer’s freezer and the salad leaves were from Costco that he said went bad so he whipped up a Romaine salad for me. That was a nice enough gesture except for the fact that I watched him handle some meat beforehand that wasn’t very well done. Granted, it was cooked, but to a rare level of done so it was still very pink. He just quickly ran his hands under cold water before picking up the Romaine lettuce for chopping. This turned me off because I’m a vegetarian and he didn’t wash his hands thoroughly after handling the undercooked meat and before preparing my salad.
I would absolutely love seeing this guy succeed in his business, but he needs to make some major adjustments if he wants to prosper. Maybe he should hire a prep cook to prepare some food in the morning and then put it together for a customer when the order it. For example, he can easily prepare his zuchinni sticks from scratch by making the breading in a bowl and slicing the zuchinni and storing them, separately, in the fridge, covered, so when the customer gets it, it’s cooked fresh and tasty. Yes, it will take a little more time to get the customer their meal, but only by a couple short minutes that will be worth it long-​term. I have worked in restaurants before, one particularly busy deli where all food was freshly prepared. I haven’t worked at this deli in years, but they are still going strong because of their excellent food quality.
Now, granted, I have been here only once so far, but this doesn’t make for a very good first impression. I’ll try a few more things on the menu before I truly make up my mind about this place, but it doesn’t look promising. Please take better care in preparing your food, Kind Sir! I want to see you do well!

Great food and service, called on the way by and they had takeout steaming and ready to go in 10 minutes will be back

They now carry Crepes. So get ready to try crepes. I know I am.

Better than expected. There was 4 of us. Owner very friendly. And the food was good and fresh. We had the fish and calamari, fish and scallops, cheeseburger, and hot dog. Fish was perfectly fried. Calamari was yummy! Scallops was fresh and juicy. The cole slaw was great! Not too much dressing, so that you can feel the crunch. The burger was hot and juicy. Same with the hot dog. He had even toasted the buns.
It’s definitely one of those secret finds we stumbled across and glad we did.

Visited Baraka Diner Fish & Chips a couple of weeks ago for the first time. Let me tell you that I am not a huge fan of anything that is deep fried…
Decided to try this place while my truck was being washed next door
My wife: Doesn’t even like fish! (or so she thought)
I had the fish and shrimp. Delicious!
My food was not greasy at all, the fish tasted fresh and the batter mixed, just tops it off! Very good. Even the frys were good.
The customer service is great! The gentlemen behind the counter greeted us with a smile as we walked in and told him it was our first time there and he replied «welcome!»
The place is kept very clean, I did peak over the counter to check out the kitchen, everything looked very clean.
After this experience, my wife LOVES fish! or at least the one here, in fact we have been there 3 times since our first visit 2 weeks ago.
You should definitely check this place out!

Cute little fish and chips restaurant.
I went here on a Monday evening to try it out after seeing the fish and chips sign off to the side of the road. I read the reviews here on Unilocal beforehand, and they all seemed pretty decent. Unfortunately this place is not all that great :/​
The atmosphere was quiet, zero music, only one other customer. The man behind the counter was pretty nice but he was the only one there to take orders and cook. I felt kind of awkward waiting.
I ordered 2 pc fish and chips, zucchini, and a hotdog. Everything seemed to be made by generic foods. Portions were very small. The fish was on a skewer and dipped into the batter. Fries were frozen, same as the zucchini, and the hotdog was one in which you buy in a pack for 99 cents. Everything was good, just not worth the prices charged.

Fish is so fresh and crispy. Also had the fried scallops which were really good — nice sized pieces and the right amount of batter. Also, very affordable.

Well, now I can say I’ve been here, and that’s about all I can say.
To his credit, the owner is very, very nice. I want his business to do well.
I ordered the house special, which was quite generous! French fries were «eh.» The fish was fresh with a good batter. It was just a bit too greazzzy, and I love fried food. Cole slaw wasn’t that fun, so I left most of it. Overall, the meal fed me, but it wasn’t worth writing home about.

We went in with our toddler for dinner tonight. I ordered the fish and chips and my husband had the chili burger. My fish was yummy, and my husband liked his burger, really nice flavor. I will return, I like to support the small businesses in my city and I tend to get a fish and chips hankering once in a while.

We saw this place while out running errands and decided to give it a try. We were happily surprised. We plan on adding it to our list of places. Its clean, friendly and has great food. The fish and chips were well done and the onion rings great.

Really like this place. Fresh ingredients and cooked to order. The fish was cooked by someone who knows how to cook fish. The restaurant is clean and the owner, I think his name was Sayeed, was a rare treat. He was friendly and was enjoyable to talk to. I would recommend this place as the quality of the food by far out-​paces the surounding the garbage eateries in the area. A solid rating for putting out solid food.

Glad that we have a «chippie» nearby, but being a Brit and knowing what good fish ‘n’ chips (etc.) is all about, I would rate this place as just «okay».
Then again, there’s nothing in Concord or surrounding area that offers anything like the variety and tasty food of a proper British «chippie».
The fish (said to be «Icelandic Cod») isn’t bad, but it’s served in chunks (not a whole fillet) and the chips are totally blah; there are not enough of them for the 8 or 9 bucks you pay for your meal either.
Tugboat Fish ‘N’ Chips off of Contra Costa Boulevard is definitely better (although the place smells of mice), but like I said, Baraka Diner is local to us and a pleasant change from all of the ethnic «restaurants» that proliferate here due to uncontrolled illegal immigration.

in a sea of taquerias and fast food, this place is welcome addition to the local dining scene. Fish N Chips isn’t exactly common and while I usually go to TugBoat in Pleasant Hill, I thought I’d give this place a try.
They don’t have as large a menu but the one thing it does have going for it is that you don’t smell after eating there. What I think would really put this place would be fresh cut fries! I always look for that! The fish was well battered but not too heavy and the fish was flaky and light. It doesn’t seem to get busy but don’t let the small crowd fool you! If you’re in the area and looking for fish n chips, check this place out.

Very happy to have this little shop close by. So far, the clam and the calamari were both great choices. The fries and fish are good. The fish is on the bland side but the batter is tasty, and I do love the cocktail sauce included. The coleslaw isn’t punched-​up enough for me, a little blah, but over all a great little quick meal.
Everything was expertly cooked — crisp and not at all greasy.

Based on Unilocal reviews my wife and I went to Baraka mainly to try the fish and chips because there aren’t that many good chip shops around.
The fish and chips turned out to be excellent, both good sized portions and well priced at $ 7.99 for 3 hand battered fillets. The fries were crisp and tasty and the cole slaw was mild and served on a lettuce leaf, a nice touch for a diner style café.
The owner was friendly, the café was clean and the food was cooked well for a reasonable price. I highly recommend a try. The only complaint is that the clams are strips not whole clams. I’m from Maine and you get arrested for serving clam strips there

I LOVE fish & chips and usually order it if its on the menu. It’s easy to get lousy fish and chips but I have high standards for them. Baraka diner serves up freshly made to order fish, chips, oysters, shrimp, and calamari. The pieces of fish are substantially larger than what you normally would expect! Nice crispy batter, not too greasy, and great flavor. All other fried items are cooked perfectly.
The cook/​owner is awesome and super friendly. The dining area is large for ample seating. There are many other items on the menu but the fish is so good I dont want to try anything else.

Baraka Dining is on the opposite end of a small minimall that houses Didar, a Persian restaurant. Baraka is clean and the tables are neatly arranged: seatings on the right and open grill’s on the left.
menu: hamburgers (niman ranch), hot dogs, fish & chip, et al seafood, shakes, etc.
sampling: fish & chip (7.99)-sign said this was a specialty
–cole slaw: nicely homemade taste
–french fries: not deep fried enough, pale white and mushy.
–3 square fish fillets. flaky and not very tasty, probably previously frozen. saw server dip fish portions in batter and then place fillets in fryer. fillets had a stick extending from it, making it look like an upside down popsicle. (try this with fresh fillet fish!)
crumbs:
–fast, friendly service
–hamburger may have been a better choice.
–saw relish bar in corner.
–lots of parking.