Windsor Fish & Chips & Sandwich

Yikes. Has the quality gone down? Just stopped by for a quick bite and it was pretty awful. Unseasoned and fairly blah. I thought that they had new management, but I think they have a new cook. Not so good. Should have gone over to Famous Foods next door.

The sign caught my eye when passing by so being a Brit I thought I was onto something. I seldom eat fish and chips in the states because it’s always a disappointment and continues to be so. British fish and chips are a revered fast food and even in England the «chip shop» must be carefully selected. The batter must be crispy, the fish tender and the chips aren’t «french fries». I would not recommend any Fish and Chip God fearing Brit to partake at this restaurant. The price was $ 8.50 expensive for just one bite. I regret not reading the Unilocal for guidance and reading them now I see their Tai food gets good reviews so I would try that next time.
To Brian W of Sunnyvale. Britain has been a culturally mixed and integrated society for several decades with varying cuisines, fine restaurants and cafes. Britain presents excellent cooking skills perhaps even finer than yours. Our traditional Sunday lunch of Roast Beef, Roast Potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and vegetables is still a shining star and perhaps you’ve never noticed but it’s British chefs who host your TV cooking shows.

I bought a bag of frozen dumpling which has been at the freezer for months. When I boiled them most of the skin has cracked and the meat has fallen out. It is so bad that they should even sell them. The meat is not even fresh. At this type of quality they should not sell them since is not eatable.
Don’t buy frozen food here

Best name for a Taiwanese bian dang (bento box) place… haaaah.
Ok, after getting past the name, the food is good. It’s definitely not great but it’s totally affordable. I’ve been spoiled by bian dang places from 626, Irvine, and Taiwan and this one is definitely lacking in comparison. But considering there aren’t really any other places around, I still go here regularly just to get a quick bite.

We have been purchasing Bento boxes for many years. Very authentic home made Taiwanese cuisine.

I ordered the fish and chips. They were very poor quality. Avoid at all cost.

As all the old customers know, this is not a British Fish and Chip shop. It is a small Taiwanese restaurant for box lunches/​dinners (of course you can eat in). Don’t expect to get much of services since you only pay less than 7 dollars to have a meal.
The food is Taiwanese variant of Chinese food. Less salty, MUCH less greasy, but tastes as good or even better. The best ones are not the dishes for the box lunches or dinners. The best ones are those special dishes /​tapas /​delicacies that they have stowed aside. For example, the Chicken Roll (a misnomer, it’s really made of pork. Why it’s called chicken roll in Taiwan … it’s a long story) is probably the best one in South Bay area. And the Taiwanese sausage is as delicious as you can get in Taiwan.

Simple restaurant, come on in and the lady will ask you to go or for here/​rice or brown rice. Next you point and pick two to three dishes and you are done!
Portion is quite large for $ 8 and the dishes do taste similar to places in Taiwan.
There are some more food trays on the top shelf, don’t miss those like I did (I end up with 3 vegetable dishes!)
Will try their beef noodle next time!

cheap bian dangs!
7 bucks and change for a rice and 3 dishes, or vermicelli and 2 dishes is quite a deal. this place is awesome. you know they are definitely not gouging you with silly things like «profits» and «ambience», as they didn’t even bother changing the name/​sign/​décor from the previous fish and chips restaurant. they just added some chinese characters after the fish and chips sign. the interior even includes casks of ale as decoration hanging on the walls, except they hung some chinese posters on them. that’s how you know this place is legit.
this place is all about value, cheap eats and decent quality.

What the hell is going on.
This is cross cultural mayhem at its best and worse. I love it.
The sign brightly proclaims «Fish and Chips and Sandwiches» with a union jack… but look closer and the windows have only chinese writing on it. Apparently, some awesome business owner was SO LAZY that he or she didn’t want to take the original sign down… They must have been overjoyed to find a storefront for their Taiwanese box lunches, and efficiently began to sell their taiwanese box lunches like hotcakes… and things just kept getting busy so they kept the sign up.
What’s so hilarious is that as a result of their inaction in taking down the fish n chips sign, being good asians, they decided to save face and CONTINUE TO SELL FISH AND CHIPS.
Out of pure glee at this strange accidental fusion of taiwanese box lunch and fish and chips, I ordered fish and chips… because let’s face it– I’m a wannabe hipster and irony is the ticket to coolness. The fish was freshly fried, but pretty greasy. Giant fish filets dipped in batter and fried (although they look like the fish from the frozen section at safeway…). The chips were mushy. Their vinegar was chinese vinegar. I thought there was no tartar sauce, so I ate it all without it (gosh. Maybe that’s why it felt so greasy)… only to find it at the bottom of the bag– several sad, limp packets of tartar sauce.
So honestly– not great. But really, I wasn’t there for the food. I was there to soak in the crosscultural weirdness going on there. What a zany place. I was entertained by it all.
Oh yeah– really would be a 2-​star, but they take credit cards. lol.

Ok, first off. This is not a fish and chips shop. This is your authentic hole in the wall type of Taiwanese lunch box «biendan» place that you would get back home, where you order three dishes and get rice to go with it. If you’re looking for some good fish and chips, look elsewhere, because I definitely think the owners must have bought this store from former owners who sold fish and chips and didn’t bother with getting a new sign and left it like that. People still came in asking for fish and chips, so they sold them probably for the sake of it. But I’m telling you, don’t get fooled, just go straight to get the «biendan.»
They have different dishes and you’d be surprise, you’ll start getting a line right near 5pm, where people start getting off work to get their «biendan» to go. By 7pm, I guarantee you, most of the dishes are gone to choose from. Most people who come here are customers who has been coming here for decades. They make authentic Taiwanese «biendan» type of food. If you choose the rice noodles instead of rice, then you will get two sides with it, instead of three.

Location:
As many have already noted, Windsor Fish and Chips is NOT an English restaurant. And thank goodness because generally, English cuisine isn’t really known for being delectable (although I do have a craving for actual Fish and Chips on occasion). Seems like the current owners bought the old restaurant and just never changed the name (nor décor — note the English pub-​inspired windows). A bit eccentric to be sure, but I think it gives the place character.
Located in the predominantly Asian plaza on the corner of Old San Francisco and Wolfe, Windsor Fish and Chips is bizarrely located next door to another almost identical Taiwanese homestyle/​fast-​food restaurant, Famous Food. I’m not sure how both manage to survive right next to one another with basically the same food, style, and service.
However, one CRITICAL feature distinguishes the two restaurants. Unlike its Cash-​Only neighbor, Windsor Fish and Chips actually accepts credit cards! Fairly rare for a Chinese restaurant in the Bay, and is pretty much the singular reason why I always go to Windsor Fish and Chips over its identical twin next door.
Pretty typical arrangements for a quick Chinese/​Taiwanese take out place, with humble (but functional) and large tables and chairs. Generally pretty clean — definitely feels like a neighborhood mom and pop joint.
Food:
For most of us, there’s generally a difference between restaurant Chinese food and the Chinese food we have at home. This is one of the only restaurants (Famous Foods being the other…) I’ve ever been to that offers the latter. The dishes are humble, more stir-​fry vegetable oriented (including vegetables that are more typically found in home cooking like Chinese Mustard Greens), and are less greasy/​saucy than most restaurant-​style dishes. Not the most extravagant dining experience, but if you want a reminder of home cooking and you’re in a hurry, this place will definitely do.
Certainly satisfies my love for stir-​fried Chinese veggies! Great place for a light, healthy, and fast meal. The bone broth or green pea soup offered during lunch (for free) is also delicious and refreshing. One thing to note — being a restaurant that offers readymade dishes, Windsor Fish and Chips usually attempts to control the volume of food they make to minimize leftovers/​waste (which is great). Therefore, I would recommend getting there no later than 1pm for lunch or 7pm for dinner, or else your options will become much more limited.
Service:
Fast, easy, satisfying, AND accepts credit cards? I’m sold. In and out with solid homestyle cooking in less time than it takes to go through a MacDonald’s drive-​through is just about perfect. Staff is efficient and courteous.
Value:
Usually get out for exactly $ 8 for a big plate of veggies and rice (and I feel the staff really try to load up your carryout container). Considering the satisfying food and portion size, I’d say this place provides pretty good value for $ 8. Can’t really imagine the prices could go too much lower — no complaints here.
Overall:
A great Chinese/​Taiwanese takeout place — unpretentious, tasty, fast, AND accepts cards. What more could I want? The food is humble and homestyle, but sometimes that’s just what I crave. A solid 3 stars.

Fish and chips gross! Maybe rotten. Wish i could give ¼ star. Reported to Health dept.

I tried several things during my visit. A side of 1 piece of fish which was very good, a delicious looking chicken wing (Chinese I believe) which was fairly tasty, a couple of tiny ribs which I did not care for and some rice which was not very good. The rice was just plain white rice and honestly, at restaurants that serve Chinese food I expect jasmine rice, not cheap white rice. Overall, if I visit again, it will be for the fish.

Primarily Chinese/​Taiwanese cuisine but I got the fish n chips
I personally like it as the fish is very big, comes cooked well, and within five or so minutes of ordering
The fries were nothing special but the fish was good. Inside of the restaurant is typical of a Chinese restaurant that specializes in take out, but it’s not bad.

NOT a fish & chips restaurant.
Just a bought out fish and chips restaurant, with the owner being too cheap to remove it.
This is actually a Taiwanese restaurant. You can get combos for ~$ 7 and it’s pretty home styled stuff, but the reason for the 1 star, is how stale everything looks. The way the place is set up it looks like an orphanage dining hall.
They also have beef noodles etc., tasted pretty bad for like $ 6. But it’s funny how it comes with a free, unpeeled orange in a little sandwich bag.
Next to the register they also sell glutinous rice cakes, which were not bad, but runs the risk of being the result of an archaeological dig.

I would have TOTALY skipped over this place thinking that it was an English bar from the look of the décor outside. The selection is fairly small but the quality isn’t bad. They serve rice plates with 2 or 3 sides typically and are $ 6.50 and $ 7.52 respectively? (Their pricing seems to be different outside and inside). The question I want to know is why the $.02? No itemized receipt so I can’t validate it.
It’s on the pricier side and it’s just alright. Maybe I’ll stop by if I’m in a pinch for Taiwanese food.

Finally I have found the best Taiwanese food in the Bay Area, only had three dish this time, definitely will come back and try it all. Love how they cooked the rice, Taiwanese sausage is one of my favor, the fried peanuts is absolute good. Eggplant and the veggies are so delicious.^______________^

Does anyone actually get fish and chips here? One of my old co workers described this as «Taiwanese military style» cuisine. Not sure entirely what that means. Not sure it’s still that as it has been a few years. I remember one of my other co workers saw a tray full of whole fish and made a b line right at me as i was standing in the doorway. Had to calm him down and say just get fried rice or something that’s not looking at you. I had a 3 item combo which was ok but nothing i loved. Guess im not cut out for Taiwanese military?

I really wanted to like this place, and support the mom and pop businesses, but…
–the food was almost cold, felt like I was eating leftovers
–one particular employee was not friendly at all, she was making demands for us to pay, and looked as if she didn’t want to be there. Maybe she had a bad day, maybe it’s cultural, I don’t know…
–it was really cold in the restaurant, and there was no heater, so when we tried to close the door that was left wide open, we were yelled at by the same mean lady
–we were treated like we were bothering them by eating there
–the place is not cheap
–the food was low-quality…and made Taiwanese food look bad
–there a a lot of places out there with much better Taiwanese food, by a long shot
We will never, ever, ever, come back… like, ever.