Long John Silver’s Seafood Shoppe

Where are you? I am still kind of in denial. I can’t believe this place is not open anymore. I am hoping, for some reason that this place opens up again. Where am I going to get my yearly lenten meal? I love their 2 Fish combo. I’m not a fish fan, but always loved their battered fish. Loved their hushpuppies too. Sad that I don’t have a place to take part in my fried fish indulgences anymore when I have the urge.

So sad to see this location closed, for good. My family and I have loved the food and service here for almost 15 years. From where we used. To live in Rogers Park, to Evanston, and then Wilmette, this was the closest LJS. We always had good customer experiences, the food was given to us quick and hot, everything was always great tasting, and the tables were clean. I really hate to see this place go. There aren’t any other fried seafood restaurants comparable, in our area. Now, it’s going to be a 17 – 25 mile drive to a new location, sadly. We really love the batter on LGS’s seafood, and everything else with it. There’s just no equal o that specific taste. Believe me, I’ve tried everything similar to it but, just nowhere near its identical match in taste.

closed as of aug. 20, 2015

I had a craving, drove over and found the place was not only closed, but boarded up.
Bummer

Very friendly staff. Hot food. Good Mac and Cheese. Yes, the fried items can be a bit greasy at times (maybe sometimes more than others for whatever reason), but it is fish fry joint after all (let it cool down a little and press between some napkins to remove some of the grease to help — it’s what I have always done at any fish fry joint).
I been to this location several times and the staff has always been smiling and friendly even when they are suddenly swamped which apparently can occur at any random time of the day (Chicago is a big city and people eat their lunch or dinner at different times than the normal noon or 5/​6pm timeframe).
I seen many people ring the bell showing their appreciation (probably more for the service than anything) as they leave (and I have too).

My father wanted to try ljs, I wanted to convince him lets do something else but he rarely has requests so I thought might as well. I had this food once before and remember that everything was oily salty and all taste the same, and years later nothing has changed! The only reason this chain still exists is because it fills a niche with no other competitors really, «seafood fast food» I love seafood I just don’t i know why everything’s fried and pretty much the same batter? There’s really no difference eating here and going to a supermarket and frying frozen battered seafood at home.

OMG! I haven’t been to this place in twenty years. It was my sisters turn to choose where to eat and she chose this place. The staff, friendly friendly, friendly as all heck.
The fish and chicken was very greasy, good flavour, but greasy. I am so grateful for the Target being so close on Peterson Avenue.
About 3 minutes from walking out the door, my stomach was bubbling and gurgling like a caldron of sludge. It was as if the hounds of hell had been beckoned to run a muck. I impressed myself with the record speed I kept from the parking lot to the toilet, it was as if I had on a pair of talaria’s.
This might be a place after a very heavy night of drinking or for those who have an iron stomach. No offence to lovely crew working there, but the food was a bit much for me.

I wanted so much to enjoy this location but was very disappointed. I remember really liking Long John Silvers as a child. Unfortunately, this location is run poorly.
On the day we visited the Lincolnwood restaurant, we literally waited 35 mins for our order. It got so bad that one customer asked if the entire crew was taking a break. We saw several employees on break and eating in the main dining room. They could care less that the room was full of people trying to place an order.
The location was also extremely with no heat on at all. I understand that this is supposed to be fast food, but at least change the cooking oil each day. The smell was terrible. I won’t be returning. Very bad customer service.

My son Brian wanted Fish tonight.
So fish he shall have!
So, my 34 year old son Brian asked me to go to Long John Silver’s
and pick up some Fish for dinner, and honestly, I eat this stuff about
once a year and said okay, I could go for this, it’s about time.
So, I travel out to Lincolnwood on a Pace Bus and I enter this fishy place
and I look at the menu board to decide which meal option to get.
So, I decided on one of these Family Meal Deals, which is supposed
to come with fish, your choice of sides, and hush puppies.,
And, okay, I guess I was tired because normally I would ask for my order
to be double checked to make sure everything was/​is there.
However, I see this girl bring me out 2 bags of stuff and I’m figuring that
my whole order is in there!
So, I pay and Boy, this place is pretty expensive to begin with and I
travel back home to East Rogers Park bearing this gift of fish for my son.
And I empty out my bags and my sides are missing so I call this place
and say Hey, I just spent like $ 53.00 in your place, where are my sides?
In ending this aggravating Fish Tale I am told that they wrote my name
down in a book and next time I come in I can have my 2 sides!
Well, Long John Silver’s, for the record, your fish was super greasy
and the fact that you didn’t give me my cole slaw yesterday truly
was just careless on your part.
And, honestly, I’m in no hurry to return to your Seafood Shoppe.
Bah Humbug Long John Silvers…

This is the greasiest fish I’ve ever eaten. Everything tastes the exact same. They only thing that tasted good was their tarter sauce. I won’t return.

This was the best one I have been to in a while. The food was to notch. The service was awesome. Friendly, attentive, and hospitable.
Shout out to John, the best fast food employee I have ever encountered.

This place can be really hit or miss. I used to come here with my parents growing up. It used to be good. Last time the fish was so dark and hard it was almost burnt. Hush puppies were rock hard. The fries tasted like shrimp, yes I know it’s a fish place but I didn’t order shrimp. I may come back thru but something was really really wrong my last visit here.

i will never go back to this location at Lincolnwood area. Okay, i accept the fact that this a fast seafood chain, but at least they should provide a good ventilation! The smell of the grease and fish will stick on your shirt and even to your hair!
The people working there are too slow, and rude. They are just chit chatting instead of preparing the food fast! Too many drama inside the kitchen too!
i waited for 30 minutes for my order, and to my disappointment, even though im hungry, i asked for a full refund! and i ended up at FIVE GUYS.
never again!!!

Lol, we’d never been here… tried the ciabbata fish sandwich was actually quite tasty while we were eating here.
Then we went home and it was like Satan personally started a hellfire within the pits of my stomach. I had lava in my stomach, people. Never again.

You gotta come here once. I just took my kids and wife here for the first time for that LJS experience.
It’s definiely a dinosaur of an establishment and may be extinct the way all the hip and healthy new kids on the block are taking over.
Okay now, the food —
— Best battered shrimp (not breaded) you will find for $ 2 in 2 minutes.
— Best fish fix for $ 4 in 5 minutes.
— Best battered onion rings with meal for 50 cent extra.
— Has 4 kinds of fish — cod, catfish, haddock, and white fish. More complex than you thought!
— Very friendly service and will bring out the food to your table.

Don’t expect much with the interior or bathroom cleanness here (for the latter, it’s barely above a gas station bathroom, and is one of those bathrooms you lock after you enter), but sometimes I have an infrequent craving for LJS when I’m out in the ‘burbs. The chicken planks still call my name every so infrequently, and their other food does as well. Honestly if you aren’t a fan of greasy or fried food, you probably won’t care for LJS, and you might wanna keep going till you hit Red Lobster. Me, I’m more a thrifty and cheap person who doesn’t care about eating the most expensive thing, so LJS is fine.
If you live in the city, no need to necessarily come out here for your fried seafood craving. There are a lot of places that’ll serve those cravings just as fine (Fish Keg, Snappy’s, Frank’s Chicago Seafood (on Irving Park, though they used to be on Addison), Hagen’s (though have ironically never been there), to name a few examples). Note that unlike what the first reviewer said (and like Jacob said), no drive-​thru at this one. This must be one of the few LJS in the Chicago area (if not the only one) never upgraded to have a drive-​thru, and it closes up at 10pm sharp every day.

Was so excited to come here as I had a coupon. Never been to a LJS before. Now I know why.
The food was just nasty. It was greasy and underseasoned. The service was soooo slow. How many people are needed to take an order and ring it up with a coupon? Here it took 2 and a manager. Seriously?
The place was also filthy. I had a chance to visit the bathroom and I’ve seen better restrooms at train stations in Europe!
The two stars are for the two hushpuppies I had. Not worth the return though. Sorry LJS, I’ll take Red Lobster over you any day.

Ew. This place is gross. My younger bro used to love LJS way back when, but I haven’t been here in ages.
I soon realized why. Its a grease-​fest. I’ll admit I’m a particularly health-​conscious eater, but seriously, everything is fried or slathered in mayo. And the food comes out slow.

Wow is my last review outdated.
Patricia B. hit the nail on the head, nostalgia. The only reason I return here every once in awhile to taste something that reminds me of visits past, times I dined here whilst a kid with my family. Boy have their flavors changed over time. I remember it tasting so much healthier and tastier? Memories aren’t that great. My old man is crazy about fried fish so I thought I’d pick up some for them, I wanted to hit up Hagen’s or Fish keg, but the old man insisted on LJS. Today their prices are relatively close to that of KFC, which means for a meal for four you can expect to spend around twenty dollars. Good thing they offer a value menu /​99 cent menu. I like to skip value meals and baskets and just go for what I need. Add a piece of fish or chicken for $ 1.59 or purchase a family chest of just fish or chicken for a lower cost. The flavor has definitely changed, the batter is chocked full of salt, it was hard to continue to eat after one piece. I snapped a few photos of this location so in the future I can just look at the photo and remember the memory, which is much better than its taste. Someone uploaded photos of a drive-​thru, this location is a restaurant only. FYI. Service today is just, so-​so, hit or miss really.
Their newest offering Baja fish tacos. A piece of their batter dipped salty fish in a tortilla with some lettuce and sauce. Wow, revolutionary.

I almost want to rate it 1 star since this place will probably be the death of me. If not death, then one of the main causes of future health problems. Especially during Lent, taking home a box of deep fried goodness almost every week cannot be a good thing. I’m pretty sure there are healthier alternatives here, like the grilled whatevers, but that would be like buying an open bar package and only drinking OJ.
I love fried clams, and LJS has really good ones. So of course these clams have to be the worst kind of seafood for you. I might as well just eat a table spoon of salt. But damnit, its so tasty.
The crew here seem so laid back and fun that it doesn’t feels like I’m at a major chain. I ring that bell every time I come here.