Eamonn’s: A Dublin Chipper

Pretty solid fish & chips. I like it, but it’s tough to enjoy this place when it’s crazy busy. Seating is very limited.

This place definitely serves up some hot & fresh fish & chips. The fish was great, the fries were cut thick– this is a no-​frills establishment and I can appreciate that. I think the only disconnect here is that I expected the price to be somewhat more in accordance. Granted, 2 can eat here– 2 fish filets, 2 beers, 1 fry– for around $ 30 – 35. All in all, it hits the spot. It’s greasy and good– classic joint in downtown Alexandria.

(Before & 5 Stars): I’ve been coming for years … ten actually; anxious to get my favorites today! YUM
(After & 2 Stars): So I want to first say I don’t like salt. In fact I like to NOT taste my salt. The chips were SO SALTY they were not uneatable for me. The chicken bites were about the same as I’d remembered, but had more breading than I remembered.

Nothing like a classic take on fish and chips in an Alexandrian street corner. It’s exactly what you’d want, with flavorful fish and thicker cuts of fries, with friendly service and a cool atmosphere even by the standards of this excessively cool area.
My only knock is the over-​breaded fish, which lost some of the goodness on account of the excess batter.
But it’s nothing that should scare you off. A very good take on some tried and true food.

Love this place! It’s as close as you can get to the quality of fish & chips you get in Ireland! Great customer service as well.

Rating a place is not only about the food and taste. It’s about the overall service and accommodation. I’ve been here 8 times. Taking grouper off the menu was not a good move because not many places did it the way they did. I’d just raise the price or find another source. We drove from Anacostia on a fish hunt. We called to order the same old 2 grouper, 2 chicken bites, 2 large fries. They stopped the grouper and replaced it with basa. Ok. When you change the menu and someone expresses sadness, TELL THEM WHAT THE NEW FISH IS LIKE AND HOW IT TASTES AND OFFER IT TO THEM. We ordered 1 cod [basic fish] and 1 new basa to give it a try. We also ordered the chicken bites. Got a call and uh, no more chicken. So what’s the other offer? I ordered catfish nuggets and was told no you can’t do catfish nuggets we have to either do Cod or bras basah I said well can’t you just cut up a catfish and make catfish nuggets because my kids should eat something that I’m close to ordering which was something like catfish nuggets to a normal human. So after a little back-​and-​forth I managed to get him to accept Cod nuggets and I just went on with the order because I am hungry but I probably won’t come back well at least went before I do I would say hey do you actually have chicken since you the first time told me that the chicken was part of the order now I’m walking in so let’s see if he does any customer service. So yes, the dude personally cut up the fish for me, and that was very nice. No they don’t have fish nuggets so do not call up or walk up there and order them.
After eating…
Basa is not hardly as tasty as yet grouper. It has a weird after taste. Cod is basic but the crispy batter was good. The basa was over battered. Ugh. I wish this was a three star.

I was ready to gnaw my arm off when we arrived, so the small menu was helpful in making a decision while «hangry». We all got curry chips and small cod. The cod was excessively battered, to my husband’s dismay, but the fish inside was juicy and fresh and the malt vinegar was a surprisingly good addition. The curry fries, which I ordered at the recommendation of our fry loving friend, were out of this world! I’m the type of person to use gallons of sauce on food, so the lagoon of mild curry gravy underneath the fries was awesome, you’ll need a fork! The service and ambience were good.

Holy cow. Fish n Chips are good and all, but what made me a fan are the prawns and chips. SOOOOOO good! The only sad detail is that the shrimp have substantially shrunken in size over the past year. Still just as delicious, just a little less of a meal.

Seriously disappointed. $ 20 for two pieces of cod (not quality cuts), small chips and a can of coke. Chips were good. Should have taken the hint when we walked in at lunch on cold Sunday and the place was empty. Is this place past its prime? Really wanted it to be great and it wasn’t.

Hmmm…
I really wanted to be blown away by this place but I wasn’t. It is on King Street in Old Town Alexandria and the first thing you notice is the cool vibe it gives off. It looks like any other chip shop you might find in Dublin or London. Not pretentious, wooden benches and polished floors suggesting the place has seen many years of customers. I went late on a week night so did not have the problem finding seating that others have mentioned in their reviews. There was one guy working at the counter who took my order right away and explained the difference between the sizes (FYI both size orders are one piece of fish. The larger size is 6 oz and the smaller is 3 oz). I went with the cod and a side of fries. There are a number of sauces to choose from most of which are complimentary, I went with the Chesapeake because I am crazy about Old Bay seasoning.
The fish? Had a thick and crispy coating which is great for this type of dish. The consistency of the actual fish though was a bit mushy and it fell apart easily while trying to eat it. The fries were thicker cut and some were very tasty but others were undercooked. There was a small selection of beer, wine and other beverages to complement the meal and service was fine, I was just a bit underwhelmed and hence the three stars as opposed to four. I wouldn’t let it discourage you from trying this place though as it may have been an off night.

Great food. I always get the same thing — the cod, with an order of chips, and tartar sauce and hot chili sauce on the side. The fish is fresh, fried to a deep golden brown, seasoned well, and perfectly crispy. The thick-​cut fries are the perfect ratio of soft to crunchy, and perfectly seasoned. I’ve tried a few of their different sauces, and all have been good. Bonus points for having Magner’s cider!
The service is why I give this place 3 stars. It’s consistently slow, even when they are not crowded, and the behind-​the-​counter employees seem to have very little motivation to get the food out as quickly as possible. I want to be clear, though: from what I’ve seen, the kitchen staff really hustles and seem to take their jobs seriously, which is so appreciated! It’s just that they rush to get the food out and it often just sits on the counter until the person behind the counter happens to look up and notice that it’s sitting there waiting for customers. It’s a tough place to stop into unless you have a good amount of extra time in the likely event that it’s slow.

This place was super busy on a Friday night. We just popped in here after a yoga class to indulge in a calorie bomb and we were not disappointed. That cod was amazing. I’d skip the chips, or ask for them to be well done to achieve a more crispy texture. Did I mention the cod was amazing? Seriously, it almost had the delicate texture of lump crab meat and the batter was super crispy and delicious. Come here for the fish and you will not be disappointed.
There are also several sauces to choose from and I opted for a standard tartar and the one with mayo, stone ground mustard and hot sauce — yum! They were actually so busy that they were out of another sauce that I really wanted to try and that kinda stunk. Out of ketchup as well… Actually, the boss behind the counter told us that because he actually made the sauces, and he was super busy that they were just out. Then we watched him «make» the sauce by squeezing it into little containers after the rush died down. Whatever dude. Make your sauce.
Reminder: This is a fish and chip shop and NOT a fine dining restaurant. I don’t care how much luxurious wood and cut glass you are surrounded by, there are no linens and no table service. Just order your food, give them your name and then tear into the paper bag in a way that lends itself to becoming your charger plate.
PS: a beer is going to run you 25 cents more than the small order of cod. Just saying.

Difficult t remember name but easy to find. Right on the corner of Columbus and King. It is a tiny place with limited seating. The menu gets some getting accustomed to. The chips, which are like nothing I’ve had before, don’t come with your Cod fried fish. Great if you don’t want the extra carbs or want to mix and match the portion sizes.
A large fish is $ 10 plus $ 3 for the fries. Tarter sauce or a number of other options are available. Extras are charged $.50 each. The fish and batter are amazing and addictive. Never having had Irish version of this dish I ha no means of comparison. But what we had was terrific.
They are going to be offering 99’s in the summer. A UK treat consisting of soft serve ice cream and a Cadbury Chocolate Flake (candy bar). Amazing!
Thru also have a keg of Guinness on tap to wash the golden fried Cod goodness down with.
This place appears to be part of the Society Fair group on S Washington which also has Eve Restaurant. I think both are award winning eateries as will this establishment be too
Thank you for making his small corner of Old Town a big hit!

In an area without a lot of good fish and chips options, this is one of the best, but every year it gets more expensive and more inconsistent.
I am a fan of the $ 8 basa, which is the largest piece of fish you can (currently) get. However, I may switch to the pricier cod since I’ve been reading about some health concerns with basa. Lately, some the fish has been coming out doughier than it should, but usually it’s spot on. I don’t think they are as consistent as they used to be. A small chips is enough to share with another person; a large chips is enormous. The curry sauce is fun, but it’s an upcharge. There are a few sides, like mushy peas, and several Irish/​British sodas available.
Eating here gets pricey really fast. You can hit $ 40 for two before you know it. Interiors are really authentic.

Customer service was great! He gave us ideas of what to eat. Of course I had to try their fish & chips and my husband got a recommendation. My husband also tried the winter sangria. I was super satisfied with the fish & chips. It was amazing. We have been coming here at least once a week!
This place is clean, its a small area, but definitely a go to place to eat! The recommendation for fish & chips are on point! You surely get what you pay for and it was definitely worth every penny of it! The pricing is not expensive since it is considered seafood.
I would totally recommend coming here if you like to eat fish & chips!

Earlier this morning, I was walking up King street looking for Eammons Dublin Chipper and I was paying attention to the 700’s but I was not very successful in locating it. I must have inadvertently walked on by without noticing it at all. Saw a segment on it on a program on WETA TV-​26 several years ago. How far is it from the Escape Room?
I gave it 2 stars because i could not find it. it was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

This place is not great. It’s tiny inside, so good luck finding a place to sit. In October, it was like a firepit inside– definitely needed to run the a/​c, but the only place it seemed to be running was in the back by the kitchen. The prices are also high for what you get. They serve drinks in tiny plastic cups. Definitely not a full pint but with the price of one.
The fish is probably the best thing here– we had the battered cod and the batter is legit Irish style. The pieces are nice and big. The batter is crispy and the fish is flakey. Our batch was overcooked– the batter was borderline burned.
The chips were terrible. My plastic fork couldn’t stab into it without bending the prongs and knife couldn’t cut it! The potatoes were mealy and the fries were cold. No love in those. I think they were from the day before and got reheated.
We added the curry to the chips and it was not authentic Irish style curry. It was way too watery and slightly too spicy to be legit. The curry is traditionally on the side, so ur chips don’t get soggy. And the curry should be thicker– more like gravy than water.

My wife and I just ate there tonight. We were walking Alexandria and I had heard about this place (all good) so we went in. We ordered a large frie, one piece of fish, mashed peas, diet soda and sauces.
Great: The fried food was just what you would expect from very well done friend food. Crispy, greasy, and yummie. The fries were pretty awesome. Very meaty and crunchy and good. Could have been a bit crunchier (some were soggy).
Meh: Peas? I don’t get it, 3 dollars for a small cup (under 4 oz) of mashed peas. Never buy that again.
Sucked: 50 cents per sauce is chincy and a cheap way to earn the owner a few more bucks. Boo.
The food was expensive and I would go back if I really wanted just the fish and chips. It was filling, but it was only 1 piece of fish and a lot of cheap potato. The service was okay, but it was slow, very slow. I can see how the one guy at the counter could get over loaded with more folks.
Try it if you want to have a tates of decent fried fish. Don’t order the extra sauces as they are not that special. The spicey sauce is weak.

So I’m not quite ready to knock my review down to two stars, but my last two visits have been a bit underwhelming. In both cases the Guinness tap is there, but they’ve been out and only had cans, which is to say they didn’t have any Guinness worthy of the name. How an Irish chipper could be out of Guinness is beyond me, and a disappointment.
As far the rest of the experience, the service was lackadaisical both times, and particularly so this last time, with two off-​shift employees talking to the lone counter guy while our group of four and another group of two stood there waiting to order. On top of that, this last visit featured three out of four orders of small cod being undercooked, two of them severely so. I’ll chalk that up to a new cook in the kitchen, but the overall impression has definitely gone downhill; some additional attention from Cathal Armstrong would probably be a good idea for a bit to get Eamonn’s back up to the level of consistency it deserves.

The little kid brother restaurant to Restaurant Eve and PX Lounge nearby, Eamonn’s is the figurative and literal brainchild named after Dublin native Chef Armstrong’s son, and it is a worthy homage to the humble hole-​in-​the walls in Ireland/​England serving the traditional food of the people. The limited seating (20) with counter-​style ordering, the rich wooden interior, imported candy bars, and «chipper» fry cook complete the look. I would deduct one star for the price point and occasional inconsistency with the fryer, but when it’s at its best, one would be hard-​pressed to find a better place to be in deep-​fried nirvana. A commemorative Irish limerick to encapsulate my experience:
There was a quaint chipper in Old Town
Frying the best fish and chips around
Curry sauce is a must
Drizzled o’er the dark crust
With Guinness draft to wash it all down
For the choice of fish, «Thanks be to Cod»
Fresh wild caught Atlantic, never thawed
Fried candy bars for sweets
Chip Butty is good eats
For next best place one must go abroad